Archive for the ‘Motor Vehicle Accident’ Category

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Proving 100% Fault Increases Recovery in NY Car Crash Case

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Author: Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP

Under New York law, if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, you can recover compensation based on the degree of fault another party had in causing the accident.

A case in point is a lawsuit that Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP brought on behalf of their client who suffered headaches and occasional dizziness as a result of an auto accident. Allstate Insurance and their attorneys represented the defendant. They claimed that the plaintiff’s injuries were insignificant and did not qualify as serious enough to warrant any compensation. New York Insurance law section 5102 requires a “serious injury” or the case gets dismissed. Allstate refused to settle so the case went to trial. Rosenberg & Gluck proved that the plaintiff suffered from an inner ear injury as a result of the collision and convinced the jury there was a “serious injury.” The jury awarded the plaintiff $150,000 in damages.

Under Civ. Prac. L. & R. §1411 Damage Actions: Effect of Contributory Negligence and Assumption of Risk , the amount of recoverable damages are diminished in proportion to culpable conduct attributable to the claimant.

Digging deeper into the investigation, before trial, Rosenberg & Gluck, NY car accident lawyers, discovered a surveillance video from the building adjoining the accident site. This enabled them, in a motion for summary judgment, to prove that the defendant was 100% responsible for the collision. This additional evidence increased the recovery by $41,000 in interest for a total award of $191,000.

Get a legal opinion

Our tenacious approach to cases and commitment to details make Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP stand apart from other New York City car accident law firms. If you suffer serious injury in a car accident, consult experienced lawyers. A Suffolk County car accident attorney can evaluate the prospects of pursuing a case.

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Risks that Alzheimer’s Poses for Driving

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

Author: Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP
“Personal Injury is All we Do”

Alzheimer’s disease primarily afflicts the elderly and at what point a person with Alzheimer’s should quit driving is under study. Currently, New York does not have a law that requires physicians to report patients with Alzheimer’s to the DMV for prohibited driving. In fact, no conclusive study has delineated accepted driving guidelines for people with Alzheimer’s. However, with more baby boomers coming of age, the elderly population percentage is increasing significantly, and today issues like Alzheimer’s are more in the public eye.

A 2009 USA today article reported facts from a research study conducted on 40 people with early-stage Alzheimer’s who were given a written test and road test. The study compared them with 115 older drivers without dementia and found the following:

 Alzheimer’s patients committed 42 safety mistakes
 Other subjects committed 33 safety mistakes
 Biggest errors for drivers with Alzheimer’s were swerving or hugging the center line when an oncoming car approached
 Errors increased by 2 1/2 mistakes for every increase in 5 years of age
 Some Alzheimer’s patients drove equally as well as their counterparts without dementia
 Flunking memory tests did not indicate motor skill or visual incapability for driving
 Alzheimer patients scoring average or better on written tests were no worse drivers than those without dementia

Get a legal opinion

If you suffer injury in a car accident and you wonder whether the other driver’s age or medical condition resulted in negligence, consult an experienced lawyer. A Suffolk County car accident attorney can evaluate your accident and advise you whether to pursue a case.

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Child Booster Seats Save Lives

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Author: Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP

Child restraint laws in all states and the District of Columbia require using booster seats for younger children and seat belts for older children. States vary on the age, weight, or height requirements for children that must use booster seats. Many states have primary child restraint laws, which mean police officers can stop a vehicle for an apparent child restraint violation. Other states have secondary child restraint laws, requiring police stops for a primary violation before officers can cite secondary law violations.

According to an Eyewitness News article, car accidents are the greatest cause of death for children between ages three and 14. States with stricter child restraint laws show reduced child deaths in car crashes.

Even so, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) not all booster seats are equally safe. The IIHS evaluated 83 different booster seats and categorized 31 as best bets, five as good bets, and six as not recommended. IIHS based evaluation criteria on seat belt fit while using the booster: whether the elevated booster position allowed lap and shoulder belts to correctly restrain a child, lying flat when crossing the child’s upper thighs and securely crossing the middle of the child’s shoulder. The not recommended booster seats resulted from seat designs that prevented proper seat belt contact. IIHS lists the name brands of rated booster seats on its website.

