Laws and Rules that Every Personal Injury Plaintiff Should Know

Civil litigation between private parties is a unique area of legal practice.  Every citizen has rights that which the law protects.  Every citizen also has responsibilities that which must be followed according to the letter of the law.  If you or a loved one has been harmed, you may have a valid legal basis to receive court ordered compensation from the offending parties. 

The experienced personal injury attorney practicing law in the Hudson Valley regions of New York is astute in knowing substantive law and procedural law.  Substantive law refers to those laws that define ones rights and responsibilities.

Understanding substantive law is sometimes the easy part for most people to understand.  Procedural law on the other hand, can be much more complex and confusing.  Procedural law instructs people on how to properly commence litigation against a defendant.  It also instructs attorneys on how to properly move through the many steps of bringing a case from start to conclusion. 

Perhaps the most important rules for most plaintiffs to understand are those that which relate to time limits for suing a defendant.   In New York, these time limits are called statutes of limitations.  The New York State Legislature has enacted laws that say how long the plaintiff has to sue a wrongdoer after the bad deed was committed.  Those rules are located in the New York Civil Practice Laws and Rules (CPLR) code books.

There is no one set time period for all possible bad deeds; so the time period will vary depending on the type of harm that which was done.  Let’s hone in on personal injury victims.

According to CPLR Section 214, these plaintiffs have three years to sue the person that caused them harm.  The clock starts to tick right at the moment the bad deed was committed.   If a plaintiff misses this timeline, the defendant’s attorney will most assuredly ask the court to dismiss the case as being barred by the statute of limitations. 

Another important rule that New York plaintiffs should know relates to whether or not a plaintiff can receive compensation if the plaintiff shares some of the fault for his/her injury.   New York is different from many other states in that the plaintiff can still collect compensation even if partially at fault for the accident and injury.  It is called comparative negligence.  The court and or jury will hear the case and determine fault.  A determination will be made as to how much each party is responsible for the accident; it will be in terms of a percentage.  So long as the plaintiff is less than 100% at fault, the plaintiff can collect something. 

The jury will determine the award and if the plaintiff is 10% responsible for the accident, then he/she will only receive 90% of the compensation awarded. 

Other important New York Laws and rules that should be discussed with you attorney are:

·      New York No-Fault laws

·      Dog Bite Liability

·      Procedural Issues when Suing the Government

 he attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle personal injury cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Who Can I Sue if the Person that Crashed into me has No Money?

Why should a car accident victim have to pay for the costs of a car accident?  The answer is that the victim should not have to pay a single cent.  The person that caused the accident should be held accountable. 

The experienced Hudson car accident attorney knows that holding this person accountable is not always easy.  This is because the offending motorists might have no money and no assets from which the victim can collect compensation.  Attorneys call these types of people, “judgment proof”.  Winning a civil lawsuit against someone who is judgment proof will do little good to the victim.

If not from the driver, from whom can an injured motorist and or pedestrian collect compensation?  New York’s permissive use doctrine answers this perfectly.  Said doctrine is found in section 388 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law.  It states,

“[E]very owner of a vehicle used or operated in this state shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the use of operation of such vehicle, in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner.”

This means that the owner of the vehicle can be held liable for the driver’s negligence behind the wheel.  Think about situations where a teen is using mom’s or dad’s car.  The teen might have little income and no assets, but the parents may have much, much more.  The same holds true when employees are driving the company car.  The company most likely has more money and assets as compared to the employee.

So long as the driver had permission to use the vehicle, the owner can be held liable.  Permission to use the vehicle can be expressly given.  For example, when mom says to child, “take the car to see grandma”.  Or permission can be implied.  Employees often have implied permission to use company vehicles.  The employer never expressly told the employee to take the car out, but completing his or her job functions requires using the company vehicle.  Additionally, permission can be implied if the owner knows someone is using the car and the owner does nothing to prevent the car’s use. 

Understanding from whom one should collect is important because the New York no fault laws and insurance companies may not compensate the victim for all damages.  The victim will then have to separately sue the driver and anyone else who can be held to pay. 

The experienced attorney will investigate not only into the matter of negligence, but also into the availability of potential sources of compensation. 

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle car accident cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Surgical Mistakes Rising to the Level of Medical Malpractice

Often time’s patients come out of surgery feeling in a way that was not expected.  They are left wondering if such is normal, or if they should be concerned.   Even if they discuss their concerns with the surgeon, they may still be left unsatisfied. 

The experienced Hudson medical malpractice attorney knows that surgeons and other medical professionals are not required to tell their patient that mistakes were made during their surgery.  Even worse, there is nothing that prevents the surgeon from lying to the patient with the claim that everything is fine.

That being the case, many patients turn to medical malpractice attorneys to have their problem investigated.  Upon consultation and retainment, the attorney will investigate the facts that which surround the patient’s surgery by reviewing medical records and by enlisting the help of medical experts. 

The patient may expect financial recovery from the offending surgeon if the patient was injured by a negligent act committed by a medical professional.  Of course, the negligence must have occurred while the patient was treated by the offending doctor. 

Negligence in the medical setting is what attorneys call medical malpractice.  If a duty of care is owed to a person, and that duty is breached, the offending party will be liable for damages if the breach caused the other person injuries. 

In the course of the doctor patient relationship, surgeons owe a duty to the patient.  The surgeon must follow the standard of care prescribed by the profession in that community.  Any other deviation there from is negligence if another surgeon in the area would not have committed the offending act or omission. 

The ways in which a surgeon can commit malpractice during surgery are limitless.  With that said, there are common errors that have happed in the past and they continue to happen.  Here are some examples.

