Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Syracuse New York Car Accident Lawyer: How a $100,000 Case Morphed Into A Million Dollar Case And Then Into A Multi-Million Dollar Case.

August 15, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

New York personal injury cases can take weird twists and turns, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. Here’s one that took a dramatic turn for the better, twice!

A client was badly, really badly, injured in an upstate New York car crash. But the at-fault driver (who was also the owner) of the car was insured for only $100,000, and all the evidence about him (where he lived, the type of vehicle he was driving, etc.) indicated he would have no significant assets beyond the insurance policy.

So I called my client into my office to give him the bad news: It looked like $100,000 was all that was available to compensate him for his terrible loss, including past and future medical expenses, a lifetime of lost wages, and a large dose of lifetime pain and suffering. You can’t get water from a rock, and this negligent driver looked like a really, really dry rock.

Central New York Injury Lawyer’s Blogging Gives Way To Preparing New York State Personal Injury Lecture

August 14, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

I haven’t had much time for blogging and I am sure that my many thousands (yea right!) of dedicated readers are wondering why.

Wonder no longer. Instead of blogging, I have been working on my review of this year’s New York case law regarding New York municipal and governmental liability. Every year I review and summarize new cases in this area of law for my fellow New York personal injury lawyers. Then, in the fall, I travel around the State (to Manhattan, Queens, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo) lecturing my fellow New York personal injury lawyers on the new developments in this area.

Some of you might be asking, “what is municipal and governmental liability“? Glad you asked.

NY Bus Accident Lawyer Update on Whitney Point, NY Tour Bus Accident

August 4, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Since my last post on this Cortland area tour bus accident, news sources indicate that 28 of the 30 passengers on the bus were from Poland, and that, fortunately, most appear to have suffered only minor injuries. Police say heavy rain was falling at the time the bus left the roadway, and that the driver appears to have been going too fast for such conditions.

As I said in my last post, this is the third tour bus accident this summer in Central New York. Enough already! Let’s be more careful everyone.

Under New York motor vehicle accident law, a bus driver, and his employer, are liable for injuries caused at least in part by speed that was excessive for the prevailing weather conditions, even if the bus’ speed was below the posted speed limit. Reasonable drivers slow down on wet roads. Some tour bus operators have been known to put concerns about keeping to a fixed schedule, and avoiding delays, ahead of safety. Safety should always come first.

Cortland NY Tour Bus Accident: NY Lawyer Comments

August 3, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

It’s an epidemic. For the 3rd time this summer, a tour bus has been involved in an accident in Central New York State. This time a tour bus overturned in Whitney Point, between Exits 6 and 7 southbound on Interstate 81, just south of Cortland, at about 7:15 p.m. There were 28 passengers on board. Numerous injuries are reported and some passengers are still trapped in the bus, which is lying on its roof with its wheels in the air. Our heart goes out to all the victims. May they all escape unscathed.

On July 22, a Canadian tour bus bound for NY City and a tractor trailer collided and erupted in fire in the eastbound lanes of the New York State Thruway, in the Town of Junius, Seneca County, between exists 41 and 42. That accident came on the heels of another deadly tour bus accident in nearby Steuben County less than a week before. That tour bus departed from New York City and was bound for Niagara Falls. That accident appears to have been caused in part by a blown out tire. I blogged about both those accidents here.

Tour bus accidents, like almost all motor vehicle accidents, are caused most frequently by driver error. Victims have recourse against the negligent driver and his or her employer. In the case of a bus driver error, the driver’s employer and bus owner are liable for any negligence on the part of the driver. In addition, under New York motor vehicle accident law, even if there is no negligence at all, the passengers are all entitled to “no-fault benefits”. This is an automatic benefit available to all passengers of up to $50,000 in medical expenses and lost wages. New York bus accident victims need to consult with a New York bus accident lawyer to process these benefits, and also to claim compensation beyond no-fault for their pain and suffering and other damages against the at-fault driver, employer or vehicle owner.

New York Playground Accident Lawyer Discusses Recent New York Times Article

August 1, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

I love the New York Times. Read it every day. That doesn’t mean I always agree with it. And here’s a great example.

A recent article by John Tierny explains that some playground “researchers” question the value of safety-first playgrounds. The researchers claim that, while it is “debatable” whether modern safety-minded playgrounds protect children from injuries, they hurt children by “stunting emotional development.” These academics believe that taking “risks”, such as the risk of falling from heights, is an important part of developing a healthy psyche. According to one of these head-in-the-clouds academics- a professor of Psychology – we should bring back the days of sky-high slides and jungle gyms, and see-saws too, because, while falls are common, “these rarely cause permanent damage”, and getting rid of those risks makes playgrounds boring and deprives kids of the opportunity to grow emotionally.

No offense Professor, but this sounds like bull_ _ _ _. And I have to wonder whether your research was funded by municipal insurers. Where’s your proof? The article doesn’t say.

Seneca Falls Personal Injury Lawer? Really?

July 31, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

With internet search engine optimization techniques, many New York personal injury lawyers from as far away as New York City pretend to be “Seneca County personal injury lawyers” or “Seneca Falls Accident Lawyers”. Just do a google search with those words and you will see what I mean. You can even do a search like “Waterloo personal injury lawyer” and those far away firms show up on page one.

Those far flung law firms are just fishing for cases all over the State. But they are not familiar with the Seneca County judges and juries. And that’s critical when trying a Seneca County personal injury or medical malpractice case. You have to know your audience. That’s why I would never post myself on the net as being a “New York City personal injury lawyer”. First, it wouldn’t be true. And second, personal injury and medical malpractice victims down there are best represented by lawyers from down there who “know the ropes” in New York City courts, and who understand jury mindsets in the City.

