Insurance companies love to snoop. They want to dig up all the dirt they can on you. They think that if they know everything about you, they will eventually unearth something they can use to torpedo your case. For example, both federal and New York State law give you a…
The Syracuse Post Standard reported the other day that an SUV struck a Syracuse man “on purpose” after an argument on Westcott Street Tuesday morning. Fortunately, the injuries do not appear serious; the victim suffered only cuts to his arm and leg and was taken to Upstate University Hospital. Here’s…
Yesterday the New York Times reported that, while drunken-driving deaths are dropping, car-accident deaths caused by drivers who have taken legally prescribed narcotics, such as painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medications, and other potent drugs, are increasing. Unlike with alcohol, no firm studies or guidelines exist determining what blood level of…
When a client brings a potential New York legal malpractice case to me, one of the first things I do is try to calculate the statute of limitations (the last day the lawyer can be sued). I say try because this is not always easy in legal malpractice cases. And…
Every year I give a lecture to other New York accident and personal injury lawyers across New York State on the issue of “Municipal Liability”. Before my lecture, I review the recent case law in New York on this issue. This is a complex topic. Suing New York municipalities (its…
Today I got a call from a fellow New York personal injury lawyer in Buffalo, New York. He is representing the widow of a firefighter who died while fighting a fire. The case he is building revolves around some code violations by the homeowner and some firefighting rules not heeded…
What is a “Loss-of-Consortium” Claim? A loss-of-consortium claim is a claim for compensation brought by the uninjured spouse of an injured spouse against the negligent tortfeasor who caused the injury to the injured spouse. Wew, that was a mouthful! Let me try to break that down. Although the uninjured spouse…
I recently read a blog post by a New York criminal defense attorney, Nicole Black, about a juror’s misconduct in a criminal case. The juror had sent a Facebook “friend” request to a witness while the trial was pending. (Jurors are supposed to remain absolutely objective and not communicate with…
So you say you don’t like tort lawyers, product liability lawsuits, or personal injury cases? Well, guess what? You need them, as demonstrated (once again) by the headlines in the New York Times! The New York Times reports that, as early as the fall of 1999, SmithKline Beecham, maker of…
The Cayuga County Sheriff reports that yesterday afternoon a car crossed over into the oncoming lane of traffic and collided into a bus carrying disabled people on Route 34 in Fleming, New York (just a few miles south of the Central New York personal injury llaw office of Michaels Bersani…