Get a legal opinion

If your child suffers injury in a car accident and you suspect the booster seat did not offer adequate protection, consult an experienced lawyer about filing a lawsuit. A Suffolk County car accident attorney can evaluate your situation and determine the prospects of pursuing a case.

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Will Car Accidents Become a Thing of the Past?

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Author: Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP

 
Considering years of science fiction stories and Hollywood productions where automated cars were commonplace and given current technological advances, how soon can we expect fully computerized, self-driving cars to frequent our roadways?

 
Google and Stanford University Professor Sebastian Thrun working with a team of engineers have developed automated Toyota Prius prototype vehicles that operate through onboard computers. The onboard computers enable the cars to detect terrain, detours, traffic lights, road signs, traffic, and follow roadmaps. Through interfaces with lasers, radar, and cameras, the computers instantly process information to avoid accidents and provide safe rides.
According to a NY Times December 5, 2011 article, the prototypes have driven safely for close to 200,000 miles in California and Nevada, wherever regular cars travel. The fact that Nevada has passed a texting while driving ban that excluded self-driven cars may be an indication of how soon automated vehicles are in our future.

A legal perspective for now

Self-driving cars may indeed make auto accidents a thing of the past. However today, car accidents remain the most common type of injury claim filed by people seeking damages because of another’s negligence. Accident reconstruction is the principal technology used by Suffolk County car accident attorneys for determining accident causes and identifying liable parties. In intricate cases, multiple parties and their insurance companies complicate the process of obtaining compensation. An experienced car accident lawyer can cut through the red tape and help protect a victim’s rights.

 

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Teen Drivers Are the Most at Risk Age Group in New York

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Author: Ted Rosenberg

Parents who are concerned about their teenager’s driving safety have good reason to be concerned.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely to be involved in car accidents than adult drivers.  Statistics from 2009 showed that 3,000 teens from the ages 15 through 19 were killed and in excess of 350,000 received emergency room treatment because of car accidents.  Car accidents are the largest cause of death for individuals in this age group, accounting for one third of all teenage deaths.

Some other noteworthy statistics about teen car crashes include:

  • 65 percent of teens age 16 or 17 involved in accidents are male
  • 36 percent of teens were speeding
  • From 2004 to 2008, teen driver fatal crashes decreased by 36 percent

Graduated license law

In response to teenage driving accidents and fatalities, New York passed a graduated license law in 2003 that stiffened driving requirements for teens.

The graduated license law requires teenagers driving with learner permits to have a licensed adult (21 years or older) in the car with them and prohibits carrying more than one passenger under the age of 21 (unless family members) without the driver’s parent, legal guardian, or a certified driving instructor also in the car.  Drivers supervising teens must ride in the front seat beside them.

If your teen has been injured in a car crash because of someone else’s negligence, a knowledgeable and experienced Long Island car accident attorney can help you seek compensation to cover medical and other expenses.

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Establishing Liability on Appeal – Grossi v. Sylak

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Long Island Civil Appeals Personal Injury Attorneys

We represented a client who was injured in an auto accident when a car slid on the ice and impacted our client’s car. After exchanging insurance information, our client then slipped on the ice, suffering injuries as a result. Initially, the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, agreed to a summary judgment, dismissing our client’s complaint seeking compensation for injuries suffered as a result of slipping on ice.

Our personal injury attorneys reviewed the facts and legal issues involved in the Supreme Court’s decision and prepared an appeal on behalf of our injured client. The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division Second Judicial Department, reversed the earlier decision in favor of a summary judgment to dismiss our client’s case.

Here, the Supreme Court of New York found there was no reason of fact to think our client’s injury weren’t causally related to the initial accident. Had the defendant not hit our client’s car, our client would not have had to leave their vehicle. The Court found in favor of our client, reversing the earlier Court’s decision in favor of summary judgment to dismiss our client’s complaint.

