New York Personal Injury Legal Questions

These situations are very complicated. Medical science can only go so far. Yes there are other babies born that prematurely and do survive, but there are also full-term babies who die for no known reason. While it is possible that there may be malpractice, I tend to doubt it, as it is not obvious that a sonogram would have made the difference.... Read More

frankly, I wouldn't recommend that you sue anyone unless your daughter sustained serious injuries that required surgery and/or with pernament scarring.  I make sure to advise my clients that most personal injury litigation lasts 3 years.  it requires depositions, court appearances, exams by an insurance company doctor, etc.... I wouldn't want you to put any child through this process unless the injuries were permanent and substantial. Michael Barasch ... Read More

You would have to be able to prove that the antidepressants did in fact ruin your teeth. Right or wrong, they will blame you for bad oral hygiene. Also, if there was some package insert that says "this could happen" they will use that as a defense saying "we told you this could happen, and you went ahead and took the drugs anyway".... Read More

If you have a permanent injury, you may be able to get a "schedule award" which is based on a formula depending on the extent of your disability and your rate of pay, offset by payments you have already received. But: you should get some advice as to whether the schedule award is your best option. Depending on your situation, you may be better off getting disability payments and having your medical expenses taken care of.... Read More

You will testify brilliantly, everyone will believe everything you say and will be compassionate and generous and the Mayor will show up with the Comptroller and they will write you a big fat check right on the spot, that's what will happen. Or not. The lawyer for the town will ask dull meaningless questions and will look like he doesn't care what you will say and your lawyer will sit there doing nothing and then when the town attorney is done, everyone will get up and leave and your lawyer will say "we'll be in touch" and months will go by before you hear from him again and that will only to be to sign more papers. Yeah, that's the ticket. And then you will get frustrated and go on the 'net and ask what will happen when the panelists on the site don't know you, have not seen your file, have no idea how strong your case is or what evidence you have and don't even know what town you live in and you will expect them to be able to tell you what will happen in your case when you already have a lawyer who has all that information and he dosn't know either because no one can predict the future.... Read More

Does the doctor say that it was in fact strep and that it was from the plastic? Any witnesses? Did you report this to the restaurant? I ask because there are unscrupulous people who would be willing to make such a claim falsely, and so franchises such as this are on the lookout. Unfortunately, that also means that some legitimate claims are denied.... Read More

That's a medical question, not a legal question. If your doc says you can, then you can. If you are concerned that your employer will find out that you are continuing classes and therefore claims that you are capable of returning to work, that too is a medical issue: you do what your dr says you can do. If the doc says you can return to light duty work, then you must report that to your employer. If your employer has no light duty work available, then you are still out on comp.... Read More

With structured settlements, the lawyer is entitled to take his/her fee on the present value of the settlement. Once the value of the settlement is determined, the lawyer will take the full 1/3 fee from the upfront portion of the settlement monies.  In other words, the lawyer is not required to wait to take a fee as the future monies are paid. Once the fee is taken from the upfront portion of the settlement, all future payments are yours, the client, and the attorney has no further interest in those future sums.  i hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you need anything further. ... Read More

Sir-  i'm sorry to hear about your accident. The first question I have is did you take photographs of the defective condition that caused your injury? If so, please send them to me with an explanation of exactly what you hit your head on. Second, did the facility fill out an incident report and give you a copy?   Third, did you go to the hospital by ambulance? Fourth, did you sustain a permanent serious injury? Once I have the answers to those questions I'll be able to better advise youU of your legal rights.  Mike Barasch michael@firelaw.com... Read More

You can't sue for the loss of income, the damages are considered "remote" and "specuative" (I know that to you they aren't but that's how it's looked at legally). You might be able to sue the testing company for "specific performance", that is, getting the scores to the state, and possibly bring an "Article 78 proceeding" to compel the state to process the application. Hopefully, it woun't come to that, perhaps a few letters and phone calls from a lawyer can straighten it out.... Read More

You probably signed a pile of documents when you first saw the Dr. and I'm betting one of them allows them to disclose your records. You need to get a copy and read them and see what you agreed to. I would think, though, that all you would have to do is tell them not to disclose your medical information. There is a law called, HIPPA, for short that prohibits the disclosure of medical info. If you signed one of those, just revoke it in writing to them. Consider consulting an experienced lawyer familiar with HIPPA law.... Read More

I would be happy to answer any questions you have concerning your pending lawsuit.  Please call my office at 212 385 8000.  My name is Sara Director and I am one of the lawyers here. Thanks, Sara Director, Esq. Barasch McGarry Salzman & Penson 11 Park Place Suite 1801 New York, NY 10007 212 385 8000... Read More

This is the kind of question that gets non-lawyers annoyed at lawyers. It seems so simple, yet we make it so complicated. If the neighbor knew or should have known that the tree might fall, then he is responsible. If there were overhanging branches that the damaged neighbor could have removed and that's what caused the tree to fall in that direction, then he is responsible. If it was a violent storm that knocked the tree over, then no one is "responsible" but the damaged party has to deal with his own loss. Finally, if it just happened to fall without warning, perhaps it coulld be argued either way, but I'd say it's the tree owner who is responsible, after all, it's his tree.... Read More