You are here: Home / Legal News

Ten Things To Do If You Get In A New York Car Accident

April 3, 2010 By

When you are injured in a New York car crash, here are ten things that you should do:

1. Make sure to call the police. The other driver may ask you to “work it out between us”, but that is always a bad idea, New_york_car_accidentand will certainly hurt your prospects for a settlement with the other driver’s insurance company if the accident was not reported.

2. Report all injuries to the investigating officer. Insurance companies always refer to this in settlement negotiations, so don’t let this happen to you.

3. Go to the hospital immediately and make sure that all of your injuries are noted by the triage nurse at the hospital.

4. If at all possible, get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses. Once you are taken for medical treatment, this information is very often lost forever and this can be absolutely vital to the success of your case.

5. Document the accident scene, the location of the vehicles, accident debris, the damage to your car, and any visible injuries with photographs. If you don’t have a camera, use your cell phone if you can. This cannot be emphasized enough.

6. Treat immediately for your injuries to avoid insurance company claims that your injuries were not from the New York car accident.

7. Don’t speak with the other driver’s insurance company, and don’t sign any papers or fill out any reports for the other insurance company.

8. Obtain the police report right away and if the other driver hasn’t reported the accident, you or your lawyer must do so right away to preserve your rights.

9. Make sure you report the accident to your own insurance company to ensure that your no-fault coverage, which will pay for your medical treatment and lost wages, is immediately in effect.

10. Contact a New York personal injury lawyer immediately to represent you throughout the process, which is designed with many filing deadlines which must be met to protect your legal rights and insurance coverage.


  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: , , , , ,

New York Drunk Driving Laws

April 3, 2010 By

duiOne question I get more than any other is “What will happen to me in the court on my first offense for DUI?” If you talk to an attorney there are all sorts of variables they will consider. They usually will not give you a clear answer. The following is a general framework of what most DUI first offenders receive in New York State.

Drunk Driving in New York State is prosecuted under either or both of two theories: common law drunk driving (Section 1192-3), and driving while one has more than .08% of one gram of alcohol per liter in one’s bloodstream (Section 1192(2). The first (common law) theory is the old fashioned drunk driving where one is weaving in traffic and having obvious problems. This is based on the critical opinion of the arresting officer. The second theory ignores how the driver is doing but makes it a criminal offense merely to have more than the .08% blood alcohol limit in your blood. It is possible to be cited under both sections of the code, and receive two tickets.

First Offender Penalties In New York State:

In Court

First offense is a misdemeanor and will result in a criminal record.

If convicted of misdemeanor DWI, you will have your license revoked for a minimum of six months.

Mandatory fine of $500 to $1000.

Surcharges are added to misdemeanors ($160).

Maximum penalty = one year in the local county jail.

Operators with commercial licenses or operating commercial vehicles face stiffer penalties.

The highest blood alcohol level possible to still drive is a .04 % BAC. When you hit .05 percent you’re driving while impaired. When you hit .08 percent you’re driving while intoxicated. A DWI conviction depends on a test of your BAC under Section 1192(2).

Arrest for “Driving While Impaired” (.05 to .07% BAC) usually results in a $300 – $500 fine, a 90 day license suspension, and a maximum of 15 days in county jail.

Just sitting behind the wheel of a running vehicle can constitute “driving” or “operating” a vehicle.

Zero Tolerance Law: A driver who is less than 21 years of age and who drives with a .02 BAC to .07 BAC gets $125 civil penalty. License is suspended for 6 months, with a $100 fee to terminate suspension.

A serious personal injury or a death will result in suspension of your privilege. License can be suspended immediately for any refusal to submit to a breath test. (VTL Section 1194. 2). Suspension is possible. If the Administrative Law Judge finds (as they almost always do) that the refusal was made even though the police officer informed him/her that it would result in a license suspension, the judge can and will revoke the license for a period of at least 6 months, plus a $300 civil penalty. In such a case, your license will be suspended pending a DMV hearing, which must be held within 15 days. Ironically, if you refuse the BAC test, receive a revoked license, but are found “not guilty” you cannot revive a conditional license, because innocent drivers are not eligible to attend a Drinking Driving Program (see below). A dismissal of the criminal charge or a plea to any other charge outside the DUI charge will preclude the issuance of a conditional license. At the time of your arrest the DMV will automatically suspend your license if you are alleged to have had .08% or more alcohol in your blood, as shown by chemical analysis of blood, breath, urine or saliva.