·         Wrong site surgery;

·         Surgery on the wrong patient;

·         Surgery in which the wrong limb is amputated;

·         Leaving a foreign object inside a patient’s body; sponges, pads, gloves, needles, etc;

·         Organ puncture;

·         Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose;

·         Bowel perforations;

·         Severed, nicked, or cut veins;

·         Lack of informed consent;

·         Anesthesia errors;

·         Excessive bleeding;

·         Excessive scarring; and

·         Delayed surgery.

As a parting note, please realize that more than just the surgeon can be held liable for a mistake made during surgery.  Any medical professional that took part in the surgery and contributed to the negligent harms committed to the patient can be held accountable.  This includes, nurses, assistants, anesthesiologists, technicians, etc.  Moreover, the professionals that treated the patient prior to and after the surgery can be accountable as well if they too negligently injured the patient.

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle medical malpractice cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Employer Held Liable for Employee’s Car Accident

Business vehicles make up a large portion of cars and trucks operating on Hudson, New York roads.  Sometimes, it is conspicuous that the vehicle is company owned; the business name could be written on the vehicle.  Other times, it may not be clear that the driver is operating a company vehicle or driving a vehicle for work purposes.

In any event, when an employee causes a car accident, his or her employer can be held to pay for injuries caused during the accident.  Consider the following real life example.  It is from a case titled, Zeglen v. Minkiewicz.  An employee of GE, Adamson, caused a collision with Minkiewicz.  Minkiweicz’s passenger was a person named Zeglen.  This passenger was injured in the car accident.

Zeglen sued Minkiewicz and Adamson so that he could be compensated for his injuries.  But there is more.  Zeglen also sued GE because Adamson was operating the vehicle while conducting business for GE.  Zeglen won at trial and every defendant, including GE, was held liable for Zeglen’s damages.

Experienced car accident attorneys in Hudson, New York have seen many cases like the one described above.  And holding the employer liable for the negligent actions of his or her employee makes sense.  Why?  Because the employer is profiting off of the employee’s work.  So when there is a loss, the employer must suffer the consequences.  It the legal world, the concept is known as respondeat superior – literally translated as “let the master answer”. 

But there is a catch.  If the employer is to be held liable when his employee’s negligence causes a car accident, the employee must have had permission to use the vehicle, and company business must have been conducted. 

Permission to use the company vehicle can be expressly made or it can be implied.  Meaning, the employer cannot escape liability by saying he never told the employee to use the company vehicle.  For if the employee cannot complete his job without using the company vehicle, than he has implied consent to use the vehicle. 

Let’s talk about operating the vehicle within the scope of employment.  It is not always clear.  For example, some employees are allowed to take a company car home, like a work truck.  But they are told to never use the vehicle for personal affairs.  If the employee uses the vehicle to go shopping for groceries on the weekend and ends up negligently causing an accident, the company might not be held liable for the victim’s injuries.  Of course, motor vehicle coverage will cover some losses, but the company might not be held liable for losses not covered by insurance. 

All of these issues will be debated during any trial; whether or not there was permission to use the vehicle; whether or not the employee was working; or if the employee strayed from company business during work hours. 

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle car accident cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Slip and Fall Accident: How to Pay Your Medical Bills

The injuries caused by a slip and fall accidents can be more serious than most people suspect.  In fact, the injuries can be quite similar to that which occurs in motor vehicle collisions.  Experienced personal injury attorneys from Hudson, New York have seen slip and fall victims suffer from:

·         Torn ligaments;

·         Lacerations;

·         Sprains;

·         Bruising;

·         Fractured limbs: arms and legs;

·         Broken hands and fingers;

·         Broken collar bones;

·         Fractured shoulders;

·         Broken hips;

·         Knee damage;

·         Broken back vertebra;

·         Spinal cord injuries;

·         Fractured skulls;

·         Concussions;

·         Traumatic brain injury;

·         Coma; and

·         Death.

I am sure you can imagine that any one of these injuries can cause the victim to incur extensive medical bills.  The difficulty for slip and fall victims is figuring out how to pay.  Fortunately, there are many ways to have medical bills paid, including obtaining compensation via civil litigation.

The easiest way to pay medical bills is by using one’s own health coverage; through a plan offered by an employer that which the victim in enrolled in, or by coverage through a policy obtained from the Marketplace.  Of course all of the cost is not covered; the victim will have to pay any deductable and co-payments.  Medicare or Medicaid can cover the cost too if the victim has these benefits.

Alternatively, if the slip and fall accident happened on residential property, the home owner’s property insurance can help pay for medical bills.  Commercial property will most likely be insured for slip and fall accidents too.  So if the victim suffers a slip and fall accident, it is important to get the property owner’s insurance information.

What if someone slips and falls at work?  Workers’ Compensation can help pay for the victim’s medical bills. 

If any or all of the above fails at compensating the victim for money paid to medical providers, the victim can sue the property owner for compensation.

Success will hinge upon many factors and not all slip and fall accidents can be traced to an owner’s negligent care of his or her property.

Generally speaking, if a property owner:

a.       Created the dangerous condition that caused the slip and fall accident, or

b.      Knew about the dangerous condition, but failed to make it safe, or

c.       Should have known about the dangerous condition

A visitor on the property would have a strong case against the property owner (or operator) founded in theories of premises liability.  Monetary loss not covered by insurance can come directly from the property owner’s own funds.

Some exceptions and circumstances may limit recovery, so talking to an experienced attorney is the best course of action. 

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle slip and fall cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.