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Personal Injury Law

New York Legal Blog

Covers New York Legal News, including personal injury and legal events.
By Mark Siesel, Esq.

Post Frequency: 0.9/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:50:34

New York Highway Accidents?Part 1

Posted on December 14, 2009
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) investigated the causes of New York car crashes on state highways from 2002 through 2005 in the Strategic Highway Safety Plan 2007. The good news coming out of the study is that from 1996 through 2005, fatal accidents on New York roadways have declined 10%...

Family Of Taconic Victims Files Suit

Posted on December 11, 2009
The family of Michael and Guy Bastardi, two of the victims of the horrific July 26 fatal motor vehicle crash on the Taconic Parkway which killed eight, commenced a lawsuit in the Westchester County Supreme Court this week. The lawsuit, as announced by Roseanne Guzzo, the daughter of 81 year old Michael Bastardi and sister of 49 year old Guy Bastardi, was filed against the estate of Diane Schuler, the intoxicated driver of the wrong way vehicle which struck the Bastardi car, and Warren Hance, (Schuler?s brother) the owner of the Ford Windstar minivan Schuler was driving with a blood alcohol level of 0...

NYSDOT-Westchester Local Roads More Dangerous Than Highways

Posted on December 10, 2009
According to a New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) study conducted over the last several years, local roadways in Westchester County are much more dangerous than highways such as I-287 or I-95. The study looked at Westchester County fatal accidents, serious car crashes, and accidents per million miles traveled...

Young Drivers Most Likely To Have Fatal Accidents

Posted on December 06, 2009
In a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA), young drivers of either a car or motorcycle (age 15-20) are the most likely to have fatal car crashes in the United States. 15-20 year old drivers comprise 6% of all licensed drivers in the U...

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New York Personal Injury Case-The Deposition-Part 2

Posted on November 19, 2009
In the previous article in this series, we focused on the preparation for your deposition. Now that you have properly prepared for your deposition, here are the do's and don'ts for your testimony. First, make sure that you clearly understand the questions you are being asked, and if you don't, say so...

New York Personal Injury Case-The Deposition--Part 1

Posted on November 16, 2009
In your lawsuit for injuries suffered in a New York car crash, Bronx trip and fall, construction accident, from a defective or dangerous product or a dog bite, (to name a few examples), the single most important event in that lawsuit before the trial is known as the deposition, or "examination before trial...

New York Accidents--Notice Of Claim Must Be Filed When Suing Municipality

Posted on October 27, 2009
Here are three very common scenarios for prospective clients who come for their free consultation to our White Plains, New York law offices. The client was walking on a public sidewalk and tripped and fell on a defective sidewalk, suffering serious injuries...

Third Wrong Way Driver on Westchester County Taconic Parkway

Posted on October 08, 2009
Following the tragic Westchester County fatal car crash this past July, in which Diane Shuler killed herself and 7 others driving while intoxicated southbound in the northbound lanes of the Taconic Parkway, two other allegedly intoxicated drivers have driven the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway...

New York Personal Injury Cases--Documentation Is Essential

Posted on September 22, 2009
When you have been injured in a New York car crash, or slip and fall accident, fallen off a ladder or scaffold on a construction site, or been the victim of a dangerous product or medication, it is vital that you document your accident and injuries. Previously, we have written about the importance of reporting your accident and obtaining a copy of the accident report from the owner of the premises and we discussed getting the names, addresses, and phone numbers of witnesses...

New York's Ban On Driving While Texting Coming Soon

Posted on September 16, 2009
On November 1, 2009, New York's statewide ban on texting while driving goes into effect. The law was designed to prevent or reduce serious New York car crashes such as the tragic accident last year in which several young teens lost their lives when the driver lost control and struck a tractor trailer while texting...

Westchester County Fatal Accident--Was It Unavoidable?

