Injuries | Rosenberg & Gluck Personal Injury Law

Posts Tagged ‘injuries’

Determining Fault in a Car Accident — Why It Matters

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Holtsville, New York, Car Accident Attorneys

In car accident cases, the state of New York follows the principle of comparative negligence or comparative fault. According to the principle of comparative negligence, an injured driver can recover compensation for damages even if he or she is mostly at fault in a car accident. However, the amount of compensation an injured driver is eligible to receive will be reduced by the percentage of his or her fault. For example, if you suffer $100,000 in damages but are deemed 70 percent at fault, the most you could recover is $30,000; alternatively, if you are found 40 percent at fault, the most you could recover is $60,000. As a result, insurance companies have a vested interest in shifting as much blame for an accident as they can onto you, the injured driver.

Investigating Car Accidents to Determine Fault

After a car accident, most insurance companies will use internal accident investigators to determine what happened — especially in serious accidents where fatalities or catastrophic head trauma and spinal cord injuries have occurred. Additionally, a claims adjuster will likely call an injured person, often under the guise of trying to find out more about an accident. In many cases, the adjuster will try to gain the confidence of the injured person only to begin asking questions about what happened or the person’s injuries. You may be asked if you were wearing your seat belt, how fast you were going, if the sun was in your eyes, what you remember about the accident, etc.

The purpose of these questions is to collect information that can be used later to shift more or the entire fault for the accident onto you, the injured driver. Since insurance companies must first ask if they can record a call, they may tell you the conversation is being recorded for any number of reasons — training, quality assurance purposes or to make a record for internal reasons. If you consent to having the phone conversation recorded, your answers can be used later in court if your case goes to trial. Again, in many cases, insurers are simply looking for anything that might justify shifting more fault onto you, the injured driver.

How to Protect Yourself after a Car Accident

You can be reasonably sure that after a car accident, the other driver’s insurer will begin the process of investigating what happened and trying to keep from paying out any more than they absolutely have to. If you hire a personal injury attorney to represent you, insurers must go through your lawyer and leave you alone. Not only does this help protect you from claims adjusters looking for anything they can use against you later, it also means you’ll have someone fighting for your rights and interests.

Depending on the nature of the car accident, your attorney may begin his or her own investigation into what happened, collecting eyewitness testimony and other evidence important to your case. As a result, your attorney can take steps to make it more difficult for insurers to place a majority of the blame onto you.

Contact Holtsville, New York, Car Accident Attorneys Rosenberg & Gluck

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, don’t wait until the insurance company has offered you an inadequate settlement — contact personal injury attorneys or call 1-888-5454-2993 today. We can evaluate your case during a free consultation and help protect your rights and interests.

Tags: attorney, car accident, comparative negligence, injuries, insurance companies, insurance investigators, law firm, new york personal injury, Rosenberg & Gluck, suffulk injury lawyers
Posted in Motor Vehicle Accident | No Comments »

New York Premises Liability Lawyers Suffolk County Nassau County

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Who’s Responsible When You’re Injured on Someone’s Property?

Premises Liability

If someone is injured on another person’s property, the owner of that property may be responsible. When someone causes injuries to another person on their property, this is referred to as “premises liability.” Premises liability comes in a variety of flavors. It can include pool drownings, falling trees, and even fires caused by building code violations. Some other types include the following:

Dog Bites

When a person is bitten and injured by a dog, the owner of the property where the dog is kept may be responsible to pay for the victim’s medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. If the owner or landlord had knowledge of the dog’s vicious tendencies, had the ability to control the dog, and failed to do so, he or she will be held liable for any injuries.

Sidewalk Injuries

The law makes it a homeowner’s and store owner’s obligation to maintain the sidewalks in front of their property in the case of private sidewalks and walkways. Government entities which maintain sidewalks must have gotten prior written notice of the defect. In New York City, if someone trips and falls due to an unrepaired sidewalk, the person who owns the property adjacent to that raised sidewalk may be responsible for the victim’s injuries.

Dangerous Conditions

When someone is injured on a broken step, by a protruding rusty nail, or any other kind of dangerous condition on someone’s property, the property owner may be liable for the victim’s injuries. Such injuries can cause untold injury, leading to serious medical treatment, lost wages and other types of damage. The injured party may be successful in a personal injury lawsuit to recover several types of damages from the landowner or tenant.

Contact Rosenberg & Gluck

If you have been injured by or on someone’s property, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck. We are among the largest and most experienced personal injury firms in Suffolk County and Nassau County. Personal injury is all we do. For a free initial consultation, contact us or call our office at 631-451-7900.

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Posted in Premises Liability, Slip and Fall, Trip and Fall | No Comments »

Goodyear Settles Harley Accident Claim

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Goodyear and Dunlop Tires have settled a lawsuit which alleged that one of its tires suddenly deflated, causing personal injuries to the riders of a motorcycle. The settlement was for an undisclosed amount, but according to court filings by Goodyear, was based on a decision settle immediately, “rather than risk an adverse and substantial verdict by the Court at trial.”

The lawsuit was filed in Illinois by plaintiffs Mike and Darla Green, who owned a Harley Davidson motorcycle. In June, 2007, the Greens left Illinois with two other couples to drive to Yellowstone National Park. A passenger on one of the motorcycles following the Greens complained that she could smell burnt rubber. She also told the Greens that it appeared that their back tire had a slow leak.

