General

Syracuse Fall-Off-Scaffold With Back Injury Case Settles For $1,000,000.

August 24, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I just settled a Syracuse New York workplace injury case today for $1,000,000. It was a fair settlement. Because of some Labor Law violations, my client fell off a scaffold at a construction project in Syracuse. He landed on his feet, and his lower back suffered what is known in the medical community as a “spondylolysis” (a small fracture in the pars of the vertebrae) which later developed into a “spondylolystheisis” (the small fractures caused one of the discs to slide relative to the disc below, narrowing the spinal canal, and causing impingement).

Like I said, the settlement was fair. We used a mediator in Rochester. It took just about all day to hammer out the settlement. But in the end my clients were happy with it.

The case was scheduled for an Onondaga County personal injury jury trial in just a little over two weeks. For me that means that I was already prepared to try the case. I knew the case backward and forwards, and had my arguments all set to present to the jury.

The Increased Role of Alternative Dispute Resolution in New York Personal Injury Lawsuits

August 15, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Syracuse New York personal injury jury trials are fewer and farther between than only a decade ago. The same can be said for all Central New York personal injury jury trials. In fact, the same trend is being noted throughout the entire State, as well as the other 49 States. Read about it for yourself, but clicking here and here. All civil jury trials are down in numbers, everywhere.

Let’s be clear; although the number of lawsuits filed has remained steady over the last decade, fewer and fewer of those lawsuits are going to trial. Here’s a vivid demonstration of the trend: In 1962, more than 11 percent filed civil lawsuits in federal court went to trial. By last year, however, that percentage had dropped to 1.8.

If almost 98% of personal injury lawsuits are not going to trial, what is happening to them? Many of them are being resolved by “alternative dispute resolution”, (known as “ADR”). In some areas, ADR has overtaken trials as the predominant way to resolve personal injury lawsuits as well as other types of civil disputes. ADR consists mainly of “mediation” and “arbitration”. “Mediation” is a non-binding settlement procedure where a neutral “mediator”, usually a lawyer or a retired judge, tries to bring the parties to a reasonable settlement that is acceptable to both sides. “Arbitration” is an informal hearing where a lawyer or retired judge hears the case, and decides it, but the formal rules of evidence, such as the bar against hearsay, don’t usually apply.

Strutured Settlements Are a Good Alternative to Lump Sum Payments for Some New York Personal Injury or Medical Malpractice victims.

August 9, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Being a New York personal injury lawyer has its perks! A client took me out to dinner the other night. It was a fine meal at a great Geneva New York restaurant, Port’s Café. The restaurant is only about a mile and a half from where my client’s tragedy happened 3 summers ago — his wife was hit and killed by a tractor trailer as she crossed routes 5 and 20 on foot, in a crosswalk, in the City of Geneva.

The dinner was a kind of celebration. We had settled his Geneva New York wrongful death case after almost three years of intense litigation, which included the filing of two lawsuits, and the taking of many depositions. And although no amount of money could ever replace the loving wife he lost, he had finally found peace. He felt that at least a measure of justice had been done. We had made them pay! To him, the money meant they had finally accepted responsibility for the accident after years of denial.

Because the wrongful death settlement was for a substantial sum of money, and my client does not need the money at this time (he has a good job and no children to support), I suggested he should consider a “structured settlement“. A “structured settlement” is an insurance or financial agreement in which the plaintiff does not take the entire settlement from the insurance carrier in “a lump sum payment” right away, but instead forgoes immediate payment of at least some of the money, which he will receive later in “periodic payments” (usually monthly). A structured settlement is usually created through the purchase of an “annuity“, which guaranties future periodic payments at a fixed amount over a fixed period of time, with interest added in so that you end up with more money.

Syracuse New York Accident Lawyer: “Think The World Would Be Better Without Lawyers? Think Again.”

August 4, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Not much to write about here, just watch the video below:

A World Without Lawyers – The most amazing home videos are here

You Don’t Give Up Your Right to Medical Privacy Just Because You Bring a New York Personal Injury Lawsuit for Compensation for Your Injuries.

July 28, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

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 right to medical privacy. Just because you are injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, and you sue them, doesn’t mean you give up that right. But many insurance companies act as if this gives them a right to find out everything about your medical history. Whether my client is the victim of New York medical malpractice, a slip-and-fall case, a car accident, or other type of New York personal injury case, the insurance company lawyer will almost invariably ask me for “unrestricted” medical authorization, which, when signed by my client, will give the insurance company lawyer the right to access any and all medical records regarding any and all treatment my client may have gotten from any medical provider from the beginning of the world to the end of the world!