This suspension is for four months. But after the expiration of 30 days you, if eligible, can apply for a pre-conviction conditional license, if you attend a DMV certified Drinking Driving Program. These programs cost a minimum of $75 dollars, and include 16 classroom hours and a screening process to complete the program. Enrollment requires bringing your driver license or proof of identity with signature, and payment of the appropriate fees to a DMV office.

If you are convicted in the interim, the court will sometimes grant a 20 day stay order on any court imposed suspension or revocation. This will allow you time to enroll in the Drinking Driving Program and obtain a conditional license.

On the day you are suspended you may be eligible for a “Hardship Privilege” which is issued directly by the judge However, this by no means assured, and is based on proof of an inability to find alternate means of travel to and from work, school, etc. “Hardship Privilege” is very restricted and will generally only permit you to drive to and from work, doctor’s appointments, school, etc.

If you are placed on probation because of this conviction, you also must bring written permission from the sentencing court, or your probation officer, that allows you to apply for a license.

Only after completion can you have your license restored or reapply for another.

If you qualify for a conditional license or conditional driving privilege, you will be allowed to legally drive within certain limitations ( such as to and from work, to and from medical treatment, to attend an accredited school or college, to deliver a child to school, etc.).

Just in case you are wondering, a second offense DWI is a felony prosecuted in Superior Court or County Court. A conviction may result in a term of imprisonment in a State Penitentiary. A $750 penalty applies to drivers under 21 if second offense.

This is GENERALLY the way it works for those convicted of a misdemeanor first offense DUI.

Also See:

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: , , , ,

Do All Personal Injury Cases Involve Physical Injury?

November 10, 2009 By

In most cases, you must have suffered a physical injury in order to recover any compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.  The injury does not have to be life-threatening or permanent, but it must have some physical manifestation, such as the following:

  • Broken, cracked or dislocated bones or teeth
  • Bruises
  • Scars
  • Strains
  • Sprains
  • Concussions
  • Impaired vision (sight)
  • Impaired hearing (sound)
  • Impaired sense of taste or smell
  • Impaired nerves (touch, tingling, numbness)
  • Loss of a limb (arms, legs, fingers, toes)
  • Loss of use of a limb or organ
  • Brain injury (impaired memory or motor skills)

Once a physical injury is shown, an injured person may also recover compensation for issues that include the following:

  • Pain
  • Suffering
  • Disability
  • Embarrassment
  • Humiliation
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of earnings or earning capacity
  • Medical or health care costs

Other kinds of damages

However, New York personal injury lawyers know that there are some exceptions to the requirement of a physical injury.  A person may recover compensation for an injury to another person when there is a special relationship between them.  This is usually seen in a wrongful death case, where survivors may recover for the loss of a family member.  Family members may also recover for trauma they suffer as a result of seeing a parent or child killed or maimed.

Some courts require that the other family member be present at the time and place of the physical injury and actually witness it.  Other courts limit recovery to non-injured witnesses who were in the same zone of danger as the physically injured family member.  In addition, when one spouse is physically injured, the other spouse may recover compensation for loss of the society and companionship of the injured spouse.  This can include loss of marital relations, sometimes called consortium.

Emotional distress

Finally, if an injury was caused by intentional conduct (as opposed to negligence), most courts allow the victim to recover for emotional distress even if there was no physical injury.  For example, an assault (attempted or threatened, but not completed, battery), false imprisonment (kidnapping), and defamation of character (libel and slander), do not usually require a physical injury.

Also See:

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: ,

New York Man Sues Yankees

June 15, 2009 By

By Thom Weidlich

April 16 (Bloomberg) — The New York Yankees and the city’s police department were sued by a Boston Red Sox fan who said he was ejected from Yankee Stadium in August because he tried to use the restroom during the singing of “God Bless America.”

ny-yankees-logoBradford Campeau-Laurion, a 30-year-old resident of Astoria, Queens, said he was the victim of religious and political discrimination. The New York Civil Liberties Union sued yesterday on his behalf in federal court in Manhattan.

“New York’s finest have no business arresting someone for trying to go to the bathroom at a politically incorrect moment,” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the civil- liberties group, said in a statement.

Campeau-Laurion said he was stopped by an officer on his way to the restroom during the seventh-inning stretch and was thrown out of the stadium when he tried to keep walking.

The police disputed his account.

“The officers observed a male standing on his seat, cursing, using inappropriate language and acting in a disorderly manner while reeking of alcohol and decided to eject him rather than subject others to his offensive behavior,” Paul Browne, a spokesman for the Police Department, said in an e-mailed statement.