Injured in an Accident? Contact Rosenberg & Gluck

Insurance companies and their lawyers are only too happy to find ways to reduce and challenge claims payouts. If there is a technicality that can be leveraged to challenge an injury claim, it’s likely that an insurance company will exploit it. That’s why it’s essential to consult an experienced personal injury attorney if you’ve been injured in a car accident, truck accident, bicycle accident, construction accident, or slip and fall accident.

The reality is insurers have teams of lawyers to protect their interests. At the Long Island personal injury law office of Rosenberg & Gluck, we have the resources and experience to provide a balance of power in the courtroom. If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact Holtsville, New York personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck.

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Driver Inattention, Following Too Closely, & Truck Accidents

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Holtsville Truck Accident Attorneys

In 2009, of the 9,828 truck accidents reported by police in New York, the two most common causes of truck accidents were driver inattention and following too closely. In fact, of the 9,828 truck accidents reported, 1,830 involved driver inattention while 1,251 involved following too closely. Interestingly enough, failure to yield the right of way accounted for 1,140, the third largest cause of truck accidents in New York. Although not all of these truck accidents resulted in personal injury, many of them did: driver inattention resulted in 650, following too closely in 577, and failure to yield the right of way in 488. What do these numbers tell us?

Truck Accidents, Driver Training, and Human Errors

First, in 2009 – on average – these three causes of truck accidents alone accounted for roughly 12 truck accidents a day in New York State. Ignoring fatalities, they also accounted for roughly 5 injury accidents a day. Second, each of the three most common causes of truck accidents are due to negligent driving or human error. This raises questions regarding driver training and, in the case of following too closely, pushing deadlines and speeding in order to deliver freight on time.

When one includes the fourth, fifth, and sixth most common causes of truck accidents – improper lane passing, unsafe lane changing, and unsafe speed respectively – these concerns are more apparent. Third, the most common cause – driver inattention – suggests a complete breakdown in attention and focus on the part of truck drivers. The question here is, why? Are cell phones or texting involved? Eating while driving? Driver fatigue?

Investigating Truck Accidents – Uncovering what Happened

It’s no secret that trucking companies train drivers in what to say and do after an accident. As a result, it’s not likely a truck driver will admit to having caused an accident due to texting, tailgating, or changing lanes without first making sure no one was driving in his truck’s blind spots. Consequently, it’s important to investigate the circumstances surrounding a truck accident and expose negligence on the part of the truck driver that hit you.

If You’ve been Injured in a Truck Accident, Contact Rosenberg & Gluck

Once you’ve hired an attorney to represent you, insurance agents or lawyers representing a truck company must contact your attorney to discuss any issues pertaining to your case. At the Holtsville, New York personal injury law office of Rosenberg & Gluck, we understand how to deal with insurers and truck companies. We also work with experienced accident investigators when determining what caused a truck accident.

Protect your interests and learn how we can help you – contact Holtsville truck accident attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck to schedule a free consultation today.

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Hit-and-Run Accidents and Uninsured Motorists

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Who Covers My Losses after a Hit-and-Run Accident?

If you’ve been involved in a hit-and-run accident, chances are your only source for recovering losses is your own car insurance policy. In New York, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage must be included in motor vehicle insurance policies. In fact, every vehicle registered in New York must carry minimum personal injury liability coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Unfortunately, not everyone behind the wheel has auto insurance. In fact, the Insurance Research Council claims nearly one in six drivers throughout the United States is uninsured. In New York, it’s estimated that one in 20 drivers is uninsured. With 11.4 million motorists on the roads in New York, that translates into 570,000 drivers driving without insurance.

Equally concerning is the effect of the economy on uninsured motorist rates. The Insurance Research Council has noticed a correlation between the unemployment rate and an increase in uninsured motorists. According to the Insurance Research Council, a one-percentage-point increase in unemployment results in a three-quarters-of-a-percentage-point increase in the rate of uninsured drivers.

