With warmer weather comes an increase in boating traffic on New York waterways. A year-and-a-half after the enactment of Brianna's Law, safety remains of paramount importance. A friendly reminder of responsible operating practices is important, particularly if it helps prevent deaths and injuries on the water. First and foremost, boaters should ensure that their paperwork is in order, including any mandatory safety certificates. Before the launch, boaters should also have safety gear and equipment, including life jackets, first aid kits and...
What is Brianna’s Law?
Brianna’s Law – named after an 11-year-old girl killed in a 2005 boating accident – took effect on the first day of 2020. The tragedy was considered entirely preventable had the operator possessed the most basic knowledge of boating safety. Boating accidents can take many forms. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reports that the five most common include: Crashes with another recreational watercraft Collisions with an object, most commonly a dock Flooding or swamping Grounding Passengers falling overboard The certification process In...
Jury delivers $1.45 million verdict amid pandemic
There have been only a few civil jury trials conducted during the Pandemic in the eight counties of Western New York. I recently participated in one of those in New York State Supreme Court, Erie County, before Justice Frederick Marshall in Buffalo. I represented the Plaintiff in a medical malpractice case against a physician (OB/GYN) and her employer, General Physician, PC. My client was a 53-year-old Black woman who underwent a hysterectomy at Children’s Hospital in 2014 and, two weeks later, was diagnosed with a near fatal bowel...
What is my case worth?
One of the most frequent questions we get is when someone calls a matter of weeks or days after they were in a car crash with the question, “How much is my case worth?” Any good attorney should basically answer that question by saying something like, “It is impossible for me to even begin to answer your question without obtaining a great deal more information, some of which will take some time to obtain.” Who is liable for the crash? In order to determine what a case is worth, we want to know first, if there is a strong theory of liability...
New York’s wrongful death law is unfair and out of touch
New York is one of only a handful of states with a wrongful death statute that does not allow recovery for the suffering caused to family members over the tragic loss of their loved one. Nor does it compensate them for certain other kinds of non-economic damages. In New York, under current law, compensation for the wrongful death of a loved one is largely limited to financial losses rather than emotional ones suffered by the family. Family members can also seek damages for their loved one’s pain and suffering prior to death. For example,...
The lawyer you choose will have a direct impact on the outcome of your case
When it comes to personal injury claims, the attorney you choose to represent you makes a difference. Relatively few lawyers have actually taken cases to trial and obtained verdicts to force insurance companies to pay more money than they wanted to. The lawyers at do that on a regular basis. In fact, Colin Campbell recently received statewide recognition in the New York Law Journal for obtaining two of the highest verdicts in the state in 2019. Insurance firms are experts at weighing risks. Their knowledge and...
October is Long-term Residents’ Rights Month
There are national awareness days and months for just about anything these days, and for good reason. Some things are worth bringing peoples’ attention to. October, for example, is Long-term Residents’ Rights Month. Considering the current state of many nursing homes in New York and across the country right now, it certainly seems an appropriate time to talk about some of the struggles this vulnerable population is facing. According to The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, this year’s theme for Residents’ Rights Month is...
What’s the difference between workers’ comp and a third-party claim?
Workplace injuries are a common occurrence across the state of New York. In 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 80,200 severe workplace injury and illness cases among private employers. That means they involved days away from work, a transfer or restrictions. Goods-producing businesses, such as in construction or natural resources, saw fairly high rates of these severe injuries. When a workplace injury leaves an individual with expensive medical bills and impacts their ability to earn a living, what options might they have for...
Why you should give commercial drivers more room
We all know that delivery services have gone up during 2020 for two big reasons: stay-at-home orders and people just generally buying into the convenience of shopping online. It’s common sense that there would be more truck drivers on the highways and residential streets. But with more of these large commercial vehicles using the roadways, what has that done to vehicle crashes? In March 2020, a report from the National Safety Council stated that fatal crashes have gone up nationally 14%, and crash fatalities are up 17% in New York. This is...
4 ways to advocate for a loved one in a nursing home
Not being able to see a loved one regularly when they are in a care facility can be stressful and worrisome. Knowing that many people are falling ill or dying from coronavirus and its complications only adds to this distress and worry about people you care about. As of May 3, 2020, 15 states have passed laws in an effort to protect nursing homes from being held accountable during the pandemic. New York is one of those states. ABC7NY news reported 20,000 deaths nationwide in nursing homes since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The health and care...