Alice McGillion, a spokeswoman for the Yankees, declined to comment.

Peanuts, Beer

Campeau-Laurion, originally from New Hampshire, attended the Yankees home game against the Red Sox on Aug. 26 with a friend, according to his complaint. Between halves of the seventh inning, after eating peanuts and drinking two beers, Campeau-Laurion got up to go to the restroom, he said.

“As he walked toward the tunnel leading to the concourse, a uniformed New York City police officer put up his hands and mumbled something to Mr. Campeau-Laurion,” according to the complaint.

He understood the policeman as indicating he couldn’t leave during “God Bless America.” When he tried to move past the officer, the policeman grabbed his arm and said, “He’s out” to another officer, who twisted Campeau-Laurion’s left arm behind his back, he said. They ejected him from the stadium, according to the complaint.

In addition to the Yankees, Campeau-Laurion sued Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the two unnamed officers who he says ejected him.

No-Movement Policy

Unlike most other Major League Baseball teams, the Yankees seek to prevent fans from moving during the playing of “God Bless America,” according to the complaint. The lawsuit also challenges that policy. Off-duty uniformed police officers at the games are paid by the Yankees, according to the complaint and Browne.

In a phone interview, Campeau-Laurion disputed the police department’s account. “Not a word of that is true,” he said. “The whole incident didn’t occur at my seat. It occurred at my section when I went to use the restroom.”

He said the police never took his name and they may have confused him with someone else.

The complaint refers to Campeau-Laurion as “an avid and lifelong baseball fan” who bought tickets for 24 games this year.

In the interview, he said his being a Red Sox fan had nothing to do with the incident. He went to the game from work and was wearing a dress shirt and dress pants and nothing to indicate he was a Red Sox fan, he said. “I was wearing blue and gray,” he said. “I was actually in Yankees colors.” Campeau- Laurion is director of Web productions for a media company he declined to name.

‘Dragged Out’

Campeau-Laurion said in the interview he told the police “’I don’t care about ‘God Bless America.’ I don’t believe that’s grounds constitutionally for being dragged out of a baseball game.”

He declined to characterize himself as either an atheist or agnostic.

“I simply don’t have any religious beliefs,” he said.

Irving Berlin, who wrote “God Bless America,” was an agnostic, according to “Irving Berlin: A Daughter’s Memoir,” written by his daughter Mary Ellin Barrett and published in 1994.

The Yankees began playing “God Bless America” midway through the seventh inning after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as did every other Major League Baseball team, according to the complaint.

Campeau-Laurion said he had no problem with the Yankees playing the song or others listening to it.

‘Devalues Patriotism’

“It devalues patriotism as a whole when you force people to participate in patriotic acts,” he said. “It devalues the freedom we fought for in the first place.”

“I consider myself to be a good American citizen,” Campeau-Laurion said.

The Yankees lost to the Red Sox 7-3 the night of Aug. 26. The Yankees play the first game in their new stadium, built across the street from the old one, today.

The case is Campeau-Laurion v. Kelly, 09-cv-03790, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Also See:

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: , , ,

White House wins e-mail disclosure fight in court

June 1, 2009 By

white-house-emailTuesday a federal appeals court ruled that the office that has records about millions of possibly missing e-mails from the Bush White House does not have to make them public.

In Washington the appeals court ruled that the White House Office of Administration is not an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act, allowing the White House to keep secret documents about an e-mail system that has been plagued with problems.


During its first term, the Bush White House failed to install electronic record-keeping for e-mail when it switched to a new system, resulting in millions of messages that could not be found. The Bush White House discovered the problem in 2005 and rejected a proposed solution.

A group known as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued to get documents about the office’s electronic record-keeping, including reports analyzing system problems, plans to find the missing e-mails and create an improved system and records of any retained messages.

In response to court orders in the case, the White House disclosed that it has located nearly 3,500 pages of documents about problems with its e-mail system. But the Bush administration argued in this case for the first time that the office’s records are not subject to public disclosure, even though it had responded to hundreds of other FOIA requests in the past decade and even included instructions on its Web site for filing them.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With:

Nearly Three of Four First-Timers Pass Bar Exam

May 27, 2009 By

bar-examThe New York State Board of Law Examiners has completed grading for the February bar exam. Graduates of ABA-approved law schools taking the exam for the first time passed at the rate of 73.3 percent, while foreign-educated first-time candidates had a passing rate of 37.1 percent. The board examined 3,560 candidates in February, a record 44.1 percent of whom were foreign-educated. The pass rate for all candidates, including U.S. domestic-educated and foreign-educated candidates, both first-time and repeat takers, was 41.7 percent, a 7.8 percentage point decline from the year before. See Section 3 of the print edition of today’s Law Journal for a list of successful candidates.

