New York Personal Injury Legal Questions

I understand: The attorney "high pressured" you, urging you to sign off. You did so reluctantly and now think better of it. Here's the view from the other side: this was the best offer your lawyer felt you were going to get, given the circumstances of the case. Had it gone forward, the defendant might have withdrawn the offer and then you would face the prospect of possibly getting more at trial, or maybe less, or maybe nothing. Meanwhile there would be the certainty of trial costs, etc. I have had clients who have been unrealistic, even unreasonable in their expectations, I have no idea if that description applies to you, or if your lawyer thinks it does. I don't know what state you are in, but in NY and some others, settlements involving minors must be approved by a judge, which affords the added protection of an impartial view. At any rate, if you have signed settlement documents, then it is too late to do anything. If not, then have your lawyer explain to you again why he/she recommends accepting the deal. Then listen, please listen.... Read Answer

One year, though the police and prosecutors dislike on-again-off-again complaints and it is their call. He could just go ahead and file a no-fault claim on your insurance if he wants to get his bills paid. It may be too late for that, but if the insurance company disclaims due to his delay, that's on him.... Read Answer

She was not injured, so there is no case. But as one parent to another, I'm a little perplexed over your concerns: you react (some might say "over-react") very quickly to the prospect that she might have swallowed a staple, yet you allow her to drink a beverage that is known to be harmful. I'm going to try to post a link here, but in case LawQA does not allow it, I dare you to run an internet search on "The Amazing Statistics and Dangers of Soda Pop".... Read Answer

Your initial question is "what arguments would she make" and then in your narrative you ask "what arguments can the paper make". The person who is directly involved has a lawyer who will handle the arguments on the defamed person's behalf and the newspaper's lawyers will deal with the issues as they see fit.... Read Answer

The fact that it was the store brand and not the national brand has nothing to do with it. What matters is your surgeon's statement that it was bacteria in the solution that caused the problem which required the surgery. But: can you prove it? Bacterial infections in the eye can come from any number of sources. See a products liability lawyer in your area the sooner the better. There will be a lot of information to ge through before it can be determined whether or not a suit would be viable.... Read Answer

You may very well have a case, though I'm not sure you understand all the terminology you are using. Normally, when a dr orders up an MRI of the spine, what they are looking for is a disc injury. It turns out you have two ruptured discs. I don't understand how they could miss that, which is what leads me to state that you may have a case here. But, to really determine that, you need to get all of your medical records and have them examined by an expert witness. Contact a medical malpractice lawyer in your area for more info.... Read Answer

Every day, I deal with people who suffer broken bones, permanent disability and the loss of thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) of dollars. You have some cuts and bruises, embarrassment, and spent a few hundred bucks you didn't intend to spend, all due to your drunken brother. Liability notwithstanding, it would not be worth pursuing the night club. Here's what you do: meet with your brother, in person, in private. Tell him that you went through a lot of grief due to his irresponsibility, and you are not going to put up with it ever again.... Read Answer

In order to prove a medical malpractice case, a claimant must prove a failure to conform to accepted practice, resulting in an injury. A bad result is not enough. You will need to get copies of ALL of your medical records and have a doctor review them; if he/she is willing to testify that the hospital failed to conform to accepted practice, then you have a case. But even then, you have to prove how much worse you are as a result of the malpractice. These cases are difficult and expensive to prove and they do not settle out of court. So unless you have catastrophic injuries, it does not make financial sense to go forward even if malpractice was committed.... Read Answer

I don't think you can sue a 15 year old, and if you could, he would have no assets. But, since the girl is a minor as well, it's possible you could sue when he reaches the age of 18 since she will still be a minor at that time, and since judgments can stick around a long time (up to 20 years in NY) then theoretically, his income, when he has one, can be garnished over the long haul. I doubt that his parents would be held liable, as you'd have to prove they knew or should have known this would happen (maybe you could, I don't know).... Read Answer

The general rule is that the statute of limitations is one year for an intentional act, unless there is a minor involved, in which case it extends to one year after attaining the age of majority. What you are trying to do is to invoke the "date of discovery" concept, that you did not know you had this issue, etc. until recently, and that this should "toll" the statute, in other words, that the one year should not start to run until you realized what happened to you. Without doing some research, I don't have a definitive answer, but my gut feeling is that it would not be accepted by the courts in your situation.... Read Answer