Archive for the ‘NYC Attorney’ Category

THE “GOOD  SAMARITAN” LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTARY ACTS ?

A recent news item in New York City showed portions of video from a surveillance camera.   Twenty or more people simply passed by a man that was lying on the street.   It happened that that man had just saved a woman from a knife wielding attacker and in the scuffle, had himself been attacked.   No one stopped to help this man for an hour after the incident, and the “Good Samaritan” eventually died of his wounds for want of a “Good Samaritan” to come to his aid..   Prompt attention would have saved his life.
It is difficult to understand the motivation of anyone that would simply ignore another human being in grave distress.  Certainly, however, the public policy in most, , if not all, states, and definitely in New York, is to encourage the performance of life saving acts. To this end, there is a “Good Samaritan” law (Public Health Law, Article 30, Section 3000-a) that specifically establishes protection for anyone acting as a “Good Samaritan.”

The law applies in the following circumstances:
—It applies to ANY person (and NOT just medical personnel)
—The person must act without any expectation of monetary  compensation
—The act must take place outside a hospital or other medical facility

Under those circumstances, the person rendering the aid will not be held liable for either injuries or death allegedly caused by any act of that “Good Samaritan” while rendering aid, UNLESS it is determined that the “Good Samaritan” was “grossly negligent” in performing his acts.

What constitutes “Gross Negligence” can differ in different situations.  One word of advice, stay within your sphere of abilities.  If you have never taken a course in CPR, or learned how to utilize a defibrillator, be reluctant to utilize those capabilities.  A first step should always be to seek professional help if available.  Most important: the motivation should always be to assist the person in dire distress–and certainly not to render yourself a “hero.”
One more word of advice: No one is required to lend assistance–unless, of course, you are responsible for the dire situation in which the injured party finds him or herself.  If,  however, the decision is made to assist someone, the injured person  must not be left in a worsened condition than before the assistance began. So, if you decide to take an injured person to a hospital and, after driving a block you decide you’d rather not do it, for whatever reason, you cannot simply dump the person in the middle of a street where traffic now becomes a real hazard in addition to whatever injury the person sustained.

“FORUM  SHOPPING” II

PICKING THE COURT THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU: CHOICE OF “VENUE”

As we have seen, with respect to situations where state law may differ from federal law, and both state and federal jurisdiction exists, the fact situation of the case may determine the most advantageous court in which to bring your lawsuit.   There are, however, several other factors that will be considered by the experienced litigator, particularly in personal injury cases, in deciding which court to file your lawsuit, presuming a choice exists.

Time limits that restrict, or even eliminate, your pursuit of an action in state court may well be viable in Federal court.

This could also hold true should you have a choice of bringing an action in the courts of different states–the Statute of Limitations in one state could well differ from that of another state.

FALSE  IMPRISONMENT

Any time a perpetrator intentionally confines the victim to a specific area, and does it against the victim’s will, that will constitute a “false imprisonment.”

“COVERAGE” Why can’t I get more for the injury I suffered?

“Coverage” is a term used by personal injury lawyers to refer to the amount of money that is available to pay a client for the injury they sustained.   In almost every instance the “coverage” available is equated with the policy limit of an insured’s liability insurance policy.  This can refer to an automobile insurance policy of the potential defendant, if the matter involves a car accident.  It can refer to a potential defendant’s homeowner’s insurance policy if it involves several other types of accidents, not every one of which must necessarily have happened in the defendant’s home.

The knowledgeable attorney will utilize every resource available to identify sources of “coverage” in a concerted attempt to assure adequate sources of compensation for a seriously injured client.  The availability of  significant “coverage” can be easily overlooked and could be very costly to a client.

Examples abound: if you are in a vehicle, not only is the vehicle owner’s policy available, but if the driver has his own policy, that too will be available.   An “Umbrella Policy” (a separate insurance policy that covers an individual once their basic, underlying policy, is exhausted) should be looked for, as well as the possibility that more than one insured defendant, each with separate insurance, may be responsible  for the client’s injury.

While it is always advantageous to have a wealthy defendant,

with many assets, rather than a poor defendant, with no assets, as the party you are suing, realistically speaking personal injury attorneys are reluctant to pursue assets because of the difficulties involved, not the least of which is the ease with which assets can be transferred by the defendant in a personal injury case even AFTER the case has begun !

Even after all the efforts of the most experienced attorney are exhausted, there are all too often instances where the “coverage” available to compensate a client fairly for their injury is simply not available.   One of the most unpleasant aspects of a personal injury attorney’s job is to inform a seriously injured client of this fact.  It is a conclusion clients do not want to hear–and it is one that your attorney does not relish delivering. Contact one of our Personal Injury Attorneys at Orlow, Orlow, & Orlow today.

While virtually everyone has heard the term “citizen’s arrest” used at some point in time, rarely do people realize that the term has specific legal meaning and potentially serious legal implications.

“SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEYS”

SO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR LAWYER

It is a fact of life that Personal Injury lawsuits, as a general rule, require years, rather than months, to reach a conclusion. This is a product of both the nature of a personal injury lawsuit–which requires investigation and “discovery”– and crowded court calendars. This situation also leads to the increased chance that a client will become dissatisfied, in some manner or for some reason, with some aspect of his or her attorney’s performance.

It is the absolute right of any client to dismiss their attorney at any time. It is also the right of that client to choose another attorney and to replace the dismissed attorney with another attorney. In legal parlance this is known as “SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEYS.” No grounds need be stated–though any responsible attorney to be “substituted” will want to know the reason he is being asked to replace the original attorney. The ethical attorney would be reluctant to accept the client if the reason being presented was one which the newly approached attorney would not be able to improve upon.

One of the most common reasons that clients give for dissatisfaction with their attorneys , as inexplicable as it is, is that the attorney does not respond to phone calls; that inquiries go unanswered; that the client feels as if they are ignored. Attorneys are often overworked and very busy. However, an attorney owes their client the respect and consideration of answering their inquires as expeditiously as possible, and that should be considered part of the responsibility in every case that is accepted by the attorney.

That is not to say that, rarely, clients can be unreasonable in the frequency of their requests for information. But experience shows that this is the infrequent exception. Unfortunately, the failure of attorneys to respond to their clients is a far more frequent occurrence.

An oft repeated complaint by clients is that they have not heard anything from their attorneys for a long period of time. The conclusion reached is that, therefore, nothing is being done on the case. This is harmful to the attorney client relationship and unfortunately is based on lack of knowledge about the activity involved in a personal injury case. While some participation by a client is necessary, such as depositions, attendance at medical examinations and perhaps supplying needed documentation, it is very limited in nature. The attorney is also involved in investigations, discovery of documentation from the other parties, possible motions, depositions of parties and witnesses and a variety of conferences. For most, if not all of these events, it is not necessary to involve the client. So while the attorney is very busy on the case, the client is unaware of the activity and deems the attorney to be idle. To inform the client of every event taking place, for every case in an attorney’s office, would indeed be excruciatingly time consuming and would probably generate client phone calls that would also consume an attorney’s time that could be far more productively be used elsewhere. It is somewhat of a dilemma.

Additionally, once ALL of the work on a case is completed, and usually not until all the work is completed, the case may be put on the court calendar (“filing the Note of Issue”). Filing the “Note of Issue” places your case in line to have a trial. Courts throughout the State of New York vary in the time it takes for a case to reach trial once the “Note of Issue” is filed. In New York City, it can vary from about eight months to two years, depending on the backlog of the particular court. This creates another problem in client relations: “dead time,” while the client is wondering what is happening to the case. Once a case is placed on the calendar, it would be a good idea for an attorney to so notify the client and make the client aware of the situation.

If, for whatever reason, the client feels compelled to change attorneys, and locates another qualified attorney with whom they believe they will find greater satisfaction (recognizing that the familiarity with the case gained by the first attorney may be sacrificed in the switchover), the client should realize that the fee charged to the client WILL NOT CHANGE. It will be the obligation of the old and new attorneys to arrange, between themselves, exactly how they will share the original fee charged the client by the first attorney. The client will in no way be penalized in terms of the fee for the desire to change attorneys.

Changing attorneys, while the absolute right of the client, should not be undertaken lightly. Suggestion: Speak with your attorney and tell them frankly of your dissatisfaction and see if it would be possible to remove the cause of your dissatisfaction before making this important decision.

SO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR ATTORNEY

There are times when a client wants to change his or her attorney.  May the client do so?  Absolutely.  A client has the right to change his or her lawyer at any time.

