Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

New York Wrongful Death Law: A Travesty Of Justice For Elderly Victims Of New York Nursing Home Malpractice and their families

December 18, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The Auburn Citizen recently reported on a Cayuga County Nursing Home Negligence case, and that’s my topic for today.

At first blush, it seems like a compelling case. The nursing home’s negligence is clear cut. So clear cut that when the State Department of Health cited the Home with violations, the Home almost immediately paid the $12,000 fine without protest. And the resulting injury was severe; death! And the nursing home has been sued. But even though the negligence is clear, and the injury severe, I may have declined to take this Auburn New York nursing home negligence wrongful death case. Why?

Glad you asked. First, a few facts. The nursing home nurses gave this 94-year-old resident (I’ll call her “the victim”) the wrong medication. The mix-up happened because two drugs’ names – metolazone and methimazole – have many letters in common. But in fact they were nothing alike; one would help treat this woman’s ailments and the other would kill her. (New York prescriptions errors like this one are, unfortunately, all too common). The mistake started when a pharmacy (which has also been sued) entered the order incorrectly, but the nurses failed to detect the mistake and gave the victim this wrong drug repeatedly.

What Is The Maximum Fee a NY Medical Malpractice Lawyer Can Charge?

December 16, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

In my last blog, I explained the maximum legal fee in a New York personal injury case. The fee is different, however, in medical malpractice cases, and that’s the topic of today’s blog post.

In medical malpractice cases, New York law provides for a “sliding fee” in which the lawyer’s percentage drops as the amount recovered increases. The sliding scale goes like this: 30% of first $250,000 of recovery, 25% of the next $250,000, 20% of the next $500,000, 15% of the next $250,000 and 10% of the recovery over $1. 25 million.

Notice that the fee in a medical malpractice case (sliding scale starting at 1/3 and dropping down to as low as 10%) is lower than the fee in a regular personal Injury case (straight-out 1/3 regardless of the amount of the recovery).

How Much Can A NY Personal Injury Lawyer Charge in Fees?

December 14, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

When you go to the supermarket, do you know what to expect a gallon of milk to cost? If you are a careful shopper, you should. What about when you go to see a New York personal injury lawyer? Do you know?

First, you need to understand some basic concepts. The “gross recovery” in a personal injury case means the full amount of money the insurance company pays to settle the claim or to satisfy the judgment after trial. The “net recovery” means the insurance company’s payment minus expenses. The “expenses” on a personal injury are all the monies your attorney pays to others to perform services to move your claim forward. Such expenses include, for example, the money he pays to the process server to serve the claim, Court filing fees, expert fees, and copying expenses.

New York law allows a New York personal injury attorney to charge a maximum of 1/3 the “net” recovery. For example, if you settle your case for $100,000 and there were $10,000 in expenses, your attorney should charge you 1/3 of $90,000, which amounts to $30,000. This leaves you with $60,000. This is the law in New York State.

$66 Million Western New York Personal Injury Jury Verdict For Quadriplegic Plaintiff

December 12, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

OK, I’ll admit it. I have never gotten a $66 Million Dollar verdict. Although all the lawyers in our firm have either gotten million dollar settlements or verdicts, and even multimillion dollar ones, we have never come close to that number. $66 million? That’s a lot of money. That’s a Western New York personal injury verdict record. And that’s what a Western, NY jury awarded a woman who suffered severe spinal in a workplace accident last week.

I am sure there was very good lawyering here (hats off to Michael Law, a good friend of this law firm, and his partner Kevin English) but that alone can’t explain a verdict of that size. In my experience as a Central New York personal injury lawyer, a jury will only give that much money away when (1) it really dislikes the defendant, and/or (2) the injuries are devastating beyond belief.

Both of these things appear to have been present here. This was not just a run-of-the-mill back injury. This twenty-something woman was rendered quadriplegic after a large piece of exercise equipment toppled onto her, shattering her cervical vertebrae, and causing massive spinal cord damage.

Central New York Snowmobile Accident Lawyer’s Injury Prevention Rules

December 10, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Have you dusted off and revved up your sled yet? Many Central New York snowmobilers have. Snowmobiling is a fun family sport, and is wildly popular all over Central New York, including Onondaga, Cayuga, Wayne, but especially up in the “North Country” of Oswego County, St. Lawurence County, Jefferson County and Lewis County.

In case you haven’t noticed, though, this great outdoor activity comes with certain risks. Snowmobiles are fast, heavy machines whizzing across diverse terrain, including through wooded areas.