An Ounce of Prevention — the Cost of Uninsured Motorist Coverage

While the minimum amount of personal liability coverage is contained in all auto insurance policies, purchasing more coverage makes a great deal of sense. Each insurance company offers different rates based on your driving record, credit rating and other factors. In general, $100,000 of coverage can cost as little as $52 a year — roughly $1 a week. Even if investigators eventually catch up to the driver who hit you, he or she may not have enough coverage to pay for all of your losses. For these and other reasons, purchasing extra uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage makes a great deal of sense.

Having Problems with Your Insurer? Contact Rosenberg & Gluck

Of course, just because you have uninsured driver coverage does not mean your insurer will not give you the runaround. In fact, under these circumstances your own insurance company becomes your adversary. It may take its time investigating your accident to try and shift more blame onto you to reduce the amount it has to pay you. It will contest both the cause and severity of your injuries. It will do whatever it can to avoid paying you or to pay you as little as possible. We negotiate with, arbitrate against and sue insurance companies on a regular basis to make sure our clients receive the money to which they are entitled.

At the Long Island, New York, personal injury law office of Rosenberg & Gluck, our car accident lawyers have years of experience dealing with insurance companies in uninsured/underinsured motorist claims. Our car accident attorneys understand how to work with investigators, police reports and eyewitness statements when demanding fair compensation for our clients.

To schedule a free consultation and learn more about our practice and how we can help you, email or call Long Island personal injury lawyers at 631-451-7900.

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What You Should Do if a Claims Adjuster Calls after Your Accident

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Talk to an Attorney before Talking to an Insurer

Regardless of whether we’re talking about a large or medium-sized insurance company, insurers are in business to make money. In order to maintain a favorable rating from Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s, an insurance company must maintain a three-to-one premium-to-surplus ratio. What does this mean? Simply put, it means that for every three dollars of coverage an insurer underwrites, it should have one dollar in surplus to cover losses on policies. When this ratio is upset, an insurer can be downgraded, negatively impacting its stock value and upsetting shareholders. In order to protect its financial interests, it is not uncommon for an insurance company to tie salaries, promotions and even annual bonuses to reduced claim payout goals. As a result, insurance companies have a financial incentive to settle personal injury cases for the least amount of money possible.

Reducing Claims Payouts — Talking to Injury Victims before They’ve Healed

It can take weeks, if not months, to determine the full extent of a head, neck, back or soft tissue injury. Even if you think you only have a mild concussion or a neck that’s a bit stiff, in the weeks or months following a car accident you could suffer memory loss, chronic pain, tingling in your hands or legs, reduced mobility or balance problems. Insurance companies are aware of this and realize that the sooner they settle a case, the better. That’s why claims adjusters often try to talk to injury victims as soon as possible after an accident; if they can broker a settlement before the full extent of your injuries is known, they can save money.

What Happens if I talk to an Insurance Company Employee after My Car Accident?

If you accept a settlement offer from an insurer before the full extent of your injuries is known, you may find that the compensation offered will not cover all of your medical expenses or lost wages. If you accept an initial offer from an insurer, you will be required to sign an agreement that prevents you from seeking additional damages at a later date. When an insurance claims adjuster calls, he or she may try to gain your confidence and trust by reassuring you that he or she only wants to see how you’re doing and collect certain information. In most cases, however, the claims adjuster is hoping you’ll say something that can be used to reduce your claim or shift more fault onto you later if your case goes to court.

Assigning Fault in Car Accidents — Contact an Attorney to Protect Yourself

The more fault assigned to you in an accident, the more any compensation you are eligible to receive will be reduced. When an insurance claims agent calls asking questions about how fast you were driving, if you take any medication, what you remember about the accident, etc., he or she is fishing for anything that can be used to shift more fault onto you. If you hire a lawyer to represent you, however, the insurer has to talk to your attorney link to www.lilawyer.com/. Consequently, the best way to protect your rights and interests after a car accident — or any kind of accident — is to contact an experienced personal injury attorney.

If you’ve been injured in a car, construction, pedestrian, motorcycle, or slip and fall accident, contact Long Island, New York, personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck today to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help you.

