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Little did T.S. know that when she went to the church food pantry, she would fall on an unmarked step when exiting the premises, resulting in a fracture of her left knee.

While searching for a top-notch personal injury firm, she was recommended to Hill & Moin. T.S. did her research and was extremely impressed by the firm’s prior results and settlements. She retained the firm and, thanks to Hill & Moin’s dedication, T.S. was the recipient of a $295,000 settlement.

T.S. was excited about the unexpected outcome of her trip and fall case. T.S. emphasized that the attorneys did an excellent job handling her litigation and praised the staff who treated her so well. T.S. plans to use some of her settlement proceeds to renovate her house. T.S. recommends that seriously injured victims of negligence in New York City and New York State contact Hill & Moin.

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After suffering from a life-altering injury you will need substantial time to recovery and you may be unable to work and receive your usual paycheck. As you are recovering, you might see bills begin to pile up and experience a sense of panic as to how you are going to pay them. Personal injury cases may take years to settle and within that time the bills will continue to mount. Your workers’ compensation benefits might be delayed or might be insufficient to sustain your daily cost of living.  It might come as an initial shock to see that you won’t be able to pay your monthly bills and will need a loan to bridge the gap. No matter the case (slip and fall, construction accident, auto accident, medical malpractice) a loan may be the only route to help you stay afloat until the end of your case. In New York State, funding companies provide lawsuit loans or pre-settlement loans. This is a loan given to plaintiffs as they wait for their case to resolve.

Lawsuit loans are vastly different than personal loans. Generally, when you take a pre-settlement loan in a personal injury case, the lender will not seek repayment in the event that you lose your case, just as the personal injury attorney will not seek repayment of their expenses if you lose your case. This means that it is extremely risky for a funding company to lend money to you. As a result, the funding company will charge extremely high interest rates. Some interest rates may reach 27%-60%. Be certain to read the terms of your contracts to know exactly what you are signing.  Because the interest rates are so high, if and when you get a settlement, you may notice a large deduction from your gross recovery. The funding company will be paid back directly from your settlement proceeds. The good thing is the funding companies will not need to evaluate your credit history when offering you a loan because their determination whether to extend you a loan will be solely based upon the merits and value of your case.

How do I Know if I Need to Take Out a Loan?

The decision to seek a pre-settlement loan is a very serious one that can have major implications on your future financial recovery. Before you decide you need the loan, look at all your fixed costs and make a budget for yourself. Look to see if there are adjustments that can be made to your budget that might eliminate your need to take the loan. If friends or family can loan you money instead, you would be well advised to borrow from them instead of a funding company. Friends and family do not charge extremely high interest rates.

If you think a loan might be absolutely necessary, reach out to your attorneys to get their advice as to whether you should get such a loan. Your attorney may be able to advise you of the legal implications of the loan, and if you decide to proceed with the loan, advise you of the companies that may offer you the best terms. Never sign anything before carefully reading a funding loan agreement and speaking with your attorney. If you do proceed with the loan, you must understand that the interest owed to the funding company will grow exponentially over the life of your case.

If you recover money in your case, the funding company will have an enforceable lien on your funds. You will only receive your settlement check after the attorney is paid, the disbursements on the case are repaid to the attorney and all liens including loans, Medicare, Medicaid, doctors’ bills and public assistance repayments are paid. The amount you owe the funding company will come out of the settlement before you receive your check. So, it is important that you understand what you are getting yourself into before you rush into taking out a loan. Lawsuit loans are also not regulated in the manner of a personal loan such as a mortgage or car loan, which is why it is crucial you deal with a reputable company. Some might characterize the transaction, not as a loan, but as a high-risk investment in your case.

Medical bills, lost wages, and daily living expenses may collectively cause a great burden for you as you try to recover from a catastrophic injury. Your well-being is paramount as you await the settlement of your case. A loan may empower you financially and put you back on your feet as everything gets sorted out. Unfortunately, the loan may cost you a significant amount of your recovery from your case. Before you rush to borrow from a funding company, contact your attorneys to alert them to your financial situation so they may advise you of the best plan to secure your future.

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If you find yourself in a less than optimal situation with your current attorneys and are wondering if you can switch attorneys, the answer is yes. In New York State you have the right to switch attorneys at any point in the case. At the end of the day, it is vital that you are satisfied with your representation. Your relationship with your attorney is crucial to ensuring the success of your case. Your attorneys are speaking on your behalf, representing your interests, and serving your needs. There should be total trust between you and your attorneys, as well as open communication and agreement on the strategy you will pursue. It is important that your attorney is acting professionally, meeting deadlines, being consistent, making progress moving your case forward, communicating the status of your case, and working with you to achieve your mutual objectives. If you are not comfortable with your attorneys, it might be time to seek legal advice elsewhere or obtain a second opinion. This is your case, and you have the right have it handled by attorneys you trust. You and your attorneys should be a team, never adversaries. It is best to seek new counsel as soon as you see that your relationship with your original attorneys has become irrevocably damaged.

I Need to Change Attorneys, What’s Next?

If you decide it is time to change counsel, you should set up an appointment with new attorneys to set