Motor Vehicle Accidents

Why Catching A Hit-And-Run Driver Isn’t Likely To Help Injured Cyclists, Pedestrians And Others Get More Compensation – Central NY Accident Lawer Explains.

June 19, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

A recent hit-and-run driver case in the Geneva NY area has some people wondering whether a downed cyclist or pedestrian will get more insurance compensation if the guilty hit-and-run driver is caught. The answer is probably not. Why?

First, in my experience representing Central New bicyclists and pedestrians in hit-and-run cases, hit-and-run drivers usually carry minimal insurance. They are usually irresponsible (that explains why they take off), have poor-paying jobs, and no real assets. All they can afford, or want, is the minimal coverage, which is $50,000 in “no-fault” and $25,000 in “bodily injury” (also called “liability”) insurance.

Since this is the minimum insurance, everyone who owns a car in New York has at least that, including injured cyclists or pedestrians who own a car, or whose family member he or she lives with owns one. The injured cyclist/pedestrian automatically gets at least this minimal coverage from their own (or family member’s) auto insurance if they are victims of a hit-and-run and the driver is not caught.

Auburn NY Injury Law Firm Chips Into Reward Pot For Info Leading To Arrest And Conviction Of Hit-And-Run Driver.

June 19, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

The other day I blogged about a car-on-bicycle collision in the Gorham-Rushville NY area. A hit-and-run driver knocked Kevin Royston, an avid cyclists, off his bike and into a ditch where a passing motorist spotted him and called for help. His leg, broken in four places, has now been partially amputated.

The Geneva Bicycle Center along with Kevin’s family and friends are now offering an $11,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the hit-and-run driver. Michaels Bersani Kalabanka now adds $1,000 to that pot of reward money, making the total $12,000. Why?

Some of Kevin’s friends feel that he will get better insurance coverage if the hit-and-run driver is caught, but they are probably wrong. The coverage will probably be the same. So that’s not why we are chipping in. (If you are interested in knowing why the coverage probably won’t change, click and read here).

Gorham NY Bicyclist Hit-And-Run Victim Is Entitled to Insurance Coverage

June 6, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

Just read in the Finger Lakes times that a bicyclist was rear-ended on Townline Road in Gorham, Ontario County yesterday evening. The at-fault driver sped off and left the cyclist down and injured. Unacceptable! What a jerk!

Deputies are asking anyone with information to call the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office at (585) 394-4560. If you have any, please do!

This accident represents my own personal biggest fear when riding; getting nailed from behind. I can’t see the motorists approaching me from behind, and have to just hope and pray they are not texting or otherwise distracted, and that they see me. To better my odds, I use a flashing red light on the rear of my bike, even in daytime, just to catch their eye, and, of course, bright clothing.

Why Are New York No-Fault Insurance Regulators Targeting “Crooked Doctors” Who Support No-Fault Claims?

May 21, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

I read this article in the Syracuse Post Standard the other day about how no-fault insurance regulators plan to start “kicking crooked doctors out of New York’s no-fault program“, referring to such doctors as “linchpins in fake-accident scams that cost insurers and policyholders hundreds of millions of dollars”.

As a Central and Syracuse New York auto accident lawyer, I have represented many, many auto accident victims over the years. And I have some questions for the regulators who are targeting no-fault victims’ doctors. The first is, “what planet do you live on?!”

I have never, in my career, known any auto accident victims’ doctors or other medical professionals to take part in “fake” no-fault claims. Instead, I have known no-fault insurance carriers to hire biased doctors to issue one-sided reports used to justify denying car-accident victims their medical treatment. These doctors butter their bread with a regular stream of income from the no-fault insurance industry, which asks them, time and time again, to give an opinion as to whether their insureds’ no-fault funded medical treatment is “reasonable and necessary”. With surprising (actually, not) regularity, these doctors, bought and paid for by the insurance company, find the insured’s medical treatment NOT necessary or reasonable. The no-fault carriers then use these reports to justify denying payment of any further medical treatment for their insured, who by the way, dutifully paid their no-fault insurance premiums for years.

Van Soaring Over Guardrail On New York’s Bronx River Parkway Is Deja Vu.

May 1, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

Last Sunday a van careered across several lanes of traffic on a highway overpass on the Bronx River Parkway before plunging off the side of the road and landing, upside down, in the Bronx Zoo, where all seven occupants, including three children, met their death. Yes, the van driver was surely at fault. He was probably speeding (68 in a 50 mile per hour zone), and he should not have lost control of his vehicle. But that doesn’t let the State of New York off the hook if it failed to design and maintain a safe roadway.

And it sure looks like New York State screwed up here. The van apparently hit a concrete curb on the right side of the roadway, which catapulted the van so high that it completely cleared, without touching, the four-foot high guardrail/fence.

