New York Personal Injury Legal Questions

Sorry to hear what happened to you. If the salon was on notice of your medical condition and, ignoring the condition, performed a procedure that aggravated the condition, it could be responsible for the resulting harm. Best to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney. You can find many excellent attorneys using legal directories such as Find Law, Super Lawyers, Martindale and AVVO. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC... Read More

Ms. Watson, sorry to hear what happened to you. In New York, before you can file a lawsuit against the State of New York, you must first file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the occurrence. If you haven't filed a Notice of Claim yet, you will be uanble to bring a lawsuit against the State. Here's something I found online which you might find helpful, https://ww2.nycourts.gov/COURTS/nyscourtofclaims/faq.shtml Keep in mind that under the doctrine of qualified immunity, the State would likely not have any liability for not performing what you believe to have been a thorough enough investigation. The individual who assaulted you, however, would be responsible for any harm she caused you. The statute of limitations for bringing a lawsuit against this individual would be one (1) year from the date of the incident. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC... Read More

Mr. Graham, sorry to hear what happened to you. The short answer to your question is yes, you can be compensated, provided you can prove that the nursing facility's treatment of you fell below the accepted standard of care; and that said departure was a proximate cause of your injury. If you haven't already, speak with an experienced personal injury attorney. You can find many excellent attorneys using legal directories such as Martindale, Super Lawyers, Find Law and AVVO. You don't try to handle it by yourself - you'll never be taken seriously. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Ms. Andrews, I'm so sorry for your loss. Before you can sue a municipality, you must first file a Notice of Claim. After the Notice of Claim is filed, you will be asked to appear for a 50-h hearing at which time an attorney will ask you questions about the claim. Once that's completed, the next step would be to file a lawsuit against the municipality. Again, the Notice of Claim / 50-h hearing are both prerequisites to the filing of the lawsuit.  If you haven't already, you should consider hiring an experienced personal injury attorney. Litigating a wrongful death case is difficult even for seasoned litigators, even more so for a pro se plaintiff. You can find many excellent attorneys using legal directories such as Find Law, Super Lawyers, Martindale and AVVO. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

As the old saying goes, no harm, no foul. Damages are an essential element of any lawsuit. Without any damages, there's no point in bringing a lawsuit. You can always report the incident to the mechanic's supervisor to put him on notice of the individual's arguable incompetence. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Rosario, sorry to hear that your attorney is not being more responsive.  Best course of action would be to speak with the paralegal and schedule an in-person meeting with  your lawyer.  Don't take no for an answer.  If your attorney is refusing to meet with you, you can always look for a new lawyer (although that will arguably delay your case even further).  Sometimes even the suggestion that you might start looking for a new lawyer is enough to get someone's attention. From what I can gather online, your case is still in discovery, 159053/2018.  There was a court conference back in April which resulted in a discovery order directing two of the defendants to appear for depositions in June (ACM and Macy's).  Unclear whether they went ahead or if discovery is now complete.  There was supposed to have been a further compliance conference on July 11, 2023. Keep in mind that five (5) years is not that old for personal injury lawsuits, especially in New York.  Before Covid, the court system was already backlogged.  Covid made things even worse. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com ... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to your friend. He should speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.  Many excellent personal injury lawyers can be found using the search tool on the Lawyers.com homepage. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com  ... Read More

Sorry to hear what you're going through.  Given how much they cost to litigate, medical malpractice lawsuits do not make sense unless you've suffered a serious, permanent injury.  Without minimizing what you went through, emotional distress, without more, would not justify such a lawsuit.  You may wish, however, to file a complaint with the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC), https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/doctors/conduct/. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Mr. Sistrunk, so sorry for your loss.  In order to determine whether you have a viable wrongful death claim, you need to obtain copies of your mother's medical records and speak with an experienced personal injury attorney.  Keep in mind that the appropriate procedure to perform when someone is choking is the Heimlich maneuver, not CPR (which is only performed if they've stopped breathing).  And the Heimlich maneuver is not performed if the victim is still able to cough / talk. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Can they sue you?  Yes.  Should they be suinig the parents who furnished your son with the fireworks instead?  Yes.  There is no legal duty in New York for parents to supervise their children.  Putting the lawsuit aside, the parents of all the children involved ought to pool their resources and reimburse the neighbor for the damage caused by the fireworks (which are illegal in New York). Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  Although not impossible, it's unlikely that you got nail fungus from the nail salon.  Here's an article I found online which you might find helpful.  If the appearance of your nail really bothers you, make an appointment with a podiatrist.  The only way to treat nail fungus is with a course of oral antibiotics.  Topical medications do work as the fungus lives underneath the nail bed. Hope this helps. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Call your insurance carrier IMMEDIATELY.  Even though the accident was three years ago, you will still be covered by the insurance that you had in effect at the time.  Even though someone else was driving the car, you are legally responsible for their negligence, if any.  Your insurance carrier will hire attorneys to defend you in the lawsuit and pay any judgment that might be entered against you up to the limits of your insurance policy.   Best regards,   Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Provided you did not suffer a "grave injury", they are correct.  If you were injured at work and the party responsible for your injury was your employer (as opposed to a third party) then your only recourse is through workers' compensation which will pay for your lost earnings and medical expenses.  You can only recover damages for pain and suffering in a third-party lawsuit, i.e. in a lawsuit against a party other than your employer.   Best regards,   Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