Posted on August 06, 2009
In the wake of the horrific Westchester fatal car crash which killed 36 year old Diane Schuler, her 2 year old daughter, three young nieces, and three men on their way to a Sunday lunch with family, there is this question: Was this terrible tragedy avoidable? We have all heard the main facts by now--A 36 year old woman with her infant daughter, young son, and three young nieces in her minivan, on her way home from a weekend camping trip in Sullivan County, drives the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway for almost two miles, and collides head on with a Chevy Trailblazer occupied by Michael Bastardi, his son Guy Bastardi, and family friend Daniel Longo...

New York Car Accidents--Cellphones Dangerous Even With Handsfree Devices

Posted on July 24, 2009
We all have witnessed drivers on the highway applying makeup, shaving, looking at maps or other reading materials, and focusing on everything but the road. But in an eye-opening series in the New York Times entitled "Driven to Distraction", studies have apparently shown that drivers using cellphones are four times as likely to cause a crash as other drivers, and their likelihood of causing a car crash is equal to that of someone who is intoxicated with a blood alcohol of ...

U.S. FDA Panel Recommending Ban Of Vicodin And Percocet

Posted on July 09, 2009
Last week, a federal advisory panel of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) voted 20-17 to recommend a ban of Percocet and Vicodin, two very popular painkillers, due to their damaging effects on the liver. Percocet, also known as Oxycodone, and Vicodin, another name for Hydrocodone, are controlled substances due to their addictive nature, and combine a narcotic with high dosages of acetaminophen, a painkiller found in such medications as Excedrin, Tylenol and Nyquil...

After NY Car Crash, Be Wary Of Insurance Company Calls

Posted on July 03, 2009
When you have been injured in a New York car crash, you will be contacted by two insurance companies--your own, and the carrier for the car that hit you. As will be described below, the simple rule is: cooperate with your insurance company, and hang up on the other driver's representative...

New York Drivers Score Lowest On Written Driving Test

Posted on June 03, 2009
In a national written driving test sponsored by GMAC Insurance, New York drivers scored lower than any other state in the nation this year, according to the company. New Jersey drivers scored the lowest last year. The test consists of 20 questions about driving rules that are uniform across the U...

Ten Things To Do When You're In A New York Car Accident

Posted on May 03, 2009
When you are injured in a New York car crash, here are ten things that you should do: 1. Make sure to call the police. The other driver may ask you to "work it out between us", but that is always a bad idea, and will certainly hurt your prospects for a settlement with the other driver's insurance company if the accident was not reported...

$1.25 Million Settlement In Playland Death

Posted on March 26, 2009
The family of the late Jon-Kely Cassara, a seven year old boy who died on the Ye Old Mill ride at Playland Park on August 3, 2005, settled this New York dangerous premises case for $1.25 million on March 23, 2009. The Westchester fatal accident occurred when Jon-Kely got out of his boat and fell in a dark tunnel, apparently getting stuck under the ride apparatus and drowning...

U.S. Supreme Court Delivers Blow to Pharmaceutical Industry

Posted on March 11, 2009
In a great decision for victims of dangerous drugs throughout the United States, on March 4, 2009 the Supreme Court upheld a Vermont state court decision awarding 6.7 million to a woman who suffered permanent injuries from an anti-nausea drug. The case involved a Vermont resident who developed gangrene after a botched injection of the drug, which tragically resulted in the amputation of her hand and lower arm...

Philip Morris Hit With 8 Million Dollar Verdict

Posted on February 23, 2009
The tobacco giant Phillip Morris was ordered to pay 8 million dollars this week to Florida widow Elaine Hess, whose late husband Stuart Hess died of lung cancer at age 55 in 1997. A jury in Fort Lauderdale awarded compensatory damages of 3 dollars and a whopping 5 million dollars in punitive damages, obviously convinced that Philip Morris knew that the cigarettes they marketed and sold are a dangerous product but that the company was more concerned about profit than safety...

New York Accident Case--The Insurance Company Examination

Posted on February 16, 2009
You have been involved in a New York car accident, or a slip and fall accident, or you have been the victim of a defective product in New York. You hire a lawyer, who commences a lawsuit on your behalf when the insurance company won't make a fair offer to settle your case...

