Effective November 24, 2009, “child-restraint systems” (car seats and booster seats for kids) are required for ALL CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 8 (that is, through age 7). The law previously required this only for kids less than 6 years of age (through age 5). What does this mean for…
We got a very large settlement ($7.5 Million) last year for a young man involved in an automobile accident in Cayuga County, near Auburn. The young man had gone out to a bar in Skaneateles with some friends. On their way home, the driver, who was somewhat intoxicated, lost control…
Ok, I won’t beat around the bush: This blog entry is a shameless plug for my law firm, Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, P.C, a Syracuse area personal injury and medical malpractice law firm. But it’s also the truth (so help me God!). Good personal injury law firms are not hard to…
In a recent post, I wrote about a multi-million dollar settlement Michaels Bersani Kalabanka recently achieved for a Syracuse area victim of occupational lung disease. I attached to that post a video-clip about one of the most common types of occupational lung disease, silicosis, an incurable, potentially deadly, and progressive…
Let me tell you about another heartbreaking wrongful death settlement. Heartbreaking for two reasons, as I will explain below. A middle-aged married woman was walking to work in Geneva, Ontario County, New York. To get to work she had to cross Routes 5/20, also known as Hamilton Street. She crossed…
Ok, imagine this: A speeding car strikes and instantly kills your 3-year-old child as you watch helplessly from a nearby lawn in Seneca County. Turns out the speeding driver was drunk. Your 3-year-old had wandered up to the road as you were distracted by your 2-year-old who was throwing a…
Michaels Bersani Kalabanka recently negotiated a large (several million-dollar) settlement for a Central New York worker who suffered an occupational lung disease. This is the second multi-million dollar settlement we have had with occupational lung disease cases. Most occupational lung diseases lead to difficulty breathing, and sometimes to death. In…
We just learned of a a Seneca County dog bite case, and as usual, the victim was a child. At Michaels Bersani Kalabanka we take in several dog bite cases a year. While the injuries from dog bites are not usually life threatening, the scarring is often disfiguring and permanent.…
TEXTING Yesterday, Sunday November 1, just as we were turning our clocks back an hour, New York State’s anti-texting law went into effect. The new law prohibits using mobile devices behind the wheel for reading, typing and sending text messages. The penalty for violating the mobile-device law is $150. You…
The older they are, the harder they fall. Or so it seems. With winter coming, property owners, as well as seniors and those who care for them, have to be extra careful to avoid slip-and-falls on ice or snow in all of central New York, including Syracuse, Auburn, Ithaca, Geneva…