Also See:

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With:

Settlement limits insurers’ claims in Vioxx lawsuit

May 20, 2009 By

vioxxFormer Vioxx users getting part of a $4.85 billion settlement ending most personal injury suits over the withdrawn painkiller will get a bigger piece of the pie, thanks to an unusual settlement Thursday with their health insurers.

Insurers who paid medical expenses for claimants in the settlement one of the largest ever in the pharmaceutical industry have been trying to recoup their expenses from the claimants. The insurers placed liens against any amounts recovered by thousands of former Vioxx users or their survivors, and unsuccessfully tried to make plaintiff lawyers disclose identities of all Vioxx claimants.

Under an agreement approved Thursday by U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans, the amount the more than 100 private insurers participating in the deal can recover from liens will be reduced by at least half. There’s also a sliding scale that limits the total an insurer can recover from each claimant, attorney Christopher Seeger, who negotiated the agreement, told The Associated Press in an interview.

Insurers could get at most 15 percent of a $100,000 settlement, or $15,000, and 10 percent of any settlements worth more than $250,000. It’s the first such settlement with insurers in a mass litigation case, Seeger said.

“It’s a great deal for the (insurance) carriers. It’s a very good deal for the claimants,” said Seeger, co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in the consolidated federal Vioxx cases.

Drugmaker Merck & Co., based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., pulled Vioxx off the market in September 2004 amid mounting evidence it greatly increased the risk of heart attack, stroke and death. That triggered tens of thousands of lawsuits from Vioxx users who claimed they were harmed.

Also See:

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ticketmaster Subsidiary Price Gouging

April 11, 2009 By

Class Action Accuses Ticketmaster Subsidiary of Widespread Price Gouging

Charles Toutant
New Jersey Law Journal
May 7, 2009

February’s scandal over scalping of Bruce Springsteen tickets has led to a class action suit in federal court in Trenton, N.J., alleging that Ticketmaster routinely diverts online purchasers to a higher-priced vendor that it owns.

ticketsnow-ticketmasterThe suit, filed Tuesday, comes two months after New Jersey’s attorney general entered a settlement with Ticketmaster to resolve more than 2,000 consumer complaints. Fans said that no sooner did the tickets to shows at the Izod Center in East Rutherford go on sale Feb. 2 than Ticketmaster’s Web site redirected them to the site of its reselling subsidiary TicketsNow, which offered seats at a markups of hundreds of dollars for concerts not yet sold out.

Vining v. Ticketmaster Entertainment, 3:09-cv-02096, charges the practice is far more widespread, involving concerts of other popular artists — among them Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, Phish, Radiohead and the Grateful Dead.

The named plaintiffs include Donna Crowley, who paid $150 in January for a Britney Spears ticket that had a face value of $30. She did not know the face value of her ticket until it arrived in the mail, says plaintiffs lawyer John Keefe, of Keefe, Bartels & Clark in Red Bank.

After musicians give Ticketmaster rights to sell tickets to their concerts, the tickets are then “transferred en masse to third-party brokers for resale on TicketsNow.com, at grossly inflated prices, without plaintiffs or any class member having any reasonable or meaningful opportunity to purchase said tickets at face value,” the suit alleges.

The suit, which alleges violations of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, as well as fraudulent misreprentation and unjust enrichment, seeks compensation on behalf of all people who tried to buy tickets from Ticketmaster but were redirected to TicketsNow between Jan. 15, 2008, and the present.

The same controversy is the focus of three federal suits in the Central District of California and one in the Middle District of North Carolina, which accuse charges Ticketmaster of conspiring to monopolize the resale market for sports, concert and show tickets. Ticketmaster gets a 15 percent cut from TicketsNow, the suits allege.

Ticketmaster, based in West Hollywood, Calif,. did not respond to a reporter’s phone and e-mail messages about the litigation.

N.J. Attorney General Anne Milgram’s settlement with Ticketmaster in February, besides compensating Springsteen fans, mandated business-practice reforms, among them that there be a wall between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow.com for at least a year for all shows and entertainment events Ticketmaster handles. After that year, Ticketmaster will need prior approval from the attorney general for any links between the two sites.