My law office is in Auburn, New York, and I live in Geneva New York, many of my personal injury and medical malpractice clients hail from Seneca Falls and Seneca County. Our law office handles many personal injury and medical malpractice cases in the Seneca County Courthouse. We know the judges, and they know and respect us. And we know the jury pool. And we are the only law firm near Seneca County who handles almost exclusively personal injury and medical malpractice cases. We don’t do real estate closings or transactional work or criminal defense. We do only one thing, personal injury and medical malpractice, because by doing only that one thing day in and day out every day, we get really, really good at it. And we do it on a regular basis in Seneca County, and that is why I can say without misleading anyone that we are Seneca County personal injury lawyers and “Seneca Falls personal injury lawyers.”

“Hey Mr. Tough Guy” — NY Injury Lawyer Explains What NOT To Do When You Get Injured In A NY Car Crash

July 30, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Hey Mr. tough guy. You had a really good New York car accident case after that car pummeled you from behind. It was all his fault. You were just minding your own business waiting for light to turn green when — bang! — that bozo ran right into you. Then your head snapped back and forth like a bobblehead doll gone bonkers.

A Central and Syracuse New York car accident lawyer like me could probably could have gotten that bozo’s insurer to pay you some good money for all you have been through — the pain, the pills, the physical therapy, the trigger point injections, and the future almost certain fusion surgery. But you blew it. How? You refused medical treatment at the scene, and then tried to tough it out for a month before you finally dragged your butt into a doctor’s office.

Now the insurance adjuster won’t pay your claim. This is how she is thinking: This guy’s neck pain can’t have been caused by the car accident because he never sought medical treatment, or complained about pain, until a month after the accident. If he were hurt in the accident, he would have immediately, or at least the next day, gone to the hospital. If I take this case to trial, I can probably get the jury to believe he decided to milk his neck pain for all its worth by saying it started right after the accident when in fact it did not start until a month later and had nothing to do with this car accident.

Central New York Bus Accident Lawyer On Seneca County New York Thruway Bus Accident

July 22, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

At about 1:30 a.m. last night, a Canadian tour bus and a tractor trailer collided and erupted in fire in the eastbound lanes of the New York State Thruway, in the Town of Junius, Seneca County, between exists 41 and 42. This is very close to where I live (Geneva) and work (Auburn). The tractor trailer driver was killed and about 35 of the 50 or so bus passengers were injured. Many of the victims were transported to area hospitals, including Geneva, Auburn and Newark-Wayne Hospitals, and some were brought to Rochester and Syracuse.

This tragedy comes on the heels of another deadly bus accident in Steuben County less than a week ago, which killed two and injured 35. That Steuben County accident appears to have been caused by a blown out tire. This most recent bus accident appears to have been caused by driver error.

Some folks might say that the Steuben County was no one’s fault — the tire just blew. Not so fast! From my experience as a New York bus accident lawyer, blown tires can be caused by, among other mistakes: (1) failure to inspect or change the tires on a regular basis; (2) placing improper tires on the bus; (3) a product defect for which the tire manufacturer can be held liable. Also, the driver may not have been trained to properly control the bus with a blown out tire, or may not have reacted properly.

Surveillance Camera Saves Another Central New York Supermarket Slip And Fall Case.

July 19, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

I have already blogged about how surveillance cameras have made slam dunk cases out of slam dunk losers. Here’s another example. Just this week I took in a doubtful slip-and-fall case. The plaintiff slipped and fell on some liquid of unknown origin in the produce section of a local supermarket. In the pre-surveillance-camera era, this case would have been a loser. Why? Because you have to show either that the supermarket created the spill, or knew about it and did nothing to fix it, or failed to notice it when it should have noticed it. And how do you prove that when it is just as likely that an inconsiderate shopper made the mess and did not report it a minute before the slip and fall? In the pre-surveillance camera era, I would have turned this case down.

But I did not turn it down, and for one reason: surveillance cameras. I knew there was likely to be a surveillance video that would tell the story of what happened. So I wrote to the supermarket, told them I was representing the slip-and-fall victim, and demanded that they preserve the video subject to legal sanctions if they did not,

Today I received a phone call from a supermarket insurance adjuster who informed me that the video shows a customer spilling a drink 15 minutes before the slip-and-fall, and then shows a supermarket floor inspector walk right past the spill without seeing it, and then shows my client turning a corner and slipping on the spill. It is a slam dunk because the supermarket employee was clearly negligent in performing his floor inspection, which caused him to overlook the obvious spill, and my client was blameless because she could not have noticed the spill before she turned the corner.

New York Injury Lawyer Discusses Salem New York House Explosion

July 14, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Three are dead and several injured, including a baby, in this evening’s two-level house explosion in Salem, NY,

From my experience handling propane and gas injury cases, I can tell you this has all the hallmarks of a propane explosion: An extremely violent explosion completely demolishing the home, debris blown hundreds of feet out from the epicenter, insulation hanging from trees, shingles and other debris strewn everywhere, mattresses, too. Even cinder blocks are blown far from where walls once stood.

One of the survivors, a renter, said he had called his landlord about a propane leak earlier in the day. That probably means that he smelled the leak. If he did, he should not only have called his landlord, but he should also have gotten out of the house until the leak was fixed, and should have warned others to get out, too.