Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

New York Motorcycle Lawyer Must Exercise Special Care In Picking a Jury

May 16, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

It was a typical car-on-motorcycle collision, like so many the Central and Syracuse New York motorcycle lawyers of Michaels Bersani Kalabanka have handled over the years. The car operator had a stop sign, and the biker did not. But, as often happens, the car driver did not notice the motorcyclist, and left the stop sign, violating the biker’s right of way. Crash!

I am preparing for my Central New York motorcycle injury trial soon. And in motorcycle injury cases, picking a fair jury is both difficult and crucial. Why? Because many jurors want to blame the motorcycle rider for his injuries merely because he was riding a motorcycle.

The remedy for this bias? Aggressive “voir dire”. What’s that? That’s where the lawyers get to ask prospective jurors questions to find out if they can be fair. I will ask lots of questions designed to ferret out hidden biases against motorcycles and bikers. At the same time, I will be educating the prospective jurors that New York motor vehicle accident law does not allow them to blame the biker for being on a motorcycle. They must blame only the driver who violated the rules of the road, and in this case, that was the car driver.

Syracuse New York Construction Accident Lawyer Looks Up And Sees Labor Laws Being Broken!

May 15, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Take a drive around Central New York in this nice springtime weather and you’ll probably see workers up on ladders and roofs, repairing roofs, gutters or doing other types of construction work. But you probably don’t look at construction work the same way I do. As a Syracuse New York construction accident lawyer, I see laws being broken! The workers are not breaking the law, but the contractors who hire them and the owners of the buildings they are working on are.

Under New York’s Labor Law and Federal law (OSHA), construction workers working from heights are required to be tied up with a full-body harness attached to a shock-absorbing lanyard or a retractable lifeline. A lanyard or lifeline stops the worker from hitting the ground – instead his fall is arrested on the way down. And because lanyards and lifelines are made to absorb shock, the gravitational forces on the body are minimized. The full-body harness then distributes the remaining gravitational forces of the fall throughout the entire body so as minimize the risk of strain or injury to any part of the body.

The contractor and owner of the building are also supposed to ensure that the ladders workers use to get up to the heights they are working from are tied down, both at the bottom and the top.

Seneca Falls Medical Malpractice Lawyer’s Trial Hits The Press

May 8, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Here at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, we are pretty down to earth and modest. We don’t go around calling the press about our Central and Syracuse New York personal injury or medical malpractice settlements or verdicts, although we feel they are pretty impressive. You can see some of them here.

Most of our clients prefer to keep a low profile, and so do we. All they want is justice, not fame . Same with us.

But the press has a mind of its own. For instance, one of my partners, Lee Michaels, started a Seneca Falls medical malpractice trial this past Monday. Lee sued, on behalf of the window of a medical malpractice victim, two Rochester Neurosurgeons. On Tuesday, a front-page article appeared in the Geneva Finger Lakes Times about the trial. No one at our office called the press or let them know Lee was starting a serious medical malpractice trial in Seneca Falls. None of us thought this was newsworthy. It is just one of many Central New York medical malpractice cases that go to trial every year.

Central and Syracuse NY Car & Bicycle Accident Lawyer Breaks The Law (SSSHHHH!)

May 7, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

I have a confession to make. I’m a law breaker. Wait, wait! Before you turn me in, let me explain!

You see, New York bicycle law requires cyclists to follow the same rules of the road as cars and other vehicles. That means riding on the right side of the road. But some of those country roads out here around Geneva, NY, where I live, and Auburn, NY, where I work, have no paved shoulders. That means you have to ride on that white line (called the “fog line”) that delineates the edge of the highway. And that in turn means that cars passing me from behind at 55 miles per hour come too close for comfort. If they see me, they usually mosey on over to the left a bit. But what if they don’t see me because their eyes are glued to their cell phone? And what if they veer off just a little to the right . . .?

Well, excuse me for not wanting to end my life as a hood ornament.

How To Handle Your Traffic Ticket If You Are Injured And Claim Another Driver Was At Fault (Part II)

May 4, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

After I posted my last blog, entitled, How Should I Handle My NY Traffic Violation Ticket When I Was Injured In a Car Accident, fellow New York personal injury lawyer Christina Sonsire, of the Ziff Law Firm in Elmira, New York, emailed me. She formerly worked as an assistant district attorney, so she knows criminal law, whereas I, admittedly, do not. Christina, a fine New York personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, brought to my attention that my advice might have been a bit misguided. She informed me that, at least in some counties in New York, not showing up for a traffic violation trial might not result in a conviction, but rather the judge will “scoff” you, which could be worse than a mere conviction. To quote, Christina:

“Instead, the court will scoff her license when she does not show. The scoff will result in a suspension of her driver’s license, setting her up for a misdemeanor if she drives and is caught”.

In the case I blogged about, the accused doesn’t drive, so she need not worry about this. But as a general matter, I don’t think it is a good idea to “scoff” a judge! Therefore, my advice to an injured victim of a car accident who is contemplating a claim against a negligent driver, but who was also ticketed for a traffic violation related to the car accident, would probably be to show up for traffic court trial and “take the fifth” (refuse to testify)! That way you don’t “scoff” the judge by failing to appear, you don’t plead guilty to a violation (which could hurt your personal injury case) and you don’t give testimony which could come back to haunt you in your personal injury case. Instead, you are merely convicted of a traffic violation. And that won’t be admissible as evidence in your personal injury case. Although paying the fine, and taking the points on your license, might hurt, it might be worth the price of preserving your personal injury case intact, especially if you are very hurt.

How Should I Handle my NY Traffic Violation Ticket When I Was Injured In a Car Accident?

May 2, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

A New York motor vehicle accident case I recently handled illustrates how traffic court and New York motor vehicle injury law intersect. Here’s the scenario: A car strikes a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Pedestrian is hurt. The cop, however, faults the pedestrian, and tickets her for leaving the curb without looking when the car was already too close. Normally the pedestrian has the right of way in a crosswalk, but not when she leaves the curb when the car to close to avoid her (New York Vehicle & Traffic Law 1151[2]).

It is surprising that the cop tickets the pedestrian because she was actually quite a ways out into the crosswalk when she was struck, and the car driver admitted she had been distracted looking to the side of the road at another pedestrian just before she struck the pedestrian in the crosswalk.

The pedestrian has a court date on the crosswalk violation. If convicted of the violation, she will get a fine of, at most, $270. If you were the injured pedestrian’s New York personal injury lawyer, what would you advise her to do? Three options: (1) go to traffic court and tell her story so that she doesn’t get convicted of the traffic violation; or (2) bargain with the D.A. to plead guilty to some lesser charge to reduce the fine; or (3) just don’t show up to court and let them convict her.

Motorcyclists In Syracuse And Central New York Can Pray And Use Common Sense To Avoid Accidents

May 1, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Now that spring is finally here, motorcycles are, too. This Syracuse and Central New York motorcycle accident lawyer knows — I’ve already gotten a few calls about motorcycle accidents.

If you ride a bike, maybe God can keep you safe. It seems that many bikers think so. On April 27, the American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) revved up the season with the traditional “Blessing of the Bikes” at St. Daniel’s Church in Lyncourt. With over 1,500 central New York motorcyclists in attendance, Monsigner Eugene Yennock took about an hour to bless each bike.

ABATE does good work – they promote bike safety in Syracuse and Central New York and beyond, and they sponsor the Blessing-of-the-Bikes ceremony, too. But you don’t need divine intervention to avoid motorcycle accidents.

Surveillance Cameras Are A Godsend To New York Personal Injury Lawyers

April 26, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Surveillance cameras are a game-changer in personal injury litigation. I blogged about this before, but another recent example illustrates this point.

A client slips and falls in the vestibule entrance of a local movie house. It had been raining, and movie-goers had been dragging in the rain on their feet. The employees had forgotten to lay out the rectangular carpets to absorb the water as they were required to do by company policy. But the insurance adjuster handling the claim tells me it was all my client’s fault because she “rushed” into the vestibule. I formally requested that any surveillance videos of the incident be preserved as evidence. After I sue the movie house (because the insurance carrier refused to pay), I demand the video. It shows my client walking at a normal pace and then sliding for about a foot before finally tumbling to the floor. That floor was like an ice-skating rink, and I have it on video to prove it.

Before the era of surveillance cameras (and they are everywhere now – you would be surprised just where), my client might have lost this case — it was just her word against theirs. Now it is her word, and a surveillance video tape, against theirs.

Central And Syracuse New York Accident Lawyer On Swimming Pool Toddler Accident

April 25, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Swimming pool season is almost here, which means lots of fun and relaxation for many New Yorkers who will finally get to “take in some rays” on the pool deck after an especially long, cold and snowy winter.

But today I had a grisly reminder of the dangers that lurk in pool areas. Two toddlers were pulled from a swimming pool at a Buffalo home on Easter Sunday. One of the boys, only 2 years old, somehow got under the pool’s solar cover. He was unresponsive when they pulled him from the water and is now in critical condition at Woman and Children’s Hospital. The other boy fared better — he was found on top of the pool cover and is in good condition. The boys were at a family Easter gathering at the home. Let’s hope and pray that the boy in critical condition makes a miraculous, full recovery.

As a parent, reading news stories like this one reminds me of all the nightmares I have ever had about something terrible befalling one of my children because, perhaps for only a second, I was distracted. I once I lost a 3-year old in Kennedy Airport! Fortunately, I found him after what seemed like an eternity, but probably was more like 2 minutes.

U.S. Tort Reformers Want Us To Follow Japan’s Example On Compensating Innocent People Injured By Corporate Negligence

April 16, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

Warning: I am going to rail against tort reform again. Not the first time. Since it is my job as a Central and Syracuse New York personal injury lawyer to protect injured victims’ rights to full compensation, you can bet I am vehemently opposed to “tort reform”, which I call “tort deform”. So here goes my latest rant:

Don’t like American tort law? Think juries are too generous to injured plaintiffs? Then you should move to Japan where they know how to deal with people whose lives are ruined by the negligence of rich corporations.

Case in point: The operator of Japan’s nuclear plant, which has been spewing radioactivity since the earthquake and tsunami struck, said Friday it would pay $12,000 to each family forced to evacuate the area. Nearly 140,000 people are living in shelters. They left with almost nothing but the clothes on their back. These people not only lost their homes, but their livelihoods — they can’t return to their jobs because of the radiation threat. And for that, hey, $12,000, per family.