Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Tully High School Roof Repairman Who Fell From Roof Most Likely Has Solid Labor Law Case Against School District

September 2, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

This story just kills me. The Syracuse Post Standard reports that a construction worker repairing the roof of Tully High School fell from the roof this morning while members of the high school’s girls cross-country team stood by and witnessed it. I feel terrible for the injured worker, but also for those poor kids who witnessed the tragedy.

And it was an avoidable tragedy. The law was not followed. I’ll tell you more about that later, but first let me say that, in my experience as a Syracuse construction work accident lawyer, most fallen roofer injuries are serious, and life-long. Because the injuries from falls are so serious, New York has a special law to protect construction workers on rooftops and scaffolds. It’s called Labor Law 240, or “the scaffold law”.

Tully School District will almost certainly be held liable to the fallen roof-repair man. Why? Because under New York Labor Law 240, the owner of a building is, in almost all circumstances, strictly liable for all worker falls from the building’s roof. The roof repair man should have been tied up with a lanyard or some other safety device, and apparently he was not. This is, generally, a clear cut violation of Labor Law 240.

Recent Syracuse Truck Accident Caused By Faulty Brakes, Or Course.

September 1, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

The tractor trailer driver knew he was in trouble. He was blearing his horn as his tractor trailer careened out of control down the West Seneca Turnpike hill the other day in Syracuse. The brakes on the truck had failed. Six vehicle collisions later, three people were taken to the Community General and Upstate University hospitals with, fortunately, non-life threatening injuries.

Too many tractor trailer air-brake failures have taken too many lives. Faulty brakes contribute to about a third of all truck crashes in the United States. Very few trucks on the road are checked for brakes as well or as often as they should be. Brake inspections require time and labor, and trucking companies often choose not to spend the time and money doing them.

In other words, truckers and trucking companies cut corners to reap bigger profits, putting all of us at risk.

Pit Bull Dog Attacks; Will Victims Get Compensation?

August 31, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Police say that two pit bulls chased and bit a mail deliverer today in Schenectady. But that’s not big news. Dogs attack postal workers somewhere everyday. What gives this story more “bite” is that three pit bulls attached a woman in the same City, Schenectady, earlier in the week. Pit bulls are clearly “in the pits” in Schenectady these days.

For the sake of both these victims of dog attacks, I hope the dog owners’ homeowners’ insurance policies do not contain the “dog exclusion” I blogged about the other day. Some insurance policies exclude coverage only for aggressive breeds such as pit bulls, others exclude coverage for all dogs, but better homeowners’ policies don’t exclude dogs at all.

Take it from me, a New York dog bite lawyer. Dog exclusions are evil! They leave dog bite victims with no insurance money to compensate them for their medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. The dog bite victim then has only two options: walk away and lick his or her wounds without the benefit of any compensation, or else sue the dog owner for compensation from his or her personal assets.

Syracuse NY Personal Injury Lawyer Likes State Fair Exhibit On Common Hazards

August 28, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Although I haven’t been to the New York State Fair yet this year, I read in the Syracuse Post Standard about an interesting – at least for a Syracuse New York personal injury lawyer like myself- exhibit. It’s called “Safety Town“, a creation of the New York State Office of Fire Protection. Check it out in the Science & Industry Building.

It consists of four interactive dioramas with push buttons that illuminate common hazards created by careless living. For example, the diorama “the House of Hazards” shows true-to-life tableaus of common household dangers caused by unsafe choices:; a hot iron teeters dangerously on top of the refrigerator about to fall on small child’s head; a man sleeps with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth; a girl plays with matches in a closet; candles are burning next to curtains blowing in the wind; and paper items are placed on a hot stove where food cooks unattended.

Since this exhibit is put on by firefighters, it emphasizes fire hazards, but other common negligence-created dangers are also represented (Example: Dad is about to step on a stray roller skate). In fact, the exhibit is chock full of all kinds of negligence-created hazards. It seems like an amusing cascade of accidents-waiting-to happen.

Beware Of Dog (Exclusion): Central And Syracuse NY Personal Injury Lawyer Explains.

August 24, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Homeowners’ Insurance carriers are in the dog house, at least in my book. Here’s why: In the past few years, in greater and greater numbers, homeowners’ insurance carriers are, unbeknownst to their insureds, slipping “dog exclusions” into their insurance policies. They exclude coverage for any injury caused by dogs, including, of course, dog bites.

Me and my New York dog bite lawyer brethren first started seeing dog bite exclusions pop up in homeowners’ insurance policies a few years ago. At first, they excluded only certain breeds of dogs, those deemed especially aggressive such as pit bulls. But more and more we are seeing outright exclusions for all dogs, without regard to the breed. In other words, Insurance companies are becoming equal opportunity dog excluders.

Why is this problem? Actually, it’s a dog-gone rip off. You see, one-third of all injury claims brought against homeowners are for dog bites. But when they exclude coverage for dog bites, they don’t offer you a 1/3 discount. In fact, they give you no discount at all. So your insurance carrier is charging you the same amount for 2/3 of the coverage. Quite a good deal for them. Hey — it’s a dog-eat-dog world I guess.