In addition, New Jersey and federal investigators have subpoenaed Ticketmaster and brokers who use TicketsNow.com with a view to learning how the brokers get the seats that they resell for higher prices. The state attorney general, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are participating in the investigation.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: , , , ,

Wal-Mart Inks a Deal in “Black Friday” Trampling Death

March 1, 2009 By

black-fridayJdimytai Damour, was a 34 year old a temporary worker, who was shoved to the ground as he opened the doors to a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, NY and trampled to death on “Black Friday,” last year. The family eventually sued, but on Wednesday Wal-Mart and prosecutors inked a deal that requires the retailer to pay nearly $2 million and improve safety at its 92 New York stores, in exchange for avoiding criminal charges.

The justification given by Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice was that criminal charges against the retailer in the Damour’s death would have resulted in the company facing only a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Instead, she said, the company has agreed to implement an improved crowd-management plan for “Black Friday” sales. The day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is often called “Black Friday” and traditionally a huge shopping day for retailers.

At the same time, Wal-Mart will set up a $400,000 victims’ compensation and remuneration fund, and give $1.5 million to local social services programs and nonprofit groups.

Edward H. Gersowitz, the attorney representing Jdimytai Damour’s family in the aforementioned lawsuit, blasted the prosecutor over the settlement, saying that the family was not consulted before the deal was announced.

“The ability of Wal-Mart to, in effect, buy off this criminal investigation demonstrates the epitome of corporate arrogance that has become all too familiar in this day and age, and shows how Wal-Mart has nothing but contempt for the victims of such corporate malfeasance.”

Naturally, any victims who accept payment from the Wal-Mart compensation fund will be required to waive their right to a separate civil suit against Wal-Mart, so we would anticipate Jdimytai Damour’s family to not participate.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: , ,

New York Lead Paint Guide

February 27, 2009 By

Landlords of apartments in multiple dwellings in New York City where a child 6 years old or younger lives must lead-based-paintprotect against the possibility that children will be poisoned by peeling of dangerous lead based paint. Landlords must remove or cover apartment walls and other areas where lead based paint is peeling.

The law presumes that lead based paint was used in the apartment if the building was built prior to January 1, 1960. (NYC Health Code §173.14) Landlords must provide all tenants with a pamphlet prepared by the federal Environmental Protection Agency which warns the tenants of the hazards of lead based paint and a disclosure form advising what the landlord knows about the presence of lead based paint in the apartment and building.

NEW YORK CITY COALITION to END LEAD POISONING
(NYCCELP)
2183 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY. 10032
tel. 212-543-0260 Ext. 204
– fax 212 543 0263

Lead Paint Law Compliance

The City’s Lead Paint Hazard Reduction Law Went into Effect on August 2, 2004
Local Law 1 of 2004 (“Local Law 1″) is a comprehensive law concerning the prevention of childhood lead poisoning through the remediation of lead paint hazards in housing and day care facilities. This legislation repeals the former lead law, Local Law #38 of 1999.

“Please Note: Beginning October 1, 2006, the “applicable age” of a child for purposes of compliance with some of the requirements of Local Law #1 of 2004 has been changed from under age seven to under age six.”

Multiple Dwellings Covered Under the Law
The law covers all pre-1960 multiple dwellings. The law also places certain responsibilities on owners in post-1960 to pre-1978 buildings where the owner knows there is lead based paint. Owners whose buildings fall into this category should consult the law. The provisions of Local Law 1 do not apply where title to a multiple dwelling unit is held by a cooperative or condominium and the shareholder of record or his or her family occupies the unit. The law does however apply to cooperative or condominium units occupied by a tenant or subtenant.

Checking Lead in your Family

A simple blood test can detect high levels of lead.

lead-paintBlood tests are important for:

Children who are 6 months to 1 year old (6 months if you live in an older home that might have lead in the paint).

Family members that you think might have high levels of lead.

If your child is older than 1 year, talk to your doctor about whether your child needs testing.

Your doctor or health center can do blood tests. They are inexpensive and sometimes free. Your doctor will explain what the test results mean. Treatment can range from changes in your diet to medication or a hospital stay.

Where to Find Lead Based Paint

Many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint. In 1978, the federal government banned lead-based paint from housing. Lead can be found:

  • In homes in the city, country, or suburbs.
  • In apartments, single-family homes, and both private and public housing.
  • Inside and outside of the house.

In soil around a home. (Soil can pick up lead from exterior paint, or other sources such as past use of leaded gas in cars.)

Also See:

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Legal News Tagged With: