Safe Driving Tips

Here are some important tips to help you have a safer driving experience.

Before driving a car, do a simple safety check. Turn on the lights and walk around the vehicle to ensure that all lights are in working order. Also check your blinkers for proper operation. Look for any fluid leaks or things hanging from the vehicle. Check that the tires are properly inflated.

 Drive with your headlights on, a car is visible for nearly 4 times the distance with its headlights on even during daytime hours.

 When stopping at a stop sign, be sure to feel the car rock backward and spell S-T-O-P to yourself before proceeding. Always turn your head to look left, then right, straight ahead, then left again before proceeding.

Expect the other drivers to make mistakes and think what you would do if a mistake does happen. For example, do not assume that a vehicle coming to a stop sign is going to stop. Be ready to react if it does not stop. 

 When you re-fuel, check your oil and other fluid levels. Look for noticeable leaks throughout the engine compartment.

 When traveling behind other vehicles, there should be at least a 4 second space between your vehicles. When the car in front of you passes a stationary object, slowly count to yourself. If you pass the object before the allotted time, you should back off. When traveling at night or inclement weather, these times should be doubled.

 Don't talk on a cell phone while driving. Phones detract from your ability to concentrate on the road and increase your chance of a collision. If you must use the phone, pull over to a safe, well-lit parking lot and place your call there.

 When leaving for an out of town trip, give an itinerary to someone back at home with the route of travel, approximate time of arrival and a contact number at your destination.  If you deviate from this inform your at-home contact. If you are traveling a long distance, check in throughout the trip with current location and any changes in your route or times. If something were to happen, this information may be used to narrow the search.

 As your speed increases so does your braking distance. If you double your speed, you quadruple your braking distance. If you double the weight of your vehicle, you double the stopping distance.

Carry in your vehicle, in an easy to find place, all contact numbers that you may need as well as Emergency contact information, personal information and any outstanding medical needs that you may have.

If you would like a free Auto File to help you organize important information for your car, please call or email us with your contact information and we will send it to you.

If you are in an accident, call Frank Cassisi, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 516.294.5050. 

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What Happens if You Get Hurt in a Hospital Due to a Hospital Error?

Hospitals are supposed to be places where people get well. Unfortunately, hospitals are sometimes places where injuries occur. New York State’s three largest medical insurers – Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Oxford and HIP - now want to stop paying hospitals when preventable adverse events or malpractice occur. The insurers plan to implement language in their policies prohibiting the hospital from billing the carrier for the subsequent treatment required as a result of hospital errors. 

This is a move to lower the financial burden of health care insurers – who eventually pass the costs on to their insured. Lisa Greiner, a spokeswoman for Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield confirmed in a Long Island Business News article in the March 21, 2008 edition, that the insurer is working with physicians and hospitals to identify preventable adverse events. The rub comes from the definition of a “preventable adverse event”. Beginning in October 2008, Medicare will no longer reimburse hospitals for care related to eight different errors occurring during the patient’s stay. 

 Is it an attempt by insurers to help improve the quality of care at hospitals or a way to reduce their costs? The answer is probably both.  

Some of the errors Insurers have identified as preventable include:

·         Incompatible blood transfusion

·         An object left in a patient after surgery

·         Air embolisms

Many hospitals no longer bill insurers for obvious and serious preventable errors such as performing surgery on the wrong patient or the wrong body part.

If the measure by the insurance companies improves the quality of care for patients by making hospitals more diligent about error prevention, because they won’t get reimbursed for their liability by the insurance company, the measure is a good one. However, if it increases the financial burden on hospitals, it will not be good for hospitals. Doctors are increasingly leery of things that are couched in quality and safety and really amount to nothing more than cost-cutting.

If you are unfortunate enough to get injured during a hospital stay, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. If you would like to discuss your particular situation, call us for a free consultation – to know your rights, just in case.
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Dog Bites - New York State's Highest Court Upholds 180 Year Old "One Free Dog Bite Rule"

The New York State’s highest court recently ruled in favor of a dog owner upholding the state’s venerable “one-bite rule”. Here’s what happened and what you need to know if you or someone you know is injured by a dog bite.

A Labrador mix Scooter bit an 8 year old girl in a Bridgehampton toy store in 2003 and the girl need more than 40 stitches. The girl’s parents promptly filed suit against the dog owner. The defense proved during trial that Scooter had never behaved viciously before. The dog’s owner was found not to be liable for damages to the girl because he did not have any prior notice or knowledge of the dog’s vicious propensities. In New York State there is a 180 year old body of common law that suggests owners are not liable in animal attacks as long as their pets had never behaved aggressively in the past. The victim’s attorney challenged the law saying the court failed to protect New Yorkers by refusing to overrule and reverse an old rule that leaves children and adults at risk. 

The court upheld the law that says as long as your dog hasn’t bit, lunged, growled at or jumped on people before the owner is not liable. The result, dogs essentially get “one free bite”. 

What it comes down to for people who have been injured by a dog bite, is having an experienced attorney who can deeply and thoroughly investigate the dog and it’s owners past history to frame for the court sufficient evidence to prove liability.

To learn more about what to do in the event of dog bites, listen to Frank Cassisi’s pod cast on dog bites. 

www.cassisilaw.com/2008/01/articles/podcasts-1/podcast-dog-bites-and-undocumented-workers-rights/

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What You Don't Know May Hurt You

You may have heard the saying before – “What you don’t know may hurt you” and that is true when it comes to accidents and personal injuries. Did you know:

  • You have to file a No Fault application within 30 days of an accident with the insurance company for the car you were travelling in to preserve your rights to recover medical bills and lost wages?
  • You will not be “automatically” compensated by an insurance company or other carriers  without taking the necessary steps to preserve your rights within the requisite time limits?
  • Many times the shock and trauma of an accident will mask your symptoms of injuries?
  • If you delay seeking medical attention your injuries may get worse?
  • In some cases, injuries from an accident do not show up right away but you may still be compensated for your loss from the accident if you take the necessary steps to preserve your legal rights?
  • If it looks too good to be true it probably is? Many employers, property owners and drivers will not want you to report an accident and will try to settle with you before you fully assess the extent of your damages and some insurance companies will even tell you "that you don't need a lawyer" . 

You need to know your rights fully in the event of a personal injury and you need to know that what you don’t know immediately may hurt you unless you protect your rights. What’s the best way to protect yourself in an accident? First, seek medical attention – even if you don’t think you need it. You never know what may be happening internally in your body or brain that could cause serious damage in the future. Next, contact us or another attorney to fully protect your rights. Our motto is – Know Your Rights Just in Case.   

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New York's "No Fault" Insurance Laws Do Not Mean "No Rights" for Compensation

You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by filing a No Fault claim if you are in a motor vehicle accident. Many people in states that have “No Fault” insurance laws are confused by the laws and may think that they do not have the right to recover for medical bills or loss of wages incurred because of injuries sustained in an accident because of injuries sustained in an accident when they are the driver of the car. “No Fault” insurance laws do not mean that victims of motor vehicle accidents do not have rights. 

“No Fault” means that the insurance company covering the car in which the injured party was travelling in is the insurance company that covers the medical bills or loss wages of the injured party – irrespective if they are at fault.  However, protecting your rights to have medical or economic coverage if you are in a motor vehicle accident is very important and requires that you take legal action by filing a No Fault Application WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE ACCDIENT and a Notice of Intent to make claim against the Supplement Underinsured/Uninsured coverage provisions of the policy covering the host vehicle as well as any policy covering any household vechicles within 90 days of the accident. 

We recommend that you contact an attorney after an accident and have the proper notices and applications served to protect your rights for payment of medical bills and economic recovery in the future. If it turns out that you do not suffer financially, protecting your rights – just in case – is important. It is not the Insurance Company’s responsibility to make you aware of your rights in the event of an accident.   It's your resposibility to know what your rights are and what you have to do to protect them.

If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your economic losses such as medical expenses and/or lost wages.   Consult with us to find out for sure.

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If You are Injured by a Medical Device You May Be Entitled to Compensation

If you have been injured by a faulty medical device – whether a stent, implanted defibulator or artificial knee – you may be entitled to compensation. On February 20, 2007, the Supreme Court affirmed the Second Circuit decision in Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., baring patients injured by defective medical devices from suing if the medical device that caused the injury was approved for marketing by the F.D.A. and made to the agency’s specifications. 