This is totally unacceptable. What kind of engineering genius would put concrete curbs that act as launching pads for errant cars and send them flying over the guardrails? Make no sense at all.

Is A New York Driver Who Has A Seizure And Causes An Accident Liable For The Injuries And Death He May Cause?

March 25, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

Last week in Auburn, NY, on Lake Avenue, not too far from the New York personal injury and auto accident law firm of Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, P.C., a 24-year old driver had a seizure and crashed his car into a house porch. No one, except the driver, was injured, but what if they were? What if someone was on the porch and got hurt? Could that person sue the driver for the injuries?

You might think, “gee, it wasn’t really the kid’s fault that he had a seizure, so how can you blame him”? You might be right. Or not.

All 50 states require drivers with a seizure history to report this in their application for a driver’s license or license renewal. All 50 states deny drivers’ licenses to those who suffer frequent seizures that cannot be controlled by medication. All 50 states have rules regarding when and how a license may be acquired for those with seizures that can be controlled by medication.

New Year’s Resolution Idea From Central NY Car Accident Lawyer — Throw The Cell Phone Or Smart Phone In Your Trunk

December 26, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Having trouble finding a New Year’s resolution? Let me help. Forget about losing weight. Been there done that — or not!. That commitment usually lasts for only a few weeks. Here’s one you might be able to stick with, and that could save your life:

Promise yourself that, beginning January 1, you’ll start throwing your smart phone or cell phone in the TRUNK of your car whenever you drive. Don’t just commit to not using your smart or cell phone — as long as it’s sitting next to you and on, you will. If you don’t believe me, and think you can resist the temptation of answering the phone while you are driving, or of sneaking a peak at an incoming email or text message when you hear that little “beep” , take a look at this New York Times article, titled “U.S. Safety Board Urges Cellphone Ban for Drivers“. The article cites to several well-researched studies proving that smart phones and cell phones are every bit as addictive — and as dangerous to your health when you drive with them — as cigarettes.

Why can’t you resist the urge to answer, or to check that text message? Because you have a well-rooted, natural human urge to interact with other humans, especially when you are isolated and deprived of their company – as when you are alone behind the wheel.

Tow Trucker’s Funeral Raises Awareness Of Amended New York Vehicle & Traffic Law Protecting “Hazard Vehicles”.

November 27, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Yesterday, about one hundred tow-truck drivers formed a procession on East Molloy Road in Mattydale during the funeral of their brother tow-trucker, Todd Young, who was killed when a tractor trailer careened into him as he was attending to a broken down vehicle on the shoulder of the Thruway in Manlius, a mile east of Interstate 481. The fellow tow-truck drivers were thinking, no doubt, “but for the grace of god, there go I”. All of them, if they have been in the business for any significant amount of time, have had “close calls”; vehicles speeding by within feet, or even inches, of them as they dutifully attend to motorists in need on the shoulder of New York’s Thruway and other highways.

And that’s why a new law in New York, which takes effect January 1st, 2012, requires motorists to slow down and move over for “hazard vehicles”, which includes tow trucks. The law, called the Ambrose-Searles Move-Over Act, as it is currently written (read my prior blog) applies only to “emergency vehicles”, such as police cars. But the amended law will cover “hazard vehicles”, too, including tow trucks. Violators face fines of up to $150 for the first offense, $300 for a second offense and $450 for a third offense.

So, fellow motorist, join this Central NY car accident lawyer in my pledge to slow down, move over, and . . .

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Accidents

November 22, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Thanksgiving is this Central New York injury lawyer’s favorite holiday. Why? Because I love good food, and good company, but don’t like the complicated and expensive business of gift giving.

Although Thanksgiving is a holiday, unfortunately, it is not a holiday from accidents. In fact, there are more accidents on Thanksgiving than on other days. Primarily, car accidents. People drink too much, then they drive. Crash. Don’t do it!

Tis the season for slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents, too. Black Friday means packed stores, with shoppers tripping over objects left in aisles, or slipping on liquid spills.

Auburn New York Car Accident Lawyer Discusses Insurance Coverage Issues In Sennett NY Car Accident

October 31, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

News reports say that a driver carrying 3 passengers in Sennett crashed after swerving to avoid a deer. A 27-year-old Auburn female passenger was killed and four others were injured in the collision. The car struck a culvert, rolled over several times, and ejected three of the passengers. It seems that all of the passengers suffered fairly serious injuries.

These were young people — late teens and early twenties. As the father of several kids that age, I can say that the parents are living my worst nightmare.

Finding enough insurance to fully cover all the injuries will be a challenge. To have the best shot at getting sufficient coverage, the passengers or their families should promptly retain a New York car accident lawyer to fully represent their interests, which includes investigating all potential insurance coverage.