Failed Metal-On-Metal Hip Replacements May Be Basis Of New York Product Liability cases

August 23, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

All metal hip implants, the newest line of artificial hips, are failing all over the U.S., the New York Times reported today. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has received more than 5,000 complaints since January about the “metal-on-metal” implants (both the artificial ball and cup are made of metal). As a result, many recipients of all-metal hips must undergo replacement surgery after only a few years (artificial hips should last about 15). Some patients have suffered injuries from minute pieces of chromium and cobalt shedding from the metal hips. In such cases pain, rashes and inflammation are common.

Hip replacement has come to be one of the most widely performed medical procedures in the United States. As a result, there are an estimated 500,000 patients who received all-metal replacement hips. Many of these hips were sold without testing in patients.

Because of the high rate of failure of the metal-on-metal hips, most surgeons are going back to the old metal-and-plastic ones.

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Finishes Year’s Review Of New Cases Involving New York Governmental And Municipal Liability

August 22, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Finally, I’m done! I have finished preparing my 2010-2011 review of all New York State municipal and government liability cases. I am ready to go “on tour” around the State educating other New York personal injury lawyers about the new case law on suing New York State, cities, counties, villages, towns, school districts, public authorities, and other governmental entities for personal injuries. I started this project back in early July, and just now finished. This is my fourth consecutive year preparing the case review. I can say, without exaggeration, that I am probably the only New York personal injury lawyer, or even the only lawyer — or the only person — to have read almost every New York case on governmental liability for personal injuries for the last four years!

Why is that such a big deal? Well, it really isn’t – except for one thing: It gives me an edge on analyzing and preparing New York personal injury cases against New York State and its cities, counties, villages, towns, school districts, public authorities, and other such entities.

When I was in college, a professor once defined a “generalist” as someone who knew nothing about everything, and a “specialist” as someone who knew everything about nothing. Well, I guess I am a “specialist” in the very narrow field of New York governmental and municipal liability. Fortunately, I also know quite a bit about other areas of New York injury law, including New York car accidents, construction injuries, defective product cases, just to name a few. I guess that makes me a “generalist”, too. Bottom line: I am a generalist and a specialist! But I haven’t quite figured out whether that makes me a generalized specialist or a specialized generalist . . .

Upstate NY Bike Accident Lawyer On Anti-Bicyclist Bias

August 21, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

I read an interesting article in the New York Times today titled, “A new Breed of Lawyers Focuses on Bicyclists’ Rights.” The article focuses on a group of NY City Bicycle lawyers who are fighting a perceived NYPD prejudice against City cyclists. Cops have issued tickets to cyclists for not keeping right, which is the law in New York State generally, but not in New York City. Cyclists are also getting a lot of tickets for moving out of the designated bike lanes, even when they need to move out of the lane to avoid obstacles.

None of this really applies much to what I do as a Central and Syracuse New York bike accident lawyer, except for one thing: In a car-on-bicycle collision, I believe police tend to “blame the cyclist” more often than not, up here as well as down there. Many motorists, and police officers, feel deep down that cyclists are merely “in the way” of traffic, and should be able to avoid motorists.

Most people harbor this prejudice against cyclists because they aren’t cyclists, but motorists. As motorists themselves, people generally, and cops particularly, tend to side with motorists to the detriment of cyclists.

Ontario County New York Car Accident Lawyer Explains How Insurance Works For Victims Of Recent Gorham NY Auto Crash

August 16, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Five people were injured yesterday afternoon when a car hit a utility pole in Gorham, Ontario County. The accident apparently happened like this: A southbound car carrying 4 passengers on Route 245 tried to pass a vehicle, didn’t see the oncoming vehicle until it was too late, and then swerved off the road to avoid a collision, striking the utility pole. Sadly, several of the victims are children.

Mistakes happen, and this driver clearly made a mistake by attempting to pass when it was unsafe to do so. Fortunately, New York car accident laws help innocent victims of careless driving recover for their injuries. And the insurance carrier for the driver (and owner) of the passing car will almost certainly be held financially responsible for this unfortunate accident.

What rights do the passengers have?

Why This Central New York Personal Injury Lawyer Insists That His Clients Not Speak To Anyone About The Accident Or The Case Without His Consent.

August 16, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Here at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, our standard personal injury retainer agreement contains a phrase that basically tells the client, “shut up” (please). Clients are not supposed to speak with anyone about the case or the accident without our consent. Why?

First, it’s pretty obvious why you should not speak to the defendant or the insurance adjuster. After all, their interests are adverse to yours. But what about others? What about that friendly neighbor of yours? Why shouldn’t you talk to him about your New York personal injury case?

Let’s say, for example, you tell your neighbor all about how your accident happened and all about your medical treatment since the accident. The insurance company thinks you’re faking or exaggerating, so they hire an investigator to snoop around the neighborhood. By that time your neighbor is mad at you for having called the police when he kept throwing loud parties. Now your neighbor “remembers” you told him the accident was all your fault, and you are not really hurt anyway. And that’s what he tells the investigator.