Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

OSHA’S Increased Construction Site Safety Enforcement in Syracuse and Central New York May Help Decrease Syracuse New York Falling Construction Worker Lawsuits.

February 18, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I was pleased to read in the Geneva Finger Lakes Times today that a regional representative of OSHA (federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration), Jennifer Lawless, speaking at Geneva’s Ramada Inn, announced that, under the Obama administration, OSHA is stepping up compliance enforcement in the Syracuse and Central New York area, especially at outdoor work sites, such as construction sites.

We at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka have consistently, year after year, brought Syracuse area construction accident lawsuits where compliance with OSHA and other safety regulations would have prevented devastating fall-related injuries. We know firsthand that Construction employers in Central New York often ignore OSHA and other safety regulations.

The OSHA regulations, if followed, would help prevent many of the devastating injuries, and deaths, that result from workers falling off ladders, scaffolds, buildings, roofs and other structures. For example, just this week, OSHA fined a construction company $539,000 for a roofer’s 40-foot fall to his death at a Washington, Pennsylvania construction site. According to OSHA’s website, the construction company “failed to provide any fall protection to its employees working on a pitched roof 40 feet off the ground”. A spokesman from OSHA said the employer “knowingly and willfully failed to protect his workers from falling to their death” and that OSHA “will not tolerate this type of blatant and egregious disregard for the health and safety of workers.” The very same day, OSHA fined a Pittsburgh construction company $70,000 for failing to provide fall protection to a construction worker who fell 225 feet to his death on a construction site. The same company had already been fined in 2007 for the same violations, but apparently did not “learn its lesson”.

Why Do I Need a Lawyer to Settle my Personal Injury Claim? Syracuse Accident Lawyer Explains.

February 16, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Do you take you Syracuse or Central New York injury claim seriously? Do you want the insurance company to take it seriously, too? Well, I’ve got some news for you: The sure-fire way to guaranty that the insurance company will NOT take your injury seriously is to represent yourself.

You are not the only injured person the insurance company is dealing with. Other people with injuries, very similar like yours, have retained attorneys to advocate their claims with that same insurance company. All those other people seem to be taking their injury seriously. They are taking their injuries so seriously that they have hired an attorney. They are showing the insurance company that they are prepared to go to court if the insurance company does not take their injuries seriously.

True, you can talk to that insurance adjuster yourself when she calls. She might even seem nice on the phone, might promise to treat you fairly. Believe me, she won’t. Not without an attorney. Why? Here’s why, and try to remember it, as it is the most important part of this blog — INSURANCE COMPANIES MAKE THEIR PROFIT BY PAYING AS LITTLE AS THEY CAN ON YOUR CLAIM.

Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer Explains Why “Damages Cap” Laws Are So Unfair

February 14, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I can think of few laws as unfair as “damages cap” laws. For those readers unfamiliar with this concept, let me explain. A “damages-cap” law essentially says that, in a personal injury or medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured plaintiff is limited to a certain amount of compensation for his or her “non-economic” damages, no matter how devastating the injury. “Non-economic damages” essentially means compensation for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

The unfairness of damages caps can best be shown by way of example:

Patient A undergoes neck surgery, his surgeon commits medical malpractice, he ends up with moderate but permanent pain running down both arms. Full and fair compensation for this annoying, painful sensation for a lifetime is about $500,000. Patient A goes to court, the jury awards him $500,000, and he gets it. He is fully and fairly compensated for his injury.

Why New York Personal Injury Lawyers Must Sometimes Sue Everyone in Sight.

February 13, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I abhor frivolous lawsuits. I try to bring my New York personal injury lawsuits only against companies and people whom I feel are truly liable for my clients’ injuries. But once in a while I am forced to sue “iffy” claims against those who probably are not responsible for my clients’ injuries. Why? Because of insurance companies and their lawyers, that’s why. Let me explain by way of example.

My client is a passenger in her boyfriend’s motor vehicle. On a snowy night, they come upon a car stopped in the middle of the road, which apparently stopped because of the snowy conditions. It appears, though, that the driver of that car could have done a better job pulling over onto the shoulder of the road. Nevertheless, my client’s boyfriend is able to stop in time. Moments later, a tractor trailer comes from behind and hits the rear of my client’s car, propelling it into the car stopped in front. That tractor trailer driver was clearly going too fast for the snowy conditions. My client suffers serious injuries, can never work again, and no-fault insurance is quickly exhausted.

So who do I sue to get her the compensation she needs and deserves? After all, she was an innocent passenger.

Central New York Motorcycle Accident Victim Makes Reluctant Insurance Company Pay

February 13, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Yesterday New York’s Appellate Division, Fourth Department handed one of our clients, a motorcycle accident victim, a great victory. Here’s the story: Our client was riding his motorcycle in a rural area of Ontario County when a farmer in a pickup truck failed to see him, failed to yield to him, and caused a car/motorcycle collision that ended up costing our client a leg and a life-time of excruciating pain.

