Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Four Ways New York Auto Insurance Law Can Protect You While You Are Riding Your Bicycle: Central NY Bicycle Accident Lawyer explains.

April 29, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

I know it seems strange that auto insurance can protect you while you are on your bicycle, but believe me, it really does. To be precise, there are four ways NY auto insurance can protect you if you are struck by an automobile while on your bike.

First, New York’s so-called “No-Fault Law”, a/k/a Mandatory Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) (Article 51 of New York Insurance Law) requires that the insurance on the vehicle that strikes a pedestrian or a bicyclist provide insurance coverage to the injured cyclist/pedestrian up to a maximum of $50,000 in medical expenses and lost income, regardless of whose fault it was.

To benefit from this law, you have to submit a “no-fault application” to the insurance carrier within 30 days of the crash. If you have a good excuse for not complying with this time limit, you can overcome it, but you should make every effort to comply.

Central New York Bike Accident Lawyer’s Springtime Bicycle Safety Reminders

April 27, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

This guy’s helmet is over the top! Don’t worry; I don’t recommend it.

Fellow veteran bikers and newbies alike, it’s a new biking season. Excited? Good. Now don’t get so excited that you forget safety. Here’s a quick set of reminders (or for newbies, a primer):

Check your bike. Sure, it’s a simple machine (compared to, for example, a car), but still, things can go wrong if you don’t take care of maintenance. Bikes — compared with cars — require little maintenance. Are the breaks working? That’s the most important thing. But for smooth and fun riding, you want all the parts to work together in harmony, like a symphony. It might be worthwhile taking your bike in for an annual tune-up at the local bike shop. If you are in the Finger Lakes region, I strongly recommend the Geneva Bicycle Center. You’ll never find a more talented, fair and friendly gang . . .

How The Presidential Hopefuls Fare On “Tort Reform”

April 18, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

Unlike in past presidential elections, “tort reform” is not a hotly debated issue this time around. Nevertheless, for a New York personal injury lawyer like myself, whose firm is currently representing hundreds of injured tort victims, it is an extremely important issue. I therefore decided to research how the four main presidential candidates (Trump, Cruz, Clinton and Sanders) feel about so-called “tort reform”. (Note: Those in favor of limiting injured victims’ rights in court invented the term “tort reform”, but since I don’t think our tort laws need “reforming”, and I think that denying victims their day in court is a bad idea, I would rather call it “tort deform“. I recognize, however, that most people won’t know what I’m talking about if I call it “tort deform“, so I will — unwillingly — call it “tort reform” just like they do.)

Donald Trump: Although many or even most of Trump’s supporters would probably support tort reform, Trump himself is no enemy of lawsuits. In fact, he is one of the most free-wheeling lawsuit filers on the planet. He often uses lawsuits to force settlements or to stop people from saying things about him that he does not like. For example:

He threatened to sue Ted Cruz if he did not remove a campaign ad where Trump is shown in a 1999 interview claiming he was “very pro-choice.”

When Will A New York Personal Injury Lawyer Try To Settle Your Case ?

April 15, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

I know I have blogged about this topic before, but after several years of blogging, you can’t help but repeat yourself sometimes. Still, every time I discuss some aspect of New York personal injury law, I tackle it from a slightly different angle. So here goes.

When will your New York personal injury lawyer try to settle your case? Well, if he knows what he is doing, not until it is “ripe”. When is it “ripe”? It depends. But the most important factor is whether your injuries are still receiving active treatment aimed at healing you. If that is so, then you have not reached “maximum medical improvement”, also called “MMI”. Your case is not “ripe”.

We personal injury lawyers don’t want to settle before you have reached MMI because as long as there is still some hope of your injury improving, the insurance adjuster will argue that you can still get better, and so she won’t pay the full value of your likely future pain and suffering, lost income, medical treatment, etc. But if we wait until your doctor has documented MMI, then we can claim all the future pain and suffering and other damages, since reaching MMI means that any symptoms you still have are there for good.

What does SU’s Final Four Basketball Result Have To Do With This Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer?

April 3, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

Watching the Syracuse University basketball squad get scorched by North Carolina was tough. It seemed that North Carolina just could not miss a shot. Their three pointers seemed to swoosh in just as easily as their shots from within the paint. And SU? They could not seem to even score a foul shot. Where was the miraculous Syracuse team we saw only a few days ago pull off an amazing come-from-behind victory over number-one ranked Virginia?

Yes, despite playing their heart out, the SU team lost.

Every good personal injury lawyer knows the feeling. That’s because good personal injury lawyers sometimes try tough cases, where the odds are stacked against them. They take risks. And sometimes they lose.

Michaels Bersani Kalabanka’s New Ads Take Flight!

April 1, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

Michaels Bersani Kalabanka’s new publicity campaign is taking off! Starting today, April 1, 2016, many commercial airlines around the country — and beyond — will feature the Michaels Bersani Kalabanka personal injury law firm name and tagline, as shown in the photo above.

Not everyone is excited about the new ads. One passenger interviewed as she was boarding a Michaels Bersani Kalabanka plane was quoted as saying, “while I realize Michaels Bersani Kalabanka is one of the top personal injury law firms in the nation, their logo on this plane with the tagline ‘for serious cases‘ makes me a little uneasy about boarding to say the least”.

Most airlines nevertheless jumped on board the innovative campaign.

New NY Law: Docs Who Write Scripts With Pen May End Up In Pen. (Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Explains)

March 22, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

In a few days — March 27 — New York will become only the second State (after Minnesota) to ban handwritten drug prescriptions and instead require e-prescriptions. And unlike the Minnesota law, the New York one has real teeth: Docs who use a paper and pen to prescribe drugs instead of a computer will face serious fines and even possible jail time. In other words, if they use a pen they may end up in the “pen”.

Why this law? Why now? Two reasons: (1) To avoid drug abuse through fraudulent prescriptions and (2) to avoid prescription errors due to physicians’ infamously illegible handwriting.

As for number 1 (fraud), opioid abuse is rampant these days. And handwritten prescriptions are a recipe for opioid abuse. Drug abusers are able to alter handwritten prescriptions to increase the quantity or dosage stated. But with e-prescriptions they won’t even touch the prescription. The e-prescription goes directly from the physician’s computer to the pharmacist’s, by-passing the patient completely.

The Erin Andrews Verdict: What An Angry Jury Can Do.

March 8, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

$55 Million. That’s a lot of money. I can’t claim to have ever gotten a verdict that big. Not even close. Almost no one has.

What is more stunning is that the verdict was purely for emotional, not physical harm. No amputated arm or leg. No paralysis. No scars. She is still beautiful. She still has a stunningly successful career as a sports broadcaster for Fox.

Yes, I am blogging about the Erin Andrews verdict.

New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer: Eight Ways To Protect Yourself And Your Loved Ones From Medical Malpractice.

February 29, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

Medical Malpractice is rampant. You’ve probably been hearing about it in the news. It is now the third leading cause of death (after heart disease and cancer) in America. But, readers, we bear good news: Although you can’t avoid all malpractice, there are some simple steps you can take to minimize the likelihood that you or your loved ones will be victims:

Buddy up. Always bring a trusted friend or family member with you to a hospital surgery. Having someone act as your advocate throughout your stay is crucial, especially if you will be medicated or anesthetized. Sign any legal paperwork needed so your “advocate” has permission to know the details of your treatment and to discuss it with your doctors and nurses.
Let’m Know. Make sure your healthcare professionals have your correct health information, including pre-existing conditions and allergies. Never assume they already know.

New York Mother Gets Busted Stealing From Her Daughter’s Injury Settlement.

February 25, 2016 | by Michael Bersani

I just read an article in the New York Times about a woman charged with stealing her 11-year-old daughter’s medical malpractice settlement to pay for liposuction, a “tummy tuck” procedure, online shopping, plane tickets, restaurant bills – you name it. She was using her child’s settlement money like her own private piggy bank!

The settlement was for medical malpractice that had left the child with severe, lifelong limitations in the use of her right arm. The settlement was “structured” so that the victim would get payments every five years or so starting at age 18. She’ll need the money because of her severe income limitations! (We at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka have set up countless structured settlements like this one for injured children.)

But some $67,000 of the money was placed in a judicially protected savings account. Such a court-approved account is set up for the child to access – with accrued interest — when she turns 18. A parent can withdraw money from the account on behalf of the child before the child turns 18, but only for important educational or medical needs of a child, and only with a court order. To access the money on behalf of her child, a parent would normally seek the judge’s approval, and then present a signed court order to the bank to make whatever withdrawals the judge has approved. (We at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka have also set up countless court-protected bank accounts like this one for injured children).