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How To Choose A Personal Injury Lawyer

Monday, December 13th, 2010

How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer

One of the most difficult decisions the victim of an accident has to make is who to choose as their attorney. While there is no shortage of lawyers who will promise just about anything in an effort to entice you to become their client, making an informed decision can be difficult. The fact is, not all lawyers and law firms are equal. Who represents you is an important decision since to whom you entrust your case will have a huge impact on the outcome.

Some questions you should ask are:

What type of cases do you handle?

The law, like medicine and many other fields, has become increasingly specialized. While there are lawyers who would like to think they can handle just about any type of case, the truth is you are better served by a law firm that only handles the type of case you have. If you have been injured, retain a personal injury law firm. If you had a broken bone you wouldn’t go to a dentist. For the same reason, if you need help with a personal injury matter you should seek help from someone that only handles matters like yours. All of our firm’s efforts are focused on representing injured clients without the distraction of other types of legal matters. At Rosenberg & Gluck personal injury is all we do.

Does the firm have the resources to handle every aspect of your case in a timely manner?

Properly handling a personal injury case can involve the expenditure of tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of legal work. Expert fees, investigations, trial exhibits, and a host of other necessary expenses add to the costs of successfully prosecuting a case. Many firms simply cannot afford to thoroughly prepare their cases by making these expenditures of time and money. A lawsuit is not the place to cut corners. While smaller firms often cannot devote all the time and resources that a case requires, Rosenberg & Gluck is a substantial, well established firm with the personnel and resources to battle the insurance companies.

Does the firm have the personnel with the right experience handling cases like yours?

Rosenberg & Gluck is comprised of six experienced attorneys, complimented by a staff of seasoned paralegals and legal secretaries. The founding partners have each been representing the injured for almost 30 years. Our firm has successfully handled thousands of cases for the injured. Day in and day out, for decades, our lawyers and support staff have helped thousands of people whose lives have been affected because of their injuries.

How often does the firm go to trial on cases like yours?

Whether a law firm has the experience to try your case before a judge and jury is critical. This is important because ultimately you will be faced with making a choice between accepting whatever the insurance company offers you or taking your case to trial. The fact is that most lawyers either never try cases or rarely do; insurance companies know better than anyone which attorneys actually take cases to trial. Many lawyers simply write letters and serve some legal pleadings knowing full well they have no intention of actually fighting in court for their clients. Rosenberg & Gluck takes a different approach. We believe that each case should be treated as if it will go to trial. While this approach is more work for the attorney, the client benefits whether or not the case is actually tried. It really is just common sense; you either take the insurance company’s settlement offer or go to trial. If the insurance company knows your lawyer rarely goes to trial or is not a talented trial attorney, why should they make you a fair offer? There are only a handful of insurance company lawyers on Long Island that handle the vast majority of cases. The lawyers for Allstate, State Farm, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, and Progressive know which lawyers are in court every day fighting them and which lawyers just take what is offered. So when it comes to selecting a law firm to represent your interests ask, “When was the last time you actually went to trial on a case like mine?” “How many years experience do you have handling cases like mine?” The lawyers at Rosenberg & Gluck routinely go to trial on personal injury cases. We are in court almost every day fighting for our clients. In fact, we have been successfully trying cases like yours for decades.

What success has the law firm had in court with cases like yours?

Rosenberg & Gluck has a long standing and distinguished record of success in the courtrooms of Long Island. We are members of the prestigious Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. This organization is only open to those lawyers who have obtained multi-million dollar results on individual cases. We are also rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell. This is the highest possible rating for ability and ethics as judged by other lawyers on Long Island. Our success is well recognized by judges, defense lawyers and other law firms. So much so that they have referred their family and friends to Rosenberg & Gluck for representation. Of course, not all cases will result in awards in the millions, but we have had remarkable successes on cases of all sizes, cases that many firms would not take to trial, cases that other lawyers would settle for whatever the insurance company offered. Simply going to trial is not enough; your lawyer should have years of experience handling cases like yours on a daily basis. We have decades of experience and thousands of satisfied clients. If you want a law firm that has both extensive experience and a record of success then Rosenberg & Gluck is the firm to choose.

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