Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Why This Central New York Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Lawyer Turned Down a TV Interview

January 8, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

It’s nice to win. And this Central and Syracuse New York personal injury and wrongful death lawyer recently won an appeal for the widow of a wrongful death victim in a Syracuse wrongful death lawsuit. The case is about a tragic accidental death that got extensive news coverage all over New York State. I have received phone calls from lawyers from other parts of the country about this case. Some have asked me for copies of my arguments (Brief) in the appeal.

What’s the case about? I am not at liberty to discuss the facts of the case in this blog for reasons I will explain below.

But first let me tell you that this was the second time the appellate court reversed the trial court in this case. Each time, the trial court had thrown my case out, and each time the Appellate Court reversed and reinstated it. I am sure the trial judge did the best he could each time. But the case involves difficult, novel New York wrongful death legal issues, and even I did not know how the Appellate Court would resolve them. I feel fortunate to have won, twice now. And guess what. A third trial court decision is coming, and after that, a third appeal. How do I know? Well, I know I will appeal if I lose, and the defendants will do the same if they lose. It is a big case. Both sides are giving it all they’ve got, fighting tooth and nail.

Product Liability Lawyers Help Fight False Safety Claims

January 4, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

As a Central Syracuse New York products liability lawyer, I take a keen interest in news about dangerous products or false safety claims by manufacturers. That’s why an article in the New York Times caught my eye yesterday. The article talked about how United States Senator Tom Udall (Democrat, NM) is formally requesting that the Federal Trade Commission investigate the alleged deceptive advertising practices of sports helmet manufacturers.

The senator says two major helmet manufacturers, Riddell and Schutt, have been fooling the public with their claims to increased concussion prevention. But Udall has his crosshairs mostly on Riddell, whose ads claim that that its “Revolution” helmets decrease the risk of concussions by as much as 31 percent. This 31 percent figure is deemed deceptive because the “Revolution” helmets were compared with second-hand helmets in unknown condition and with unknown manufacture date.

The advertising is clearly aimed at cashing in on parents’ increasing worries about the long-term effects of concussions on their child-athletes .

Assumption Of Risk Doctrine Won’t Protect Ski Resort For Falling Chairlifts

January 3, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

You have probably heard or read about the recent tragic accident on Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. A chairlift cable derailed sending several skiers plunging into the snow-covered slope below. Luckily, a generous snowfall had recently blanketed the Mountain, and that helped pad the landing. Still, several skiers are recovering in local hospitals. We wish them well.

What caused the derailment? We still don’t know. But one thing I can tell you as a New York personal injury lawyer; the Sugarloaf folks are almost certainly liable (unless the chairlift system was defectively built or designed, in which case the manufacturer would be liable). An “accident” like this does not happen without some negligence. My very educated guess is that the Sugarloaf folks failed to properly inspect or maintain the chairlift, or they allowed it to operate in unsafe weather conditions (winds of 40 miles per hour were reported).

This accident demonstrates an important principle in New York sports injury law: While those who voluntarily participates in a sport such as skiing are deemed to have “assumed the inherent risks” of the sport, and therefore can’t sue for injuries caused by those risks (see my prior blog post about this here), when the risk that caused the accident is not one of those inherent in the sport, they can sue.

Central and Syracuse NY Personal Injury Lawyer On Icicle Liability

January 2, 2011 | by Michael Bersani

One of the advantages/disadvantages of my job as a Central New York and Syracuse personal injury lawyer is that I am acutely aware of all the dangers lurking out there. The “advantage” is that I avoid some dangers most people don’t even think about. The “disadvantage” is that I worry too much! For example, when the weather is getting warmer, and I see icicles, I am careful to avoid walking under them. If I have to pass under them, I do so quickly, and I keep an eye on them.

With the weather freezing and then warming in Central New York, icicles can be dangerous. The warming weather can loosen them. They can then fall like heavy spears on your head. Icicles can weigh as much as 500 pounds. Back in 1978, a block of ice weighing several hundred pounds fell off the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, and killed a young woman who just happened to be walking along the sidewalk.

You may be wondering about liability for falling icicles. New York falling-icicle liability law is really the same as for any New York premises liability case. An owner of a property has a duty to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition, and to correct unsafe conditions he or she is or should be aware of. This includes posting reasonable warnings.

