New York Personal Injury Legal Questions

You can certainly go back to the Post Office to report your fall.  The longer you delay the less credible your claim becomes.  If you are considering legal action against the Post Office you might want to take photographs of the condition which you claim caused you to fall.  And keep in mind that claims against the U.S. Post Office must be filed within two (2) years of the date of incident.  An experienced personal injury lawyer should be able to help you file one.  You can find such an attorney in the Lawyers.com search bar.... Read More

Threatening to sue someone is not unethical per se.  If your attorney roommate has threatened you physically you can certainly report him to the local disciplinary committee (either the First or Second Department depending on where in NYC you live) or, more appropriately, to the police.  And you might strongly consider finding another roommate - they are not in short supply in NYC.... Read More

So sorry to hear this happened to you.  You should read the Infant Compromise Order and see if it identified the bank into which the settlement proceeds were to be deposited jointly with an officer / trustee of the bank (they usually do).  Assuming the Order in your case contained such a provision, Capital One would arguably be on the hook for the money's disappearance.  You should speak with the attorneys who represented you in the case against Bed, Bath & Beyond and see if they can help you or perhaps bring a lawsuit against Capital One for not safeguarding the funds.... Read More

From what you've described it does not sound like you can.  In New York State, you cannot sue your employer for personal injuries sustained on the job unless you've sustained a "Grave Injury".  A Grave Injury is limited to inuries such as death, loss / amputation of multiple fingers, paraplegia, severe facial disfigurement, etc.  You can, however, file a claim for workers' compensation benefits (assuming your employer carries workers' compensation insurance). ... Read More

From what you've written it sounds like the restaurant accepted responsibility for what happened to you and tried to make it up to you be giving you a free foor and drinks.  Given the time and expense associated with litigation, it might not make sense to bring a lawsuit against the restaurant.  Your best bet might be to speak with the manager and see if the restaurant would be willing to pay for the cost of having your chipped tooth fixed.... Read More

You should immediately contact the Plaintiff's attorney by phone and explain the situation. Hopefully, they will agree to discontue the action. If not, you will need to have an answer submitted on your behalf. Thereafter, you can make a motion for Summary Judgment of dismissal based on you being an improper party. Thank You,Alan J. Goldberg, Esq.Goldberg, Scudieri & Lindenberg, P.C.6 East 45th Street14th FloorNew York, New York 10017Telephone: 212-921-1600Telecopier: 212-840-3941Agoldberg@gslnylaw.comwww.gslnylaw.com  ... Read More

Suing the driver of the car in which you are a passenger, in addition to other drivers, is standard operating procedure. You should contact your insurance company immediately, they are typically obligated to defend you and pay any judgment up to the policy limit.  If this happened in a work context, worker comp bars may apply. ... Read More

I am so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately you cannot sue this man for your mother's decision to discontinue dialysis and subsequent death. You can, however, file a police report for his theft of your mother's property, but first you would need to become legal representative of your mother's estate (executor or administrator, depending on whether she had a will).  Once you are appointed executor or administrator, you may have other claims against this person, depending on the facts. For example, if he was living in your mother's property and was not a co-owner, you can have him evicted.  More information is needed to determine your best course of action.  It is understandable that under these circumstances, you would want to pursue every possible remedy against this person. ... Read More

When and where did it happen? Were you taken to the hospital at the scene?  Do you have information about the car that hit you including insurance and/or plate number and who was driving? Where you working at the time of the accident and if so, how many weeks were you out of work? Did you have surgery or was told that you need surgery ? I can be reached by e-mail at whecht@aol.com or 718-575-8721. If it is easier you can send medical records and/or police report to me by e-mail   Warren S. Hecht, Esq.  ... Read More

New York has an uninsured motorist's law that allows people injured by uninsured, underinsured and hit-and-run drivers to be compensated for their injury, but the limit is $25,000. Yes, you need a lawyer (although that wasn't your question). However, if you have a license plate and a witness, you might not be limited to suing under MVAIC (the uninsured motorist statute). Keep looking for that driver. And if you have an auto insurance company, if you ultimately can't find the other driver, you can make a no-fault claim under your insurance. ... Read More

