Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Congratulations to Mahogani Counts, the 2023 Lee S. Michaels Award & Scholarship Winner!

May 26, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

Several years ago, Lee Michaels, our senior member, was asked and agreed to endow a significant scholarship and award at Syracuse University College of Law recognizing a second-year top trial or appellate advocacy student. The primary goal in initiating this scholarship/award was to help a worthy student, but it was also aimed at attracting fresh applicants interested in advocacy to the law school.

This year we are pleased to introduce to our readers the fifth winner of the Lee Michaels Award and Scholarship: Mahogani Counts.

The photo, from left to right, shows Lee Michaels, Mahogani and Professor Tod Berger, who heads the Advocacy Program at SU Law. (Photo attribution: Chuck Wainwright Photography).

Central NY Trucking Accident Personal Injury Lawyer on the Importance of Alleging Violations of Federal Trucking laws and Regulations

May 19, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

If you are injured, or if your loved one is killed, in a trucking accident, you need to make sure the attorney you hire to bring a personal injury or wrongful death case is familiar with federal trucking law safety regulations and laws. Proving that one or more safety rules were violated and contributed to causing the accident is crucial. In this blog post, I am providing my readers with some (but not all!) of the important safety regulations we trucking accident lawyers regularly rely on in setting up a trucking accident personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Before I get into the rules, though, just a short overview of why trucking safety rules are so important. Obviously, transportation plays a vital role in facilitating trade and commerce across the country. Heavy commercial trucks are a critical component of this industry, responsible for the efficient movement of goods. But given their size and weight, heavy trucks can cause massive damage, and thus ensuring the safety of these vehicles and their drivers is of paramount importance. The United States federal government has thus implemented a comprehensive set of safety requirements to regulate heavy commercial trucks. These requirements aim to mitigate risks, reduce accidents, and safeguard the well-being of all road users.

Without further ado, here are some of the major rules:

NY Bicycle Law Reminder by NY Injury Lawyer

April 15, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

As my regular blog readers know, this Central New York personal injury lawyer is also a huge bicycle devotee. I have been cycling for pleasure and exercise for decades. I have also been representing injured cyclists for decades. But since I’d rather save my fellow cyclists from the heartbreak of a bike injury than help them recover from one afterwards, I am once again posting some reminders regarding New York’s bicycling safety laws. If you’re planning to ride a bicycle in New York, it’s important to be aware of these laws to avoid any legal troubles and ensure your own safety.

First, as in all States, cyclists here are required to ride in the same direction as traffic. Bicyclists are not permitted to ride against traffic. Doing so is especially dangerous when you approach an intersection as the vehicles turning toward you will not be expecting you there.

In addition, bicyclists in New York are required to ride as close as “reasonably” possible to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, unless they are preparing to make a left turn, passing another vehicle, or avoiding hazards on the road, in which case they are allowed to “take the lane”.

Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer on How to Present a Trip or Slip and Fall Case to a Jury

April 1, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

Here is a rough summary of your New York slip-or-trip-and-fall lawyer’s tasks:

Gathering Evidence

The first step in presenting a trip or slip and fall case starts long before trial. It is to gather evidence, including photographs and videos of the accident scene and the specific hazard that caused the fall, witness statements, medical records, and other relevant documents. Measurements of the hazard and the area should also be taken. In slip cases, the weather reports for the area may be crucial.

Syracuse NY Personal Injury Lawyer on Car Insurance

March 9, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

Hello blog readers! Today I’m blogging about car insurance. As a Syracuse and Central New York personal injury lawyer, this is something I know a lot about, and which I think many people need to learn more about.

Let’s start with the obvious: Car insurance provides financial protection against accidents that might arise while driving your vehicle. Less obvious: It also protects you and your family when you are pedestrians or in other people’s vehicles, but I’ll get to that later.

In New York, auto liability insurance is legally required. Specifically, you must have at least $25,000 to cover a victim of your negligent driving, and $50,000 coverage total if there is more than one victim. Further, New York auto insurance polices feature a minimum of $50,000 in “no-fault” coverage, which pays medical bills and lost income for those occupants of your vehicle who were injured (including yourself), and for any pedestrian you injured.

How to Properly Represent Injured Undocumented Immigrants in New York

February 15, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

Photo above: Me putting a farmworker injury case into storage.

I am one of the only personal injury lawyers in Upstate New York (Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo) who speaks fluent Spanish. I’m also married to a Guatemalan and move comfortably in the Latino community here. It’s no wonder, then, that over my 30 years or so of representing personal injury victims in Upstate, many of my clients have been “undocumented” Mexicans and Central Americans.

If you are a personal injury lawyer seeking to represent an undocumented Spanish speaking immigrant, here is what you need to know:

Governor Nixes Grieving Families Act which Would Have Righted A Wrong in New York’s Wrongful Death Law

February 2, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

At midnight on January 30 a clock ran out. That was the deadline by which our Governor had to sign the Grieving Families Act bill – S74A into law. Her failure to sign the bill into law is what is known as a “pocket veto”. The Governor’s deliberate failure to put pen to paper by that date and time was the death knell to the bill, which both the New York Senate and Assembly had overwhelmingly supported.

This was a tragedy for those in New York who care about civil justice. Why?

Let’s start by explaining what the now-expired “Grieving Families Act” was: A proposed law to allow recovery for “emotional loss” (grief) for families who loved ones die because of someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing. The law would have rewritten one of the most unfair laws New York has ever known. Most other States in the Union allow families of those who are killed through wrongdoing seek compensation for their emotional loss. New York’s law’s antiquated Wrongful Death law (N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 5-4.1), which was written way back in 1847, does not. The Grieving Families Act was meant to right this wrong. Instead, the Governor let the bill die.

MICHAELS & SMOLAK HAS CHANGED! (and other news)

January 14, 2023 | by Michael Bersani

It’s been quite a while since this Central New York Injury Law blogger has posted anything. In fact, almost a year. It was a busy year and blogging gave way to serving our clients’ pressing needs, always our number 1 priority. But to quote Arnold Schwarzenegger (sort of), “we’re back!” And with lots of news:

News Item Number 1: “Michaels & Smolak” is no longer (sigh). Jan Smolak, one of our four lawyers, left the firm to go join his lawyer-wife’s practice, Perotto Law, in Rochester, New York. We wish Jan luck!

News Item Number 2: The other three “Michaels & Smolak” lawyers, Lee Michaels, Mike Bersani, and Dave Kalabanka. have remained right here in the same office in Auburn New York, but are now operating under the name “Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, P.C.”. Yeah, I know, that’s quite a mouthful, which is why we prefer to call ourselves “MBK Law”. Our new website is MBK-LAW.com

Dog-Bite Insurance Coverage Gets a Boost in New York

February 11, 2022 | by Michael Bersani

Dog bite victims’ lawyers (like me) have noticed a disturbing trend in recent years: Severe dog bite injuries are growing while insurance coverage for them is shrinking. Why? Two intersecting trends are the root cause:

Trend number 1: Dogs are getting meaner, and meaner. The percentage of new dogs that are pit-bull types (included mixes) has been growing. Pit bulls are now the fifth most popular dog to own, and that number is growing. They account for about 20% of dogs in the USA. The meaner dogs get, the more likely it is for you or your loved ones to become victims.

Trend number 2: More and more homeowner insurance companies are sneaking “dog-attack/bite” exclusions in their policies. Some of the carriers simply refuse to provide any coverage at all for dog-attack injuries. Others exclude only certain breeds – those considered most aggressive – including bit bulls, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers. The dog owner usually discovers the exclusion only after their dog has done the deed.

Everything You Need to Know about Car-On-Deer Collision Claims in Upstate New York

November 14, 2021 | by Michael Bersani

We are right in the middle of “regular-firearm” (as opposed to bow-and-arrow) deer hunting season in New York State. It started October 23 and ends December 12. So let’s talk about car-on-deer collisions, how to avoid them, and the legal consequences if you don’t.

Deer are a lot like you in that, if they are smart, they try to avoid personal injuries. This means running from bullets. And spooked deer don’t look both ways before crossing any roads that lie between them and safety.

Just like those deer, you need to watch out for your own safety, but instead of fleeing bullets, you need to avoid the fleeing deer.