Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

M&S Founding Lawyer Lee Michaels Takes Home His Syracuse Alum Award

October 31, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

We blogged a few weeks ago about Lee Michaels, the firm’s founding member, getting tapped for a big award from his alma matter, Syracuse University College of Law. Well, the ceremony took place on the evening of October 20 in the beautiful Dineen Hall. Above are a few of our favorite pictures. The top left shows Lee being bestowed with the award. Lee was one of only five award recipients. The top photo on the right shows three of the other recipients standing with Lee. Starting from left to right in the photo above, are: Laura H. Harshbarger, a labor and employment lawyer at the law firm of Bond Schoeneck & King; Frank W. Ryan, US Chair of DLA Piper’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice; the Honorable Jonathan M. Feldman (a United States Magistrate judge), and our Lee Michaels. The other recipient was the Honorable Theodore A. McKee, a judge sitting on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (who was not present for the ceremony and thus does not appear in the photo).

The final photo shows Lee lined up with some friends for a photo op at the party that followed. From left to right are: Anas Saleh, Justin St. Louis, Annie Millar, and Tom DeBernardis, all former students Lee taught; Marnin Michaels (lee’s nephew and also an SU Law alum), Mike Bersani (CNY Injury Law blogger and Lee’s partner).

A good time was had by all! The food (drink!) and company were great. It was an amazing way to celebrate some high achieving SU Law grads. Congrats once again to our own Lee Michaels!

Legal Remedies For Victims Of Sexual Assault By The Rich And Famous (And By The Not Rich And Famous).

October 23, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

What 3 things do Bill O’Reilly, Roger Ailes, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein all have in common? Answer: They are (1) rich (2) powerful (3) sex offenders. Some might want to add Donald Trump or Bill Clinton to the list, but let’s stay clear of politics.

The truth is that many powerful men are sexual predators. But so too are many not-powerful men. In fact, poor men may be even more prone to committing sexual assaults. That’s because, in the words of Janice Joplin, “when you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose”. The guys at the top of society’s pyramid have a lot to lose. It’s a long fall to the bottom. The guy who is already down low has nowhere to fall.

Then again, maybe sexual assaults have nothing to do with money. When I went to college in the 70’s many feminists embraced this adage: “All men are pigs”. I think this a very unfair statement. I mean unfair to pigs. As far as I know, pigs don’t rape and harass their mates.

Can Ride-Sharing Companies Like Uber Be Sued When Their Drivers Sexually Assault Uber Users?

October 5, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

It was party time at Syracuse University last weekend. (Wait – isn’t every weekend party time at SU?) Anyway, a female student – one of many — was out imbibing, frolicking, and doing whatever young party-goers do these days, until 3:00 a.m. Then she needed a ride to her dorm. She hit an app on her smart phone to hail an Uber. An Uber driver showed up. She asked the male driver to take her to her dorm.

The driver had other ideas. Instead, he took her to an empty parking lot. He grabbed her and began to force his hand up her skirt. Fortunately, she escaped before the driver could “have his way” with her.

Assume the worst. Assume the student had been the victim of a full-fledged sexual assault. Could she successfully sue Uber?

Syracuse University College of Law to Honor Michaels Bersani Kalabanka Founder and President Lee Michaels

October 3, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

Lee Michaels is the senior attorney here at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka. He was personally responsible for hiring and grooming the rest of us. To the other lawyers at our firm, he has been a mentor, teacher, friend, and role model. It’s good to know that others appreciate Lee, too.

Syracuse University’s College of Law is going to bestow upon him a great honor this October 20. You can read all about it on the Syracuse University College of Law website. Lee’s list of achievements is too long to include here, but you can check it out on that website. Suffice it to say Lee was a top law student at Syracuse, then because a top personal injury lawyer in the Syracuse area, and a top teacher of trial practice at the Syracuse College of Law, and has been a terrific community leader in many capacities.

As I said before, Lee has been a great mentor, teacher and friend to all of us here at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka. We are not alone. One of Lee’s former students (Lee has been teaching Trial Practice as an adjunct at the law school for almost three decades) had this to say about Lee on the College of Law website:

Lawsuit against Yankee Stadium Will Strike Out: Young Yankee Fan Hit in Face by Foul Ball Has No Case.

October 2, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

A week or so ago, at Yankee Stadium, a foul ball flew off Todd Frazier’s bat at 110 miles per hour and clocked a toddler in the face. She was seated in the stands behind the third-base dugout with her grandpa. It hit her face so hard that players and fans alike grasped. The game stopped. It was a horrible scene. This video shows only the reaction of the players, not the impact itself:

https://content.jwplatform.com/previews/JaC120n5?exp=1507005600&sig=71d08f6428489e732620cbc1a76f7e67

When I saw this video, my first thought, like everyone else’s, was, “oh my god, I hope she’ll be all right, that poor girl!”. My second thought was less emotional and more lawyerly: “can the Stadium be held liable”? But then, before I had even finished that second thought, my third thought overtook it: “No, it can’t be held liable”.

Central NY Personal Injury Lawyer On Tour Again!

October 1, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

For the tenth straight year I am traveling around the great State of New York this fall to deliver my annual update on New York personal injury law to my fellow New York personal injury lawyers. As always, my topic is governmental liability for personal injuries and wrongful death. In other words, I am explaining to other New York injury lawyers how to hold the New York State and its counties, school districts, villages, towns, and other “public corporations”, liable for carelessly causing injuries and death. I have already knocked off Albany and Syracuse, and will be hitting Buffalo and Rochester in the weeks ahead.

I am deeply honored that the New York State Trial Lawyers Academy keeps inviting me back year after year to impart whatever wisdom I have on this topic to my brethren of the Bar.

Although my lecture tour is only once a year, I field calls from other lawyers on this topic all year long. That’s because New York lawyers who have read my articles or have attended my lectures consider me a “expert” in this area. They want to “pick my brain” to help them with cases they have against New York governmental entities.

Michaels Bersani Kalabanka Again Named One of Top Personal Injury Law Firms in USA

August 15, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

Once gain, all four of the lawyers here at Auburn New York’s premier personal injury and medical malpractice law firm have been selected for the latest edition (2018) of the prestigious lawyer directory, “Best Lawyers in America”. They have been selected for both the “personal injury” and “product liability” litigation categories.

According to the publishers of “Best Lawyers in America”, inclusion in Best Lawyers is “based entirely on peer-review and employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services.” Best Lawyers asks voters – which consist only of other lawyers and judges who are named Best Lawyers – the question: “If you were unable to take a case yourself, how likely would you be to refer it to this nominee?”

The American Lawyer magazine – one of the nation’s preeminent law magazines – describes the Best Lawyers directory as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

New York State Senate Tries to Fix a Dangerous Loophole in Your Auto Insurance. You Should, Too!

August 10, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

There is likely a big problem with your auto insurance. So big, so problematic, that our legislature is attempting to fix it. But you can fix your insurance right now, with just a phone call.

But before you make that call, you have to understand the problem and a few things about New York auto insurance.

Here’s the problem: The minimal auto liability insurance allowable in New York pays out a maximum of only $25,000 per injured person and $50,000 collectively for all persons injured through the negligence of the vehicle’s driver. That’s woefully inadequate if you are struck by an at-fault driver and you or your passengers suffer long-term disabling injuries that prevent you or them from working.

The Difference between Moral and Legal Duty Demonstrated: No Duty to Rescue Drowning Man

August 6, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

Seeking rescue.

A few weeks ago, a group of Florida teens saw a disabled man drowning in a local pond. Not only did they fail to take any steps to rescue him or call for help, they instead taunted, mocked, and ridiculed him. How do we know? They filmed it and posted it online (warning, it is disturbing to watch and hear)

Can A Bum Tortilla Chip Give You A Stroke? Let Someone Else Find Out in Court, Not Me!

July 19, 2017 | by Michael Bersani

A delicious home made salsa pico de gallo with tomato, red onion, lime, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper.

People often ask me, “Mike, what kinds of NY personal injury cases do you take”? My answer is simple: Cases I can win. I don’t mind if they are tough to win, but at least they must be winnable. I want to help my clients, and taking an unwinnable case does the client no favor. Tough for me to get paid on unwinnable cases, too, since I operate almost exclusively on a contingency fee basis.

Funny that no one ever asks me what kind of cases I don’t take. Glad you asked. I just read about a case that is the poster child for a case I would not take: A Texas entrepreneur, Henry Riojas, recently sued a tortilla manufacturer claiming bad tortilla chips caused him to have a stroke.