There is more good news for the dissatisfied client.  Once he finds another attorney to replace the attorney he has, the client need not have any contact whatsoever with his former attorney.  The client signs a “Consent to Change Attorney” form and the new lawyer takes care of all the other details.   What’s more, the final fee the client will end up paying, to either or both attorneys, will TOTAL no more than the fee the client was going to pay the original attorney.   It will be up to the former and new lawyers to work out their fee arrangement.

The most common reasons for client dissatisfaction with their lawyer are:

1. Failure of the lawyer to return phone calls.
2. Failure to hear from their attorney in a long period of time.
3. Disagreement as to the value of the client’s case.
Reputable attorneys, receiving a call from a client wishing to change their attorney, will closely question the client to determine if, indeed, their firm would be in a better position to satisfy that client.   Knowingly taking a matter from another attorney when there is little or no chance to realistically rectify the “problem” described by that client would be, arguably, unprofessional.

From an attorney’s point of view there may be other reasons to be reluctant to accept the new matter.  If the matter is already at an advanced stage, when much of the discovery in the case is complete, and the date for trial may not be far off, there could be great hesitancy on the part of the new attorney to accept the case. Experienced attorneys have standards they adhere to, and there may be great reluctance to be tied into the work of a prior attorney whose standards may be different, and there would not be enough time to rectify what may not be acceptable to the new attorney.

One important word of advice to a client thinking of changing attorneys:

make the effort to speak with the old attorney and state explicitly what the problem is.  More often than not, the attorney will make every effort to accommodate the client. For more information contact one of our New York Personal Injury Attorneys at Orlow, Orlow, & Orlow.

LEAD POISON IN BUILDINGS: 2009 UPDATE

In 1960, New York City was the first city to ban lead paint. Since then, New York City has strengthened that law on two occasions. The last time the law was upgraded was in 2004, when the NEW YORK CITY LEAD POISONING PREVENTION ACT (Local Law 1) was passed.

The results of the City’s actions have been notable.

The City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reports that in the period from 1995 until 2007 the number of children reported with elevated blood levels dropped astonishingly from 19,000 to just 1900, a decrease of 90%.

Local Law 1 placed significant burdens upon landlords :
1: informing tenants about lead hazards;
2: inspect apartments where children under 6 years old reside;
3: correct and remove any identified lead problems and do so in a recognized and safe manner.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has set a national goal of eliminating all new cases of lead poisoning by this year, 2010.

The likelihood of New York City reaching this goal seems remote at the present time. David Powell, of the Tenants and Neighbors organization in New York State, stated that a major obstacle in achieving this goal is the lack of adequate enforcement by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Unfortunately, the Department’s budget in 2010 is $20.6 million, while last year it was $25.8 million ! The national economy negatively affects lead poisoning prevention efforts, as it does so much else.

Nevertheless, the admirable reduction so far in lead paint cases among children is due, in the main, to increased awareness on the part of parents to the hazards of lead paint. ANYONE THAT BELIEVES THEIR CHILDREN MAY FACE LEAD POISON HAZARDS SHOULD CONTACT 311 FOR ASSISTANCE. If, unfortunately, your child seems to have been effected by lead paint poisoning, which is indicated through lead testing by your doctor or at a hospital, contact a reputable personal injury attorney, experienced in lead poison cases, as soon as possible.

To read the New York City Local Law 1 go to:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/lead-local-local1-2004.pdf

There were a lot of delays and injuries today when a dump truck being used for road construction hit an overpass, knocking off its bed into the eastbound lanes of New York State Thruway. Two were critically injured with 15 other injuries.

State Police said the accident occurred about 5 a.m. at mile marker 337 and caused a traffic standstill that has lasted more than three hours.

Sgt. Robert Simon said the dump truck that was being used for construction on the Thruway when it struck the County Route 7 overpass with its raised truck bed. The bed came free of the truck and landed in the road.

Two vans carrying adults and children struck the bed, causing the injuries.

If you or your loved ones have been involved in a trucking accident, it is important to contact an attorney with experience in this area. At The Orlow Firm we have experience representing the victims and families involved in commercial vehicle or trucking accidents. Contact our experienced Brooklyn attorneys office today for more information.

Source: www.theithacajournal.com