Personal Injury Legal Questions

Probably not.  Statute of Limitations in New York for personal injury cases is generally three (3) years from the date the cause of action accrued.  Although New York also has a "date of discovery" rule for exposure cases, such cases must be commenced from the date of discovery of the injury or from the date when the injury should have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence, whichever is earlier.  Although you received a letter stating that the building was safe with no contaminants, you were arguably put on notice as far back as 2012 / 2013 that you had been exposed to mold (which started the proverbial clock).  Moreover, New York's courts have been pretty hostile towards mold cases with the State's highest court dismissing a mold case several years ago.... Read More

  Dear Joshua, I am sorry to hear about your injury and hope it is not serious.    Take/preserve photos of the receipt, the bag, the gummy bears and the nuts- and preserve all of these items as well. Seek appropriate medical care.   Contact a Personal Injury Attorney as soon as possible to review all facts and circumstances-especially details regarding the substance which caused your injury and prognosis for your teeth- and hopefully obtain representation, rather than pursuing the claim on your own.   However, you will have to reach out as attorneys are unable to directly solicit on this forum.  ... Read More

  Hello Crystal, I am sorry to hear about your injury and hope it is not serious and can be repaired simply without major procedure. Seek appropriate medical care.    Preserve glass/ take photos. Preserve proof of purchase receipt / container  / contents. Report incident.    Contact a Personal Injury Attorney as soon as possible to review all facts and circumstances-especially details regarding the dangerous condition which caused your injury- and hopefully obtain representation, rather than pursuing Publix on your own.     However, if you are interested in consulting with one of us, you will have to reach out, as attorneys are unable to directly solicit on this forum.  ... Read More

Medicaid has a right to recover benefits it paid on your behalf and which are related to medical treatment you received for your injury.  And because Medicaid has a statutory lien, it could seek to recover the money from your lawyer if he released the settlement proceeds to you without paying Medicaid first.  That said, two (2) years does sound like a long time, even for Medicaid.  You might want to schedule a meeting with your lawyer to discuss the amount of Medicaid's lien and what efforts, if any, he's made to resolve it.  There should be a contact person at HRA / Social Services with whom he can speak.  If not, he could bring an Order to Show Cause to have the Court resolve the issue. That usually getst their attention.... Read More

As someone with a similar condition, I sympathize with your husband's situation.  In California, an employer with 5 or more employees is required to make reasonable accommodations for an employee's disability or chronic medical condition unless doing so would pose an undue hardship for the employer. The employer is also required to engage in an "interactive good faith process" to determine an appropriate accommodation, and a failure to engage in this process can, itself, be grounds for a lawsuit. The duty to engage is an ongoing duty as well, meaning the employer cannot just engage once and then wash their hands of the situation.  From what you described, it does not sound like the employer is engaging in an interactive, good faith process. Having said that, degenerative conditions are tricky because it is often difficult to prove that the condition is worsening because of a specific cause or just getting worse on its own.  You would need expert testimony to establish this.  What is a more likely scenario, I am sorry to say and having handled many cases like this, is that the employer ignores the doctor's light-duty orders, falsely claims undue hardship, and your husband then suffers a more frank, serious injury such as a fall, etc.  If your husband's employer has an employee manual, review it and see what it says about requesting accommodations.  Request accommodations in writing.  Get the specifics of what to ask for from the doctor, but don't just rely on the employer communicating with the doctor while you are left on the sidelines.  Be proactive.   If the employer refuses, does not offer reasonable alternatives, strings this along, contact an attorney in person right away who can advise you about filing a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, obtaining a right to sue letter, and filing a civil action.  Here's a good website about the reasonable accommodation process in California.... Read More

This sounds like a very scary situation.  However, it is a more common occurrence than you might think.  Homeowners across the country have reported "exploding" shower doors made by various manufacturers. There is an interesting article about this phenomenon here. There does not appear to be a specific, known cause for glass doors suddenly shattering, so liability may be difficult to establish. Most injuries from these events are relatively minor, and it sounds like that was the case with your daughter, thankfully.  If she has medical bills, the facility where this occurred likely has medical payments ("med-pay") coverage that would reimburse you for medical costs up to a certain dollar amount regardless of whether the facility is at fault or not.  You should open a premises liability claim with the facility/their insurance and ask what med pay coverage is available.... Read More

You are entitled to receive a copy of the fee agreement; however, just because you did not receive a copy after the first meeting does not necessarily mean you are not legally bound to pay for the lawyer's services if he does work for you.  You may not have intended this interpretation, but your message strikes me as interesting, to say the least.  You just visited with the lawyer on the same day as your message, and you are already questioning the legitimacy of the attorney-client relationship and your obligation to pay the lawyer should you prevail.  You also characterized the transaction as "he made me sign a paper," though you don't elaborate on how he "made" you sign it.  If you are uncomfortable with what transpired with this attorney, as the client, you are certainly free to terminate the relationship without giving any reason for doing so.  You are not free to engage the attorney to perform work for you and possibly advance his own funds as costs to settle or litigate your case, and then not pay him even though you prevail, just because you did not receive a copy of the fee agreement after the first meeting.  Have you asked for a copy?  If you plan on working with this attorney, you might want to start there.... Read More

Yes, you may have a case. From the facts you allege, it appears that Mcdonalds was negligent because the employee failed to properly secure the lid on the coffee cup, the contents of which were very hot, and it was forseeable that if she didnt do that, the lid could come off the cup, spill and seriously injure someone. I would seek immediate medical attention and take many pictures of the second degree burns throughout the healing process. Where was the restaurant located? In Alabama or Florida? ... Read More

Assuming your attorney is still alive and practicing law, your best best would be to report him or her to the Disciplinary Committee.  https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/ad1/Committees&Programs/DDC/index.shtml  As for suing your attorney, I believe the Statute of Limitations has long since expired for any such claim.... Read More

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

Hello Terry, Very sorry to hear of your terrible injury. We will need to discuss the facts and what happened in this case regarding negligence, defective product, etc. to determine proper party(ies) and viability. We provide statewide representation for many of our clients. We can not directly solicit you, so you will need to reach out for a consultation.   ... Read More

In California, there is a legal principle known as the "shopkeeper's privilege."  It is a limited right to detain a person suspected of shoplifting.  I stress that this privilege is limited, meaning that the detention must be carried out in a reasonable manner.  Generally speaking, what constitutes reasonable manner will depend on the facts of each case, but resorting to physical violence is not likely to be viewed as reasonable when the son (whether or not he was an employee) could have gone inside and called 911.  You likely have a civil and criminal case of assault and battery.  Crucial to the outcome of this situation, however, is whether you have the video?  If you don't, then it becomes a credibility contest between you and the son/shopkeeper.  Did you file a police report?  Anything that documents contemporaneously what happened?  If you don't have the video, and I suspect you don't, the likelihood of it still being around is slim, as many businesses like the one you described recycle their video.  It depends on what type of system they are using and how sophisticated a place it is.... Read More