Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Recemt New York Dangerous Roadway Lawsuit Demonstrates Principles of New York Defective Roadway Design Cases.

February 23, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I recently blogged about defective roadway cases. A recent New York dangerous road lawsuit demonstrates some of the principles I talked about in that blog post.

In Popolizio v. County of Schenectady, a driver lost control of his car on the steep downgrade of a snowy County road, and slid his car straight across the road as it curved to the right, causing his car to leave the roadway and nose-dive into a steep-sided, twelve-foot wide, four-foot deep ditch. Despite the fact that the driver had lost control of his car and left the roadway, he got a $2,100,000 award after a trial for severe brain injuries he suffered when his car struck the far side of the ditch head-on.

How did he win? The injured man’s New York roadway defect attorneys won the case by presenting testimony from a highway engineering expert who explained that the design of the ditch did not meet acceptable engineering standards. The expert said that constructing such a ditch right next to a right-angle curve in the road was unacceptably dangerous because any cars that left the roadway there would plunge into the ditch and hit the bank of the ditch head on. The ditch should have been built so that a car going off the roadway could traverse it, or else guardrails should have been installed to prevent motor vehicles from plunging into the ditch.

Recent Central New York Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Death Reminds Us that Cell Phones Not Only Cause Car Accidents, but Save Lives

February 20, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that a Syracuse University student was driving home to Albany in the dark hours of the morning (about 4:30 a.m.) when her car slid off the Thruway and onto the median. She then apparently got out of her car and tried to cross the westbound Thruway to make her way to the onramp in Herkimera a couple of miles west. Unfortunately, a westbound hit-and-run vehicle struck and killed her as she crossed.

When I read this report, the pressing question I had was, “where was her cell phone?”

The nearly ubiquitous cell phone has caused alarm among many, including myself, because of an epidemic of cell-phone distracted driving wreaking havoc on our roadways. I have personally brought several Central New York car accident lawsuits against drivers too busy yapping on their cell phone to pay attention to traffic signals, stop signs, or cars stopped in front of them.

Syracuse New York Dog Bite Lawyer Explains How to Prove a New York Dog Bite Case

February 20, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Would you keep an appliance in your home if you knew these facts about it:

(1) It injures about 800,000 people a year in the USA – with one out of every 6 injuries being serious enough to require medical attention.

(2) 75% of the injuries are to the victim’s face.

OSHA’S Increased Construction Site Safety Enforcement in Syracuse and Central New York May Help Decrease Syracuse New York Falling Construction Worker Lawsuits.

February 18, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I was pleased to read in the Geneva Finger Lakes Times today that a regional representative of OSHA (federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration), Jennifer Lawless, speaking at Geneva’s Ramada Inn, announced that, under the Obama administration, OSHA is stepping up compliance enforcement in the Syracuse and Central New York area, especially at outdoor work sites, such as construction sites.

We at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka have consistently, year after year, brought Syracuse area construction accident lawsuits where compliance with OSHA and other safety regulations would have prevented devastating fall-related injuries. We know firsthand that Construction employers in Central New York often ignore OSHA and other safety regulations.

The OSHA regulations, if followed, would help prevent many of the devastating injuries, and deaths, that result from workers falling off ladders, scaffolds, buildings, roofs and other structures. For example, just this week, OSHA fined a construction company $539,000 for a roofer’s 40-foot fall to his death at a Washington, Pennsylvania construction site. According to OSHA’s website, the construction company “failed to provide any fall protection to its employees working on a pitched roof 40 feet off the ground”. A spokesman from OSHA said the employer “knowingly and willfully failed to protect his workers from falling to their death” and that OSHA “will not tolerate this type of blatant and egregious disregard for the health and safety of workers.” The very same day, OSHA fined a Pittsburgh construction company $70,000 for failing to provide fall protection to a construction worker who fell 225 feet to his death on a construction site. The same company had already been fined in 2007 for the same violations, but apparently did not “learn its lesson”.

Why Do I Need a Lawyer to Settle my Personal Injury Claim? Syracuse Accident Lawyer Explains.

February 16, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Do you take you Syracuse or Central New York injury claim seriously? Do you want the insurance company to take it seriously, too? Well, I’ve got some news for you: The sure-fire way to guaranty that the insurance company will NOT take your injury seriously is to represent yourself.

You are not the only injured person the insurance company is dealing with. Other people with injuries, very similar like yours, have retained attorneys to advocate their claims with that same insurance company. All those other people seem to be taking their injury seriously. They are taking their injuries so seriously that they have hired an attorney. They are showing the insurance company that they are prepared to go to court if the insurance company does not take their injuries seriously.

True, you can talk to that insurance adjuster yourself when she calls. She might even seem nice on the phone, might promise to treat you fairly. Believe me, she won’t. Not without an attorney. Why? Here’s why, and try to remember it, as it is the most important part of this blog — INSURANCE COMPANIES MAKE THEIR PROFIT BY PAYING AS LITTLE AS THEY CAN ON YOUR CLAIM.

Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer Explains Why “Damages Cap” Laws Are So Unfair

February 14, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I can think of few laws as unfair as “damages cap” laws. For those readers unfamiliar with this concept, let me explain. A “damages-cap” law essentially says that, in a personal injury or medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured plaintiff is limited to a certain amount of compensation for his or her “non-economic” damages, no matter how devastating the injury. “Non-economic damages” essentially means compensation for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

The unfairness of damages caps can best be shown by way of example:

Patient A undergoes neck surgery, his surgeon commits medical malpractice, he ends up with moderate but permanent pain running down both arms. Full and fair compensation for this annoying, painful sensation for a lifetime is about $500,000. Patient A goes to court, the jury awards him $500,000, and he gets it. He is fully and fairly compensated for his injury.

Why New York Personal Injury Lawyers Must Sometimes Sue Everyone in Sight.

February 13, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I abhor frivolous lawsuits. I try to bring my New York personal injury lawsuits only against companies and people whom I feel are truly liable for my clients’ injuries. But once in a while I am forced to sue “iffy” claims against those who probably are not responsible for my clients’ injuries. Why? Because of insurance companies and their lawyers, that’s why. Let me explain by way of example.

My client is a passenger in her boyfriend’s motor vehicle. On a snowy night, they come upon a car stopped in the middle of the road, which apparently stopped because of the snowy conditions. It appears, though, that the driver of that car could have done a better job pulling over onto the shoulder of the road. Nevertheless, my client’s boyfriend is able to stop in time. Moments later, a tractor trailer comes from behind and hits the rear of my client’s car, propelling it into the car stopped in front. That tractor trailer driver was clearly going too fast for the snowy conditions. My client suffers serious injuries, can never work again, and no-fault insurance is quickly exhausted.

So who do I sue to get her the compensation she needs and deserves? After all, she was an innocent passenger.

Central New York Motorcycle Accident Victim Makes Reluctant Insurance Company Pay

February 13, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

Yesterday New York’s Appellate Division, Fourth Department handed one of our clients, a motorcycle accident victim, a great victory. Here’s the story: Our client was riding his motorcycle in a rural area of Ontario County when a farmer in a pickup truck failed to see him, failed to yield to him, and caused a car/motorcycle collision that ended up costing our client a leg and a life-time of excruciating pain.

The pickup truck was insured by an auto policy to the tune of $300,000, but that wasn’t nearly enough to cover the medical expenses, lost wages and permanent, unremitting pain and suffering. After a little hunting, we discovered that the farmer, in addition to the $300,000 auto insurance policy, had a $ 1 million farm insurance policy. Since the farmer was actually conducting farm business when the accident happened (had been checking on some crops and picking up a part for farm machinery) we figured the farm policy should be on the table.

Of course the insurance company disagreed. After all, insurance companies make their profit by disclaiming coverage whenever they can. Yes, I mean it; hanging their insured clients out to dry is how they grow their bottom line.

Does Falling Asleep at Wheel Automatically Make Sleeping Driver Liable For Central New York Motor Vehicle Accident?

February 9, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

The Syracuse Post Standard today reported that a sleepy tractor trailer driver on the Thruway, near Bethlehem, was dozing at the wheel when he crashed into the back of a second big rig at 1:20 a.m. Only twenty minutes later, when police and rescue workers were on the scene to respond to the tractor trailer crash, a car, whose driver had also dozed off, slammed into the rear of the line of traffic stopped for the first accident, creating in the most literal sense a “double whammy”. Several injuries were reported.

So here’s our legal quiz question for the day: If you prove that the driver that struck your car had fallen asleep at the wheel, do you automatically win your case? The answer? . . . .(drum roll — Jeopardy music — whatever) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . ..

The answer is “NO”, but almost. Here’s how the rule works in New York:

How Do I Know How Much I Should Take to Settle My Central New York or Syracuse Personal Injury Case?

February 6, 2010 | by Michael Bersani

I get this question all the time. A client is hurt by someone else’s negligence and wants to know what to expect, and more specifically, HOW MUCH to expect in settlement for her personal injury.

First, you can usually only tell after the doctor has released you from further treatment. Only then can the doctor tell us whether you will have any permanent injuries, and if so, how bad.

But after the injury has healed as much as it can, the math itself is pretty simple. You take the average jury verdict you expect a jury to give (jury verdicts vary widely, so you simply take what the average jury would probably give), and then multiply it by the percentage chance you believe you have of winning at trial. For example, let’s say you have an injury an average jury would award $100,000 for. But there are some weaknesses in your case, so that about 1 out of 4 juries would rule against you. Doing the math, you have a 75% chance of winning on a $100,000 injury, and thus a fair settlement would be $75,000.