The parties got back on the road after lunch and within minutes, the rear tire on the Green’s motorcycle had a sidewall deflation. When the tire deflated, Mike Green lost control of the bike and it skidded on its side, throwing off Mike and Darla.

Darla Green was taken by an ambulance to Research Medical Center in Independence, Missouri. She suffered a brain injury and a torn rotator cuff. She experienced general loss of vision in both eyes and had continuing bouts of anxiety and depression. She also suffered severe road rash and underwent an emergency tracheotomy at the scene of the accident. The scarring from the tracheotomy had affected her ability to sing with her church choir.

Though Michael Green initially refused treatment for his injuries, he subsequently went to the hospital. There, he was given morphine for pain caused by the accident. He was eventually diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his right knee, which required two operations.

The Lawsuit

The Greens filed suit in 2008, alleging that their injuries were caused by defects in the Dunlop tire on the rear of their bike. In its initial response, Goodyear alleged that the Greens had overloaded the capacity of the bike, both at the time of the accident and for some time before the accident, leading to the sudden deflation of the tire. Both Mike and Darla Green weighed over 260 pounds at the time of the accident and the Greens also had luggage on the bike.

To support this claim, Goodyear alleged that the tire had only 1/16th of an inch of tread at time of the accident. According to Goodyear, this demonstrated that the Greens had failed to properly inspect the bike before operating it.

During the discovery process, Goodyear sought to provide the testimony of its plant manager, indicating that quality control processes were in place and that the Green’s tire had been properly inspected before leaving the plant. This, they believed, made it clear that the Green’s injuries were the result of their own negligence. The judge in the case ruled, however, that this testimony was inadmissible. The case settled shortly after this ruling.

Contact Rosenberg & Gluck

If you have suffered a personal injury because of a defective product, or the carelessness or negligence of another person, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck. We are among the largest and most experienced Personal Injury Firms in Suffolk County and Nassau County. Personal injury is all we do. For a free initial consultation, e-mail us or call the office at 631-451-7900.

Tags: accident, bike, brain injury, carelessness, defective product, emergency tracheotomy, harley davidson motorcycle, injuries, meniscus tear, morphine, motorcycle, nassau county, negligence, pain, personal injuries, Personal Injury, personal injury firms, right knee, scene of the accident, severe road rash, Suffolk County, tracheotomy
Posted in Motorcycle Accidents, nassau county, Suffolk County | No Comments »

Suffolk County Car Accident Lawyers | Personal Injury Attorneys NY

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

What do you do after you’ve been in a car accident?

Do you know what to do if you’re involved in a car accident? Who do you call? What do you say? What do you need? The information that follows should help answer these questions.

Things you should keep in your vehicle at all times:

1. Your vehicle’s insurance card or other insurance policy information – make sure it is up-to-date – if your information is not up-to-date, the police may issue you a ticket

2. Blank paper and pen to take down information

3. Consider keeping a disposable camera in your glove compartment – take photographs of the scene and the vehicles involved

Immediately after an accident, contact the police. Stay at the scene until after the police have indicated it is okay for you to leave – unless, of course, you are taken by ambulance from the scene. Verify that the responding officer will be preparing an accident report – MV-104A.

Gather the name and address of the other drivers involved. Take down their driver’s license information, as well as their insurance policy information.

Gather witness information. Did anyone stop to say they saw the accident happen? If so, ask for the person’s name and contact information. This information may be vital later on.

Report the accident to your insurance company. Do not wait to do this. Contact them as soon as possible, preferably the same day the accident took place. If the police provided you with a Central Complaint Number (or other identifying number), give this number to your insurance company. Make sure you take down the names of every insurance company representative you speak to with regard to your accident. You will likely be given a claim number by the insurance company representative – write this number down.

If you are injured as a result of the accident, advise your insurance company that you are injured. As discussed in the first blog entry, under certain instances you will notify an insurance company other than your own when you are injured in an accident. In other words, if you are a passenger in your friend’s car when you get into an accident, you tell your friend’s insurance company that you are hurt. If you are a pedestrian hit by a van, you tell the van’s insurance company that you are hurt. If you are driving your own car, or if you’re a passenger in a car you own, you tell your insurance company that you are hurt.

The insurance company will send you a No-Fault application to be completed. You must return the application within 30 days of the accident in order to receive no-fault benefits. It is recommended that you have an attorney assist you in the completion of this application. Why? Because from this point forward, every document that you complete and/or sign is a statement that may be used against you or used to contradict later statements.

What if you are “on the job” when you get into an accident? If you are involved in an accident during the course of your employment, your Workers’ Compensation Carrier will cover your injuries. It is imperative that you notify your employer that you were injured in an accident while on the job.

Contact Rosenberg & Gluck

If you have suffered a personal injury because of a car accident, or the carelessness or negligence of another person, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck. We are among the largest and most experienced Personal Injury Firms in Suffolk County and Nassau County. Personal injury is all we do. For a free initial consultation, e-mail us or call the office at 631-451-7900.

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Posted in Motor Vehicle Accident, nassau county, Suffolk County | No Comments »