However, there may still be a compensatory cause of action and we believe injured patients should pursue their right to compensation. While one party involved in bringing the medical device to market may not bear the burden for damages, another may and patients need to know their rights. Being able to sue for damages caused by the poor manufacture and/or use of a medical device applies pressure on companies to ensure that their products are safe and to quickly remove them from the market should unexpected dangers occur.

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What is Nursing Home Abuse and What Can I Do About it?

Thousands of nursing home residents are injured or die each year. Why? Many nursing homes are focused more on achieving higher profits at the expense of sufficient care for their residents. 

Not only is it reasonable to expect your loved one to be properly treated and cared for in their golden years, it is law. 

Nursing home abuse, negligence, and neglect may result in any one of these results:

  • Bedsores
  • Broken bones
  • Malnutrition
  • Physical abuse
  • Verbal abuse
  • Slip and fall injuries
  • Use of restraints for discipline or convenience
  • Malpractice on the part of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, and/or administrators
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Important Information You Could Want to know about Brain Injuries

Millions of Americans suffer brain injuries each year and thousands are left permanently disabled. The disabilities are physical, cognitive, behavioral, and/or emotional in nature.

There are two types of brain injury that can have permanent and devastating effects and can even lead to death: traumatic brain injury and acquired brain injury.

When there is an external blow to the head with some type of force, traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result. A few of the common causes of TBI are auto accidents; firearm accidents; premises liability accidents; and accidents incurred playing active sports such as rollerblading, hockey, and basketball. TBI may also result from incidents where the head is violently shaken or there is a blow to the skull. Shaken baby syndrome and high-speed auto accidents are two very common causes of TBI.

There are three levels of TBI: mild, moderate, and severe. A mild traumatic brain injury is classified as a brief loss of consciousness. A moderate traumatic brain injury is characterized by loss of consciousness that lasts from a few minutes to a few hours, with the resulting impairment of motor skills ranging from several weeks to permanent. A severe traumatic brain injury involves an extended unconscious state or coma (this may range from days to years).

When there is a disruption in the oxygen flow to the brain, this is referred to as an acquired brain injury (ABI). ABIs often result from stroke, aneurysm, heart attack, tumors, infectious disease, airway obstruction, crushing injuries to the chest, drug abuse, infectious disease, and/or meningitis. Additionally, reckless conduct on the part of a second party, including medical malpractice and medical negligence, can cause ABI. ABIs can affect reasoning skills and cognitive thought patterns, and may cause lapses in memory and reduced physical and mental abilities, along with several other traits and impaired body functions.

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Questions to Ask in a Slip and Fall Accident

Here are some questions to ask if you are involved in a slip and fall accident. 

  • If you slipped on a spill in a mall, was it there long enough that the property owner should have been aware of it?
  • Is there a standard cleaning/maintenance schedule for the premises? If so, can the property owner show proof that the policy exists?
  • If, for example, you tripped over a stack of boxes beside a shelf in a grocery store, was there a good reason for the boxes to have been there? Could they have been safely and conveniently placed elsewhere or should a proper barrier or warning sign have been set up?
  • Was the slip and fall accident caused, at least in part, by poor or dim lighting?
  • Did you have a valid excuse for being at the site of the slip and fall accident?
  • Were you paying full attention at the time of the slip and fall accident?
  • Was the area properly labeled?
  • Would a reasonable person have been able to avoid the slip and fall accident?
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Liquor Liability Claims

Under dram shop liability laws, a party injured by an intoxicated person can sue establishments contributing to that person’s intoxication. The term "dram shop" was derived from 18th century English taverns that sold gin by the spoonful, called a dram. Dram shop laws are established by each state.

Dram shop laws can apply to:

  • bars
  • liquor stores
  • restaurants
  • social clubs and private events where liquor is served

The laws also include prohibitions against selling liquor without a license, selling liquor after hours, and selling liquor to minors. For example, if a person has several alcoholic drinks at a restaurant or bar and is visibly intoxicated, and then gets in a car and kills someone on the way home, the owner of the serving establishment can be sued for damages. A dram shop case is often a component of a larger accident case such as a DWI. The statute of limitations on the dram shop portion of the case differs from those that apply to the other claims made in the case.

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