slip and fall

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.

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

Liablity in Upstate New York for Failing to Shovel or Salt or Otherwise Clear Snow and Ice from your Walkway

February 3, 2021 | by Michael Bersani

Holy Kamoli! The weather gods sure dumped a lot of that white fluffy stuff on us last night here in Geneva NY! I measured almost a foot and a half in my backyard this morning.

But it’s not just Geneva – the whole State is blanketed, including New York City. Nearby Syracuse, which is in the “snow belt”, got even more than us.

Are you a homeowner? If you are, you may be wondering whether you can get sued for personal injuries if you don’t remove the snow and ice from your walkway. Quick answer: Yes! Believe me, I have represented victims of walkway slip-and-falls before.

The Amazing Story about How Mel Gibson Was Thrust to Stardom by a New York Personal Injury Lawyer (and other good stories about personal injury lawyers)

May 31, 2020 | by Michael Bersani

Mel Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York. But somehow he got his first big acting gig (in the movie Mad Max, his break-through role) in Australia in 1978 at age 22. But why was this Peekskill, New York-born US citizen in Australia? Because his parents decided to emigrate there when he was 12 in 1968. But why did his parents decided to emigrate there? Because his father’s New York personal injury lawyer obtained a $145,000 settlement for him for work-related injuries. This gave Mel Gibson’s father the money to move to Australia, where his family was originally from.

If Mel Gibson’s father’s personal injury lawyer had not gotten Mel Gibson’s father a $145,000 settlement, Mel Gibson would never have ended up in Australia, where his acting talent was discovered.

So as you can clearly see, a New York personal injury lawyer (the one who represented Mel Gibson’s father) is responsible for the meteoric rise to stardom of actor Mel Gibson. Thus, every time you watch movies such as Mad Max, Lethal Weapon and Braveheart, you should thank a personal injury attorney!

Who Can You Sue For Your Slip and Fall on City Sidewalk? Probably No One, Says Syracuse Injury Lawyer

December 14, 2019 | by Michael Bersani

The City this Central New York personal injury lawyer calls home, Geneva, New York, recently amended its sidewalk law. Many local homeowners are concerned about the effect this might have on their “liability” for snow and ice on sidewalks. Before the amendment, the City Code had said, and continues to say, that homeowners (and business owns) “shall at all times keep the sidewalk (abutting their property) free from ice, snow, grass, weeds, rubbish and other obstructions; and shall at all times keep said sidewalk in a good state of repair . . .”. (Geneva City Code section 306-7). The Code further said, “If any person shall neglect or refuse to comply with the requirements of this section as to snow, ice or other obstructions, or sidewalks out of repairs, the Director of Public Works may cause all necessary work to be done at the expense of the person so in default” (id.) The amended law now states that, for snow and ice, the abutting property owner has only 24 hours from the cessation of snowfall to clean it up.

Bottom line, the City has upped the ante so that now, if you don’t remove the snow and ice within 24 hours, the City will do it and charge you for it.

The question for today’s blog post is, given the mandates of this City Code, can a passerby who slips on snow or ice or trips on a defect on the sidewalk abutting my property sue me for failing to remove snow or ice or otherwise failing to maintain the sidewalk abutting my property so that it is safe?