First, I am sorry for your loss. If this case occured in a public (state or county-run, or public benefit corporation) hospital, you were requred to serve a notice of claim on the hospital within 90 days after the date your wife was discharged without treatment, and commence a lawsuit within a year after that. If that was the case, and you didn't do so, you have no case. The statute of limitatons for psychiatric malpractice is 2 1/2 years from the time of the malpractice, which was the date your wife was discharged from the hospital without treatment after the hospital knew she was suicidal. For wrongful death, the statute of limitations is 2 years after death. So if this happened more than 2 years ago, you have no case for wrongful death. You may still have a case for pain and suffering even if it's too late to sue for wrongful death, but it's doubtful that such a case would have much value. Assuming this all happened recently enough to commence a wrongful death due to psychiatric malpractice lawsuit, if you can prove that not only was the hospital's decision to discharge your wife without treatment after she was determined to be an imminent suicide risk a breach of the standard of care, but that this breach was the foreseeable, direct cause of your wife's suicide nearly 2 weeks later.  Given that she previously tried to commit suicide by drug overdose, it may be difficult to prove that death by bleeding was foreseeable. But is is possible, in light of her two recent suicide attempts prior to going to the hospital, that you can prove medical malpractice.  ... Read More

You can hire a lawyer to pick up where your old lawyer left off. I suggest you do that right away so the cases don't get dismissed for lack of prosecution. Your new lawyer may be able to find out a great deal of information about your cases online. The first thing the lawyer should do is contact the attorneys for the defendants and explain the situation, and get extensions of time to comply with any deadlines coming up. A good lawyer can work around your missing lawyer. ... Read More

You have a lawyer, and you're asking if you can sue for your motor vehicle accident injury? What is your lawyer doing, drafting your will? Yes, you can sue. Your case should already be in litigation, since it obviously hasn't been settled. Applying for disability is not necessarily your lawyer's job- you can apply for that yourself. Your lost wages (if you lost your job due to the injury) are also part of your claimed damages in the lawsuit.  There are also legal funding companies that loan you money against the value of your lawsuit settlement, and you don't have to pay if you lose the case, but if you win (and they won't loan you money unless they're very sure you will) you will pay extremely high interest rates which may eat up a huge part of your settlement. So only do that as a very last resort. Try to get the cash some other way.  ... Read More

The insurance company paid your medical bills because they are required to under the No-Fault insurance system. No-fault has nothing to do with who is responsible for the accident. As for your personal injury claim, you have a very good case because your fracture satisfies the "serious injury" threshold under the Insurance Law. No one can answer what the case is worth without much more information. I suggest that you retain a personal injury lawyer. Insurance companies try to take advantage of people who do not have lawyers. Feel free to contact me if you wish to retain counsel.... Read More

The owner is liable for your father's injury, and depending on the severity of the injury, it might be compensable. There are two elements to a personal injury case: liability and damages. In this case the owner of the property is absolutely liable, but the question is whether the injuries have a money value. The results of an x-ray will determine if this is a case an attorney would be interested in taking. If there is a break or a fracture, that is a good case. A shoulder tear would be questionable because many people have them without even knowing it- it could be degenerative. The only way to determine if this is a case is to know your father's medical condition and prognosis, and if he works, whether he will miss work or other activities.... Read More

Unless you served a notice of claim on the county within 90 days of your original injury (which is, I assume, when you first reported the injury) your action against the county for civil rights abuse for failure to get you prompt treatment is barred by the statute of limitations. If the doctor you saw in November 2016 was not employed by a state or county hospital, you might have an action for medical malpractice, since the second doctor told you the bone healed incorrectly, and in November 2016 it was still healing. However, if it's a state or county facility, you have the same problem- unless you served a notice of claim on the county within 90 days of your original injury, any action against the facility is barred by the statute of limitations. As I write this, there is a bill on it's way to Governor Cuomo for signature into law that would extend the statute of limitations for medical malpractice to the date of discovery of the malpractice. Unfortunately, the law is being passed too late to help you if there was malpractice committed by a doctor employed by a state or county facility.... Read More

You can sue the murderer, but it is unlikely that you can successfully sue the club. The murder took place in your car, which is not club property. Even if it was parked in the parking lot of the business, unless you can prove that the former employee had a criminal history and the club owner knew or should have known of the employee's propensity for violence, the club will not be held responsible.... Read More