But New York personal injury and medical malpractice law doesn’t give them a right to such broad authorizations. They can’t snoop! They have a right only to the medical records that are relevant to the parts of the body you are claiming were injured. For example, if you are suing for a broken arm, they have a right to see all medical records, both pre-and post-accident, for treatment for that arm. They can’t find out about your C-section, or your hemorrhoids, or about that depression you were treated for years ago!

New York Personal Injury Lawyers — A Brotherhood of Justice Seekers

July 19, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

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 by fellow firefighters. The widow is obviously furious that her husband had to die because of other people’s mistakes, and she wants justice.

The widow’s lawyer had read about a case I had won on appeal a few years ago. News of that case , Prince v Onondaga County, had spread like wildfire when I won it because, I was told, it was the first time in the nation that a Court had ruled that an emergency responder could been held liable for failure to follow the “incident command system”. The incident command system is what emergency responders, such as firefighters, are supposed to follow when they arrive to an emergency scene. The command system is headed by an “incident commander”, usually the first officer-level firefighter who arrives on the scene. All orders and information flow from the incident commander out to the various units of the firefighter team. If individual firefighters start acting on their own without following this system, it can lead to disaster. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. That’s what we allege happened in Prince v. Onondaga County.

Coincidentally, in both my case, and in the Buffalo case, the firefighter died after a floor, which had been compromised by the fire, gave way, causing the firefighters to drop down into the basement where they were trapped in the fire and smoke with no escape. I can hardly imagine a worse death!

New York Personal Injury “Loss-of-Consortium” Claims: What Are They, What Are They Worth, and Why Do They Sometimes Lead to Trouble?

July 18, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

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 of a New York accident victim has not suffered any “physical” injury, New York personal injury law recognizes that she or he often suffers a different kind of injury or loss, specifically, the loss of spousal “services” that the injured spouse would have continued to provide but for his or her injury. The “services” lost can include household services (cooking, cleaning, etc.), love, companionship, affection and sexual relations. Because this notion of “loss of consortium” is rooted in traditional principles of “man and wife”, it has not (yet?) been extended to cover loss-of-consortium claims by unmarried or gay couples who live together but are not married.

Facebook, Social Media and New York Personal Injury Cases

July 17, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

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 any witnesses or parties during trial). The witness later testified that he had no idea who this “friend” was, and ignored the request. The Court ruled “no harm, no foul” and refused to reverse the verdict based on the misconduct.

But the story makes an important point about today’s juries. Social media, including Facebook, are a relatively new phenomena and courts, and lawyers, continue to struggle with how to deal with them. While I know that the judge will instruct the jurors that they are not to google or use social media or any outside sources too “look up” the witnesses and parties, I am convinced that many jurors disobey these orders.

That’s one reason why the New York personal injury lawyers at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka make sure our clients are aware of their “exposure” on Facebook and other social media. What would a jury think if they saw your Facebook page? Would the jury see that photo of you dancing and think it was taken AFTER your injury, when in fact it was taken before? Would the jury see that photo of you partying with your friends and draw negative inferences about you? These are serious concerns to a personal injury lawyer who wants to present his client in the best possible light to the jury.

Fourth of July Safety Tips from Your Central New York Personal Injury Lawyer

July 3, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Fourth of July, Independence Day, or whatever you want to call it. It’s here! And in New York, where private fireworks are illegal, many citizens are pitted against the law. I personally spend the evening of the Third on Otisco Lake, which is illuminated like a roman candle by private fireworks displays, though I don’t buy or handle fireworks myself (sounds kinda corny, but I like to obey the law!)

If you ARE going to “do” fireworks, here some fireworks safety tips from your Central New York injury lawyer:

Use fireworks outdoors only.

Central New York Injury Lawyer Blogging Gives Way (sometimes) to Training.

May 30, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Believe me, New York personal injury lawyers need their stress relief. And for me that means lots of vigorous exercise. Mostly I run and bike. I am training for a few short triathlons (swim-bike-run) this summer. I am participating in the Geneva, New York “Musselman” sprint triathlon as well as the Skaneateles, New York “Skinnyman triathlon race.

I wish I had time to train for the longer, “half-iron” triathlons, but with a wife, two kids, and a very busy personal injury law and medical malpractice New York law practice, I just don’t. I can get out for those 30-mile rides during the week, and for those 40 or 50 mile rides on the weekend (and I slip in a few 6-mile runs a week, and an occasional swim, too), but I just don’t have time for more. My family is important to me, so, gosh, I want to spend time with them, too!

This training has been eating into my blogging time, though. So far, I am happy to report (I think) that none of my readers is experiencing withdrawal symptoms!