The answer is maybe. Some resorts in the islands have forum selection clauses in their hotel booking information when you purchase and reserve accommodations. You would need to review all the contractual itinerary for your hotel reservation etc. to see if in fact they allow a resident guest of the United States to file suit in the US court arising out of an injury occurring on their property. If they do, it's almost exclusively that they will select courts in the state of Florida. However this is all speculation until you have counsel review all your travel itinerary documents regarding your resort reservation. The other issue is liability. There is no strict liability for any injury that happens on any property. You're going to have to prove that they were negligent and that negligence caused your injury. It is not clear from your fact pattern how they were negligent.... Read More

Sorry to hear what you're going through.  At this point there's really nothing you can do except take a wait-and-see approach.  The statute of limitations on a personal injury lawsuit is three (3) years so there's still a lot of time left on the clock.  If you had renter's or homeowner's insurance you should report the incident to them to put them on notice of the incident and avoid the risk of a disclaimer in the event you do get sued.  If you do not, in my experience, most attorneys are not going to waste their time suing an uninsured individual.  If the landlord is sued, consider having your grandmother speak with its attorney to give her side of the story.  Keep in mind that slipping on ice because you get nervous after seeing a dog running towards you does not relieve the dog owner of legal responsibility - there can be more than one cause of an incident. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

So sorry for the loss of your husband.  You can try contacting the county clerk's office to see if they have any record of your husband having filed a lawsuit.  Many (but not all) lawsuits are filed in the county in which the incident occurred.   Hope this helps. Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

So sorry to hear that your dining experienced was ruined.  Alhough you could technically sue the restaurant for serving you contaminated food and without minimizing what you went through, I'm not sure the time and expense would be worthwhile absent a serious, permanent injury.  Your best course (and an arguably easier course) may be to simply seek reimbursed for your meal and the cost of your urgent care visit.   Best regards,   Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Ms. Crooks, so sorry to hear what happened to your mother.  In New York, owners of real property have a legal duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition.  Additionally, according to the City of Orlean's Code, owners are required to maintain the sidewalk in front of their premises in good repair.   Your mother should speak with an experienced personal injury attorney to investigate this matter and protect her rights.  The owner of the sidwalk on which she fell may be responsible for her injury including, if you are able to prove so medically, her mini-strokes.  In the meantime, you should take photographs of the sidewalk in question so that you can prove what it looked like at the time of your mother's fall and to guard against the possibility that it might get repaired. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Sorry to hear that your training session did not turn out well.  Unfortunately, suffering a sprain is a risk inherent in working out at the gym, even if you are performing the exercises correctly.  Here's an article I found online which you might find useful.  You should seek the medical attention you need and, when you return to the gym, ask for a different trainer.     Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  1000  (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

So sorry to hear what happened to you.  You might want to write to the company that shipped you the food and let them know it shipped you expired food, that you became sick, etc.  If you incurred any medical bills you can ask them to reimburse you but they would be under no legal obligaiton to do so.  Unfortunately, unless you sustained a serious, permanent injury, the time and expense of prosecuting a lawsuit would not be justified.  Also, keep in mind that if you knowingly consumed expired food there's probably not much you can do.   Best regards,   Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Sorry to hear about your fall.  There is no law granting you the right to a copy of the incident report you filled out.  And given that you cannot sue your employer for personal injuries, there's really no benefit to getting a copy of the report.  In the event you file a claim for workers' compensation benefits, your employer will have to fill out a First Report of Work-Related Injury/Illness Form.   Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Mr. Boria, have an attorney make the first contact.  The building will not take your case seriously if you do not have an attorney.  Nor will the building's insurance company negotiate with you in good faith if you're representing yourself. That the building was issued violations related to the stairwell may or may not be relevant depending on whether any of the conditions for which it was cited contributed to your fall.  In other words, if you fell because of a torn / loose floor covering, then the violation would be relevant.  If, on the other hand, you fell because there was water or debris on the stairs, the violations would be irrelevant.   Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More

Sorry to hear you're being given the run-around.  Although you certainly have the right to file a formal complaint with the Grievance Committee, it's not clear how you were harmed by your attorney's conduct or conflict of interest, especially if you were aware of at least 2 of the conflicts all along.  Keep in mind that you havea  right to choose whatever lawyer you want to represent you and can change attorneys at any time.  If you're not satisfied with the representation you're receiving or feel the conflicts are interfering with your attorney's representation of you, you should find a new lawyer.  Before doing so you might want to have an in-person meeting with your lawyers and try to get some straight answers about what's going on with your case.   Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 http://kdrpilawyers.com/   ... Read More