The pickup truck was insured by an auto policy to the tune of $300,000, but that wasn’t nearly enough to cover the medical expenses, lost wages and permanent, unremitting pain and suffering. After a little hunting, we discovered that the farmer, in addition to the $300,000 auto insurance policy, had a $ 1 million farm insurance policy. Since the farmer was actually conducting farm business when the accident happened (had been checking on some crops and picking up a part for farm machinery) we figured the farm policy should be on the table.

Of course the insurance company disagreed. After all, insurance companies make their profit by disclaiming coverage whenever they can. Yes, I mean it; hanging their insured clients out to dry is how they grow their bottom line.

Does Falling Asleep at Wheel Automatically Make Sleeping Driver Liable For Central New York Motor Vehicle Accident?

February 9, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The Syracuse Post Standard today reported that a sleepy tractor trailer driver on the Thruway, near Bethlehem, was dozing at the wheel when he crashed into the back of a second big rig at 1:20 a.m. Only twenty minutes later, when police and rescue workers were on the scene to respond to the tractor trailer crash, a car, whose driver had also dozed off, slammed into the rear of the line of traffic stopped for the first accident, creating in the most literal sense a “double whammy”. Several injuries were reported.

So here’s our legal quiz question for the day: If you prove that the driver that struck your car had fallen asleep at the wheel, do you automatically win your case? The answer? . . . .(drum roll — Jeopardy music — whatever) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . ..

The answer is “NO”, but almost. Here’s how the rule works in New York:

How Do I Know How Much I Should Take to Settle My Central New York or Syracuse Personal Injury Case?

February 6, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I get this question all the time. A client is hurt by someone else’s negligence and wants to know what to expect, and more specifically, HOW MUCH to expect in settlement for her personal injury.

First, you can usually only tell after the doctor has released you from further treatment. Only then can the doctor tell us whether you will have any permanent injuries, and if so, how bad.

But after the injury has healed as much as it can, the math itself is pretty simple. You take the average jury verdict you expect a jury to give (jury verdicts vary widely, so you simply take what the average jury would probably give), and then multiply it by the percentage chance you believe you have of winning at trial. For example, let’s say you have an injury an average jury would award $100,000 for. But there are some weaknesses in your case, so that about 1 out of 4 juries would rule against you. Doing the math, you have a 75% chance of winning on a $100,000 injury, and thus a fair settlement would be $75,000.

Syracuse New York Defective Products Lawyer on Toyota Lawsuits

February 5, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Surprise, surprise. Toyota is getting sued. Just this past Monday, a grieving Texas widower filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Toyota, claiming that a defective accelerator pedal in a 2009 Corolla caused his wife’s death. There have been about 10 lawsuits filed in the U.S. and Canada so far for injuries allegedly caused by the sticking-pedal problem.

Some of Toyota’s most popular models, such as Corolla, Camry, Tundra and Rav, are subject to a Toyota recall, mainly for vehicles built between 2008 and today. But even as Toyota has already recalled about 6.5 million vehicles, some people are getting hurt, and they are suing.

When you manufacture a car whose pedal tends to stick in the down position, either because it just sticks, or because a dangerously designed floor mat catches it and makes it stick, you should expect to get sued. Under New York products liability (defective products) case law, which is similar in most states, a manufacturer or distributor of a defective product can be held liable even if it was careful in designing and manufacturing the product. The only thing that counts, really, is if the product ends up, for whatever reason, being “unreasonably dangerous”. If it is, then the manufacturer and distributors must generally pay for the harm in a New York defective product liability lawsuit.

Syracuse Car Accident Lawyer Explains New Department of Transportation Prohibition on Texting While Driving a Commercial Vehicle

February 1, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

New York car accident lawyers like me are taking in more and more car crash cases where our clients were struck by a “texting” driver.

Why is texting while driving so dangerous? Research shows that texters take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that means a driver is traveling the length of a football field without looking at the road! Studies show that drivers who text while driving get into 20 times more accidents than non-distracted drivers.

Sure it’s dangerous for a car driver to text while driving, but think how much more damage a distracted tractor trailer driver can do while texting from his big rig. And that’s precisely why today U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a regulatory guidance that expressly outlaws “texting” by drivers of commercial vehicles such as tractor trailers and buses. The prohibition is effective immediately. Under the new rule, truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles can get slammed for up to $2,750 in civil or criminal penalties.

How to Know When Your Lawyer Has Committed Legal Malpractice in Your Case.

January 31, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

We have brought many New York legal malpractice lawsuits against other New York personal injury lawyers. In fact, we are one of the few firms in our area willing to sue other lawyers for malpractice. Our experience has taught us a few things. One thing we have learned is how a client can suspect that his lawyer has committed legal malpractice in his personal injury or medical malpractice case even when the lawyer won’t tell the client. How? Read on.

Phone rings. Secretary tells me a potential client is on the phone with a personal injury case and he wants to “switch lawyers”. I take the call. The potential client says, “my lawyer at first told me that I had a great personal injury case, that I had a lot of money coming to me, but now all of a sudden he tells me the case is not worth pursuing. He is trying to talk me into dropping the case. But I don’t want to drop it. Can you represent me?”

Wooo! When I hear this, red flashing lights go off in my head. The first question I ask is, “WHEN did your accident happen?” If the answer is, “just over three years ago”, I say to myself, “bingo”.