Motor Vehicle Accidents

Why New York Personal Injury Lawyers Hate Insurance Companies.

October 11, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

You can’t be a New York personal Injury lawyer for very long without learning to hate insurance companies. I think it took me all of 6 months when I started out years ago to realize how brutal they were. You see, insurance companies “screw” good people all the time. Here’s just one recent example of a guy who got screwed by the insurance industry.

The client injured his lower back in a car accident, but did not immediately seek medical attention because he wanted to see first whether he was going to get better on his own. When more than a month went by and he was still in pain, he came to see me. He wanted to know what his rights were as far as getting medical coverage to see a doctor. There was an uncomfortable pause while I thought about how to break the bad news to him.

Before I tell you what I told him, let me give you a little recent history of New York’s “No-Fault Insurance” law. Only a few years ago, under No-Fault Insurance Regulation 68, auto accident victims had up to 90 days to file an application for no-fault benefits with their auto insurance carrier. (No-fault provides up to $50,000 in medical treatment and lost wages to car accident victims, regardless of fault.) But then the insurance industry lobbied New York State lawmakers to shorten the time limit to 30 days. The insurance industry claimed the shorter time limit was necessary to prevent “fraud”, but that argument never made any sense to me. Instead, I believe the insurance industry knew that many auto accident victims would inadvertently wait for more than 30 days to fill out their no-fault application. The insurance industry would thus save millions of dollars by denying these legitimate but “late” claims.

Syracuse Megabus Accident Lawyer: Case Is Strewn With Legal Hurdles

September 27, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The Syracuse New York bus accident lawyer busy and thinking. I have handled complex personal injury cases before, but this one has lots of interesting twists, as can be seen by reading my prior blogs about it, entitled:

“Syracuse Megabus Overpass Collision — Was It the County’s Fault?”

“Syracuse Auto Accident Lawyer Discusses Syracuse Bus Crash Liability”

New York State’s Defense to Syracuse Megabus Accident: “A Safer Design Was Too Expensive, Impractical and Nearly Impossible”. Will This Defense Work in Court?

September 19, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

In an article entitled “NY DOT chief nixes big fixes for Onondaga Lake Parkway railroad bridge”, the Syracuse Post Standard quotes a top New York Department of Transportation official as saying that structural design changes to keep trucks, buses and other tall vehicles from crashing against the railroad bridge above the Onondaga Lake Parkway are too expensive and impractical. According to this official, while other less costly, minor improvements might be possible (including tinkering with the warning signs’ height), major structural changes aimed at eliminating the low clearance of the bridge are all but impossible.

How does a Syracuse bus accident attorney go about investigating this defense? Well, first, he or she would have to recognize that this “we couldn’t do it” defense is not new. It was probably invented about the same time as roads were! Therefore, there is a whole body New York roadway design liability case law that defines the parameters of this defense.

Here’s what that law says in a nutshell: While a governmental entity (such as the State of New York or Onondaga County) has a duty to plan, design, construct and maintain reasonably safe roads, highways, streets, bridges, intersection and traffic control devices, they have what’s known as “qualified immunity” from liability. Under this “qualified immunity”, the governmental body may be held liable only when its roadway design was “plainly inadequate or there was no reasonable basis for its plan or design”. The State or County can’t be held liable just because there might have been a better, safer design. The actual design has to be, in light of all the circumstances, “plainly inadequate” or “unreasonable”. Further, once the State is made aware that something about the road is dangerous (for example, tall trucks keep crashing against the bridge!), it must then undertake new studies to see if the danger can be reduced.

Syracuse Bus Crash Was Caused by Distracted Driving – Another Tragic Central New York Distracted Driving Automobile Accident Case

September 17, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Here we go again — another fatal Central New York motor vehcile accident caused by distracted driving. Cell phones, smart phones, texting devices, gps navigators — what will they think of next to tempt drivers into distraction?

The latest victims of distracted driving? News sources report that the bus driver who crashed into the Onondaga Lake Parkway railroad overpass near Syracuse has admitted he was distracted by his personal global positioning system (gps) device.

A spokesman for his employer, Coach USA, had previously said that Use of any GPS device while driving was against company policy. The driver had resorted to his GPS after he missed the turn to the bus terminal, and ended up off track. I have previously blogged about this Syracuse bus crash here, here and here.

Syracuse Megabus Overpass Collision — Was It the County’s Fault?

September 11, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The Syracuse Post Standard just published another online article about the recent fatal Megabus accident near Syracuse, in Salina, New York. The top of the double-decker bus collided with a CSX railroad bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway. The Post Standard pointed out that this 10-foot-9-inch clearance “is notorious for getting hit by tall vehicles” despite the “warning signs and flashing lights”. At about 13 feet tall, the bus did not fit under the railroad bridge.

What follows all comes from some good investigative journalism by the Syracuse Post Standard: Back in the mid 1990s, then-Onondaga County Legislature chairman Bill Sanford had concerns about the overpass. Today he is quoted as saying, “this [accident] could possibly have been avoided [with] some kind of [better] warning system.” He noted that other communities with similar low overpasses had hung chains across the roadway, at the same height as the bridge, about a half mile or so before the bridge. This created a visible and audible hard-to-ignore “warning” of the oncoming peril. The metal chains clanging against the bus or truck, while causing minimal damage to the vehicle, would serve as a hard-to-ignore warning! Sandford was quoted as saying that “this wasn’t done” and “I don’t know why”.

Good question. Why not? It sounds like an inexpensive way to avoid very expensive, life-destroying accidents. In representing the victims of this tragic bus accident, a Syracuse bus accident attorney would want to investigate the feasibility of implementing such a warning system.

Syracuse Bus Accident Lawer with Update on Syracuse Megabus Collision with Overpass

September 11, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Earlier today I posted a lengthy blog about the tragic Syracuse Megabus crash. To summarize, four people were killed today, and several others seriously injured, when a double-decker “Megabus” slammed into a railroad overpass in Salina, which is just outside of Syracuse, New York.

Update: I just read on a CNN news post the following description of the Megabus: “The bus, part of a fleet of low-cost express buses . . .” . As a Syracuse bus accident lawyer,and commercial truck accident lawyer, the words “low-cost” hit me like a ton of bricks. I have seen this story time and time again. I have handled many, many cases that repeat the same theme: Avoidable accidents caused by corporate cost cutting that short-changes safety. And all to make an extra buck! Did Coach U.S.A, the corporate owner of this bus operation, cut corners on safety to save a buck and make an extra profit? Did they hire an inexperienced, undertrained driver who got lost on his way to Toronto, deviated from the designated route, and hit the bridge he never should have been driving under? Stay tuned. Investigation continues.

So, yes, the words “greed” and “profits at the expense of safety” crossed my mind. And this brought me down. But then I read another article in the Syracuse Post Standard online that made my heart soar. The passengers’ response was so “9/11”, as is appropriate on this anniversary of the tumbling of the Towers! In the mayhem that followed the bus crash, the less-injured passengers checked the less fortunate to see who was conscious, and attended to those who were moaning for help. And Red Cross (one of the principle responders at the original 9/11) again rose to the occasion, by making mental health counselors available to the distraught passengers, and by providing prescription medication to passengers who had lost theirs in the mayhem.

Syracuse Auto Accident Lawyer Discusses Syracuse Bus Crash Liability

September 11, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

At about 2:30 a.m. this morning, the top of a double-decker bus smashed into an overpass railroad bridge spanning the Onondaga Lake Parkway. The impact threw the entire bus on its side. The bus had left from Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was making its way to Toronto with scheduled stops in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. There were apparently about 25 passengers on board, of which four are now dead, and several suffer serious injuries. A bus company spokesperson said that the driver had not made his scheduled stop in Syracuse, and that the bus was not on its scheduled bus route.

Our hearts go out to the families of the dead, and to the injured. Even those who are not seriously injured are undoubtedly experiencing severe emotional distress and post traumatic shock at this time.

As a Syracuse New York vehicular accident lawyer, I can tell you that this kind of accident cannot happen without some negligence or carelessness on the part of someone.

School’s Back! Help Avoid Central New York Car-on-Child Pedestrian Injuries and Death.

September 10, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I hate reeling off statistics to make a point, but I couldn’t resist these: Children 15 and younger account for 22% of all pedestrians injured in traffic crashes. And 38% of child pedestrian fatalities occur in crashes between 3 and 7 p.m (after school gets out).

So what’s my point? School’s back in session. When you are out driving, watch out for kids, especially in the hours before school (7:00 to 8:00 a.m. or so) and after school (3:00 to 7:00 p.m. or so).

Unfortunately, since I handle New York pedestrian injury and death cases, I know too well, up close, the devastation that car-on-child collisions cause. This past year I had to represent the family of a 4-year old killed by a car. No amount of money could ever replace that loss, of course. It is indescribably tough on the family of the dead child, but it isn’t a cakewalk for the at-fault motorist either. Imagine the life-long guilt, shame, and remorse!

Syracuse Truck-on-Car Collision Discussed by Syracuse Car Accident Lawyer

August 14, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Wednesday, on Route 5 in Elbridge, a tractor trailer rear-ended a stopped car so hard that the car, a Kia, burst into flames, killing its driver and passenger. The Onondaga County deputy sheriff’s office says the tractor trailer left no skid marks at all, which means its driver did not apply the brakes. And what does that mean? That the driver did not even see the stopped car. And what does that mean? One of two things: Either he was sleeping, or he was distracted.

Most likely distracted. I have blogged about this before: distracted driving is become a HUGE problem on our roadways. More and more Central New York car accident lawsuits against distracted drivers are being filed. As a Syracuse car accident lawyer, the volume of car accidents cases I handle where the at-fault driver was distracted because he was using a cell phone, texting, and using some other electronic device has increased dramatically over the years.

Typically, distracted driving causes crossover accidents (the texting or dialing driver slowly drifts across the centerline without noticing) and rear-end collisions (the distracted driver does not notice that the vehicle in front of him has stopped). But distracted drivers also tend to run red lights, blow past stop signs, and run into utility poles or other roadside structures.

Syracuse New York Car Accident Accident Lawyer — “Texting While Driving Kills!”

August 7, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I have blogged about New York texting while driving car crash cases more than once. You can read my prior posts here and here. But this video — oh my god — if you can watch it more than once, you did better than I did. As painful as it is to watch, we should REQUIRE all drivers – especially inexperienced ones — to watch it repeatedly! I have saved the video so I can show it to my oldest son — Sebastian — when he starts driving (only three years from now!).