New York Accidents--Alternative Dispute Resolution

Posted on February 09, 2009
If you are injured in a New York car crash, a Westchester slip and fall accident, a Bronx dog bite, or Brooklyn construction accident, (among numerous other types of accidents) after you have consulted an attorney and started a lawsuit or claim, there is another possible way to resolve your case with the insurance company or defendant...

New York Car Accidents--Distracted Driving A Serious Problem

Posted on December 26, 2008
According to a study by the Network of Employers For Traffic Safety, distracted driving is a factor in 25% to 30% of all car accidents, or 4,000 car crashes every day. As hard as it is to believe, drivers make an average of 200 decisions for every mile traveled, making it all the more critical that your attention is on the road, not on that important meeting you are heading to or a cell phone call you need to make in the car...

Westchester County Malpractice Verdict Against Medical Center

Posted on December 22, 2008
On December 12, 2008, a jury in a Westchester County medical malpractice case awarded a 7 million dollar verdict to the family of Theresa Capwell, an Orange County mother of three who died on September 10, 2001. Ms. Capwell had been admitted to Westchester Medical Center on September 18, 2000 complaining of abdominal pain...

U.S Supreme Court Deals Large Blow To Big Tobacco

Posted on December 18, 2008
The United States Supreme Court ruled this past Monday that smokers may sue tobacco companies for fraud in the marketing of "light" cigarettes. In a surprising 5-4 decision considering the conservative, pro-business nature of the Court, the Supreme Court determined that several Maine residents had been deceived by Altria and Philip Morris USA into believing that light cigarettes deliver less tar and nicotine to smokers than regular cigarettes...

Accurate Hospital Charts--Vital To A Successful Personal Injury Case

Posted on November 29, 2008
In New York accident cases, the hospital chart description of how an accident occurred is tremendously important in a successful settlement or jury verdict. What I have seen over the last several years is a carelessness, or in some cases intentional effort by emergency hospital personnel to minimize, downplay, or simply disregard the patient's description of how she or he was injured, with a serious negative impact on the client's case...

New York Medical Malpractice--What Is Informed Consent?

Posted on November 26, 2008
You have decided to have elective surgery, such as breast implants, a nose job, or radial keratotomy. Before the procedure is performed, the surgeon (or more likely his nurse or assistant) will hand you a document which contains a long list of potential complications and risks of the procedure you are about to undergo...

New York Car Accidents--The Five Most Dangerous Holidays To Drive

Posted on November 25, 2008
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in which NHTSA reported on motor vehicle deaths from 2001 through 2006, there are five holidays that drivers should try to steer clear of, if at all possible. The fifth most dangerous holiday is New Year's Day, (which surprised this writer--I would have thought it would be the most dangerous with the amount of alcohol consumed and volume of drivers on the roadways) with an average of 421 vehicular deaths...

Medical Malpractice in New York-Get Your Medical Records Promptly!

Posted on November 22, 2008
If you are the victim of New York medical malpractice by a hospital, doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor, it is vital that you obtain your records immediately after the malpractice has occurred. The most important reason is that an attorney cannot commence a medical malpractice case in New York without having an expert in the that field of medicine review the records and make a determination that there was a "departure from good and accepted medical practice...

Plaintiffs Won More Than 50% of 2005 State Court Civil Trials

Posted on November 08, 2008
According to a study conducted by the United States Department of Justice, Plaintiffs won more than 50% of state court civil trials throughout the U.S. in 2005. Surprisingly for trial lawyers such as this writer, plaintiffs were more likely to get favorable results in bench trials, in which the judge renders the decision, than in jury cases; specifically, plaintiffs won 68% of bench trials and 54% of jury trials...

New York's No-Fault 30 Day Rule -Trap For The Unwary

Posted on October 16, 2008
When you are in a New York motor vehicle accident, your medical bills, hospital bills and lost wage claims are paid by the no-fault insurance company, which is your own insurance company, even if the other car was at fault for your accident. Any occupant of your vehicle that is injured in this New York car crash is also covered under this provision, and makes a claim through your insurance company...

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