Can Spiderman Bring A New York Personal Injury Lawsuit For His Injuries?

December 23, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

If you’re like me, you wouldn’t mind being Spiderman. Hey, he’s got a cool way of getting around, shooting spider-gook from his wrists and swinging around town. Beats driving in city traffic.

But every job has its drawbacks, even Spiderman’s. We learned this week that he plummeted 30 feet during Monday night’s performance of the Broadway production, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”. Doctors say he is in serious condition, with broken ribs and internal bleeding.

Little is known about how this accident happened. We do know, however, that somehow the wire he was swinging from failed. (In this Broadway show, he was swinging from wires rather than his spider-gook — go figure!) We do not know whether the wire failed because it snapped or because it became unfastened. Either way, it appears certain that Spiderman was the victim of someone’s negligence (unless it was Green Goblin’s sabotage).

Central NY Car Accident Lawyer Gets Into A Car Crash!

December 21, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Central NY Personal Injury Lawyer Wishes All a Happy (and Safe) Holiday Season

December 20, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I would like to wish a happy holiday season to all my readers. And don’t forget to be safe during the season! Check out my post from last year on this topic:

Central New York Injury Lawyer Says, “Don’t Be Careless at Christmas – Be Safe with Holiday Lighting and Christmas Trees”

Keep safe!

Central New York Injury Lawyer on Drop-Side Crib Ban

December 19, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Convenience and safety often clash. Quick example: In the old days, before the era of car seats and booster seats, getting the kids into the car was so easy, so convenient. You just threw them in and off you went. Early on, there weren’t even seatbelts. Only problem was that kids were getting mangled, crushed and killed in car accidents. Enter car seats and booster seats. What a pain in the a–! All that strapping in, tying down. Inconvenient, isn’t it? But safe.

Now let’s take cribs. Several decades ago some smart engineers invented a great convenience: Drop-side cribs (see photograph featured here). No more leaning over the side of the crib to awkwardly place baby to bed. It was a hit!

Only problem was babies were dying. The drop-side sometimes created a V-shaped gap between the mattress and side rail where babies got caught, suffocated and died. At least 32 infants have died this way since 2000.

New York Wrongful Death Law: A Travesty Of Justice For Elderly Victims Of New York Nursing Home Malpractice and their families

December 18, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The Auburn Citizen recently reported on a Cayuga County Nursing Home Negligence case, and that’s my topic for today.

At first blush, it seems like a compelling case. The nursing home’s negligence is clear cut. So clear cut that when the State Department of Health cited the Home with violations, the Home almost immediately paid the $12,000 fine without protest. And the resulting injury was severe; death! And the nursing home has been sued. But even though the negligence is clear, and the injury severe, I may have declined to take this Auburn New York nursing home negligence wrongful death case. Why?

Glad you asked. First, a few facts. The nursing home nurses gave this 94-year-old resident (I’ll call her “the victim”) the wrong medication. The mix-up happened because two drugs’ names – metolazone and methimazole – have many letters in common. But in fact they were nothing alike; one would help treat this woman’s ailments and the other would kill her. (New York prescriptions errors like this one are, unfortunately, all too common). The mistake started when a pharmacy (which has also been sued) entered the order incorrectly, but the nurses failed to detect the mistake and gave the victim this wrong drug repeatedly.

What Is The Maximum Fee a NY Medical Malpractice Lawyer Can Charge?

December 16, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

In my last blog, I explained the maximum legal fee in a New York personal injury case. The fee is different, however, in medical malpractice cases, and that’s the topic of today’s blog post.

In medical malpractice cases, New York law provides for a “sliding fee” in which the lawyer’s percentage drops as the amount recovered increases. The sliding scale goes like this: 30% of first $250,000 of recovery, 25% of the next $250,000, 20% of the next $500,000, 15% of the next $250,000 and 10% of the recovery over $1. 25 million.

Notice that the fee in a medical malpractice case (sliding scale starting at 1/3 and dropping down to as low as 10%) is lower than the fee in a regular personal Injury case (straight-out 1/3 regardless of the amount of the recovery).