Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Central NY Personal Injury Lawyer Does Triathlon

July 12, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

If you are a New York personal injury lawyer like me, you need your stress relief. From my observations, the two most popular ways for litigation lawyers to “de-stress” are (1) exercise and (2) drink. I have chosen the first (although I also occasionally engage in the second, in moderation). When I work out hard, I can feel the stress peeling away, like when you peel back the layers of an onion.

Mostly I run, bike and swim, though my knees are giving out and so I do a lot less running than before. And every year I do at least one short triathlon (swim-bike-run race). This year is no exception. Saturday is my annual Geneva NY “Musselman” triathlon.

My goal is to beat my time from last year. I am racing only against myself. Can I win? In the glass-half-empty department: (1) I’m a year older, (2) low back pain, and (3) knee issues sabotaged my run-training. In the glass-have-full department: (1) in better swim shape, (2) faster bike, and (3) down 7 pounds or so. So it’s a toss-up. In the why-the-hell-do-I-care department, all I can tell you is, good question!

Cell Phone Records Help New York Car Accident Lawyers Prove Their Case

July 10, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

The Syracuse Post Standard reports that the top 5 cell phone carriers in the U.S. receive a total of 1.3 million requests from law enforcement agencies for personal and location data. Cell phones have built in GPS tracking devices that record the cell phone’s whereabouts. Police use of cell phone data is now widespread, even among small, local police departments.

What the Post Standard article does not say is that New York car accident lawyers like me also use cell phone data in our cases. Here’s how:

Say I have a car accident case where the defendant driver, at deposition, tells me he was not at all distracted when he entered an intersection against a stop sign and collided into my client’s car. Let’s say he claims my client “came out of nowhere” and therefore “must have been speeding”. My next question? “Sir, do you have a cell phone” (answer: yes). My next question: “were you using it at the time of the collision or just before the collision” (Answer: “no”). Next questions, “what carrier do you use”, and “what is the phone number”.

Central NY Injury Lawyer Agrees With Tea Party Position On The Right to A Civil Jury Trial In Personal Injury Cases

July 9, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

I never knew I was a Tea Party kind-a-guy, but in at least one respect, I am. I found this post, titled “A Hollow Liberty“, on the website for “Tea Party Nation“. I agree 100% with it!

The article warns that Mitt Romney and other Republicans are planning an assault on our sacrosanct Seventh Amendment constitutional rights. The Seventh Amendment is the one that guaranties us the right to a civil jury trial.

To the Tea Party’s chagrin, Mitt Romney wants to impose Federal Tort Reform throughout the nation. Tort Reform of any kind has only one true purpose; to sap the life out of our constitutional right to a civil jury trial for personal injury claims brought against careless corporations, drunk drivers, dangerous doctors, and a host of other wrongdoers.

Lessons To Be Learned From Recent NY Boating Accidents, By Central NY Boating Accident Lawyer

July 8, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

Two recent tragic New York boating accidents have me blogging about boating safety again.

First, a cabin cruiser carrying 27 passengers capsized off Long Island on July 4th, killing three children. The boat, traveling in darkness, was carrying an extended family from watching a fireworks display near Oyster Bay. On the trip home, another boat’s wake apparently hit it, causing it to suddenly flip. Some witnesses from other boats say the boat took a sharp left turn before it flipped, so the steering might have been a cause, too.

But the boat may also have been overloaded. The problem with boats this size is that they usually don’t have any signage indicating a passenger limit. There is a general rule of thumb, though, for figuring out how many passengers a boat can handle: multiply the boat’s length by its width and divide by 15. It is not yet clear whether this boat was “overloaded” by that calculation, but 27 people on this 36-foot boat does seem excessive.

Big Appellate Win For Injured Undocumented Migrant Farm Workers By Central New York Injury Lawyer.

June 23, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

Should undocumented Mexican and Guatemalan farm workers who cross our U.S. border illegally, work in New York illegally, then get seriously injured through the negligence of others, then file a personal injury lawsuit in New York against those others, then go back home because they can no longer work or afford to live here while they await their trial date, and then can’t get visas to get back to the U.S. for their depositions or trial, be allowed to give video-taped deposition and trial testimony from their home countries? After all, the general rule is that a plaintiff must present him or herself for depositions and trial testimony in New York where they filed the lawsuit. But still, should their cases be dismissed for failing to appear in New York when they can’t get visas to get back here, even if the visas were denied because they came here illegally to begin with?

This was the question I recently presented to a trial judge, and then to an appellate court. I argued that a “balancing of the scales of justice” required the court to allow the testimony of my injured migrant farm workers by video-conferencing from abroad. I argued that, on one side of the scale of justice, if testimony was allowed to be taken from abroad, both plaintiffs and defendants would have their day in “court”, sort of, and justice would be served, although there would be quite a bit of inconvenience to the parties and the Court, and of course it would be better to have the plaintiffs testify in person before the jury. On the other side of the scale, if the Court required plaintiffs to appear physically in Court in New York for depositions and trial, their claims would be dismissed when they failed to show up, no trial would be had, and no justice would be done.

In other words, on the one hand, there was a less-than-perfect forum for justice, but a satisfactory one nonetheless, and on the other, there is no justice at all.

What Does The Sandusky Guilty Verdict Mean For Child Sex Abuse Lawsuits And Volunteer Work With Children?.

June 23, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

Yesterday Jerry Sandusky was convicted of sexual abusing 10 boys. He will almost certainly spend the rest of his life in jail. Now comes the civil lawsuits for compensation for the victims. Sandusky will get sued, sure he will, but so will Penn State.

Will Penn State be held liable? In Pennsylvania as in New York, an employer is not automatically liable for sex abuse by its employees. Generally the victims must prove the employer knew or should have known what was going on, or else failed to screen new hires properly. Here Penn State ‘s goose is cooked. It knew way too much way too early and did way too little to stop it. You don’t have to have a crystal ball to accurately predict that Penn State will end up paying out millions of dollars to the victims. And rightfully so.

Maybe this very publicized case will dissuade other pedophiles from sexually abusing children. But I doubt it. Even those who are caught aren’t usually dissuaded from doing it again. Convicted pedophiles have an extremely high recidivist rate, which is why a sex offender public registry exists, and why, under New York’s Meagan’s law, they are not allowed to live within 2,000 feet of a school while on parole.

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).

“Come On Baby Light My Fire . . . “

June 15, 2012 | by Michael Bersani

The title of this blog post is from the 70’s song “Light My Fire” by the Doors, a song that propelled the group to rock & roll fame. I don’t think Jim Morison wrote that song from a hospital bed. But if he had, he might have found a surgeon willing to accommodate him.

Believe it or not, setting a patient on fire during surgery is not so uncommon. In fact, it is so not-uncommon that the day before yesterday the FDA hosted a webinar titled, “Practical Advice for Preventing Surgical Fires–Safety Strategies from the Front Lines”. The program description states that “there are an estimated 550 to 650 surgical fires per year in operating rooms in the U.S.” What usually happens is that either an alcohol-based antiseptic or an oxygen supply is ignited when contacted by an electrical cauterizing or scalpel device. The sad thing is that these fires and the resulting injuries (which are often gruesome) are entirely preventable.

I blogged several weeks ago about a Syracuse NY medical malpractice case where the patient caught fire during a routine c-section. Incredibly, the hospital and doctor responsible admitted “responsibility” for the fire while denying “liability” to the patient (go figure . . .)

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.