As a Central New York snowmobile accident lawyer, I have seen snowmobile injuries close up. Believe me, they ain’t pretty. I have seen it all; broken arms and legs, head trauma, neck fractures and face injuries. Head and neck injuries are the worst, and can lead to death.

Syracuse Car Accident Lawyer Discusses Recent Snow Storm Car Accidents

December 8, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The last three days have dumped 30 inches of snow on Syracuse. And lots of snow usually translates into lots of car accidents. This storm is no exception. The Syracuse Post Standard today reports that between midnight and 2 p.m. last night, 150 car were involved in crashes inside the city of Syracuse!

So does what do New York car accident lawyers, judges and juries say about that? Does a snow storm excuse a driver who loses control of his car and crashes into someone? Absolutely not! (Well, usually not).

Make no mistake; even if snow is a contributing factor in these car accidents, the drivers are usually at fault. A driver is required to drive at a speed that is safe for the weather conditions. If the roads are snowy and slippery, guess what? You have to drive slower. Not only that, you have to leave more space between you and the car in front so you have more time to stop. Duh! And another thing; you can’t drive with your windows fogged up and snow clinging to your windshield, crash into some other guy, and then claim it was the storm’s fault.

New York Slip And Fall, Snow and Ice Cases, Explained by NY Slip And Fall Attorney

December 6, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

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Now that the snow’s finally here in Central New York, it’s time for this Central and Syracuse New York slip and fall lawyer to blog about New York snow removal liability. When can a property owner be held liable for failure to remove snow and ice that causes a slip and fall injury?

Here are a few ground rules. First, in New York, if it’s snowing fairly hard, a landowner cannot be held liable for failing to remove snow until “a reasonable time after” it stops snowing. This is known as the “storm in progress doctrine”. It is meant to give property owners a kind of grace period while the snow is still falling. New York law deems it unreasonable to require landowners to remove every flake as it hits ground! The doctrine is not limited to blizzard conditions, but also applies in less severe, but still inclement, winter weather.

New Federal Auto Industry Rule Requiring Backup Cameras On Motor Vehicles Will Save Lives

December 4, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I don’t know about you, but every time I back my car out of my driveway or in the supermarket parking lot, I worry about hidden toddlers. This could be a side affect of my job as a Central New York personal injury lawyer. But it could also be because I have read way too many reports of toddlers getting backed up over by cars, pickup trucks and SUV’s. The problem is that small children are below the view of your rearview mirror.

So I was glad to come across a Bloomberg article yesterday reporting that rearview cameras with in-vehicle displays will probably be required in new cars and trucks by the year 2014. The auto industry will, of course, oppose this requirement, but hey, they also opposed requiring seatbelts and airbags in their day, and look how many lives those have saved.

I remember a story I read in the Geneva Finger Lakes Times last year where, in Geneva, New York, an uncle backed his car out of his driveway and ran over his 3 year-old nephew. After the accident, he disappeared for a few days while he contemplated suicide.

Black Friday Shopper Trampled — Central NY Personal Injury Attorney Explains Liability

November 30, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

As a Central and Syracuse New York accident lawyer, I had been expecting a story like this since last Friday. Why? Because last Friday was “black” Friday. Read on.

Today news sources report that a western New York man was injured, though thankfully not seriously, when he found himself on the bottom of a pile of bargain-crazed shoppers on Black Friday. The deal-hunters had stormed an entrance into a Buffalo Target store at its 4:00 a.m. opening

Target has promised to improve its “Black Friday crowd management plan” for next year.

Central and Syracuse NY Personal Injury Lawyer Explains Why The Contingency Fee Makes For a Fairer Civil Justice System.

November 29, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

As a Central New York and Syracuse personal injury lawyer, I make my living, in large part, on contingency fees. This means that if I don’t win, I don’t get paid. If I do win, or settle for a sum of money, I get roughly a third of the money, or less, depending on the type of case.

New York personal injury lawyer contingency fees (as well as such contingency fees everywhere) have sometimes sparked controversy. In many countries they are not even allowed. For example, although our U.S. legal system has its roots in England, attorney contingency fees are not allowed over there. Here’s my (kind of) historic rendering of why they are allowed here but not there.

From the beginning of our new democratic nation, our founders believed courthouses should be accessable by the “people” to seek justice. This was not the case in the “old world”. There, civil courts were by and large places where the rich and their companies advanced their civil money claims, and where poor people appeared only to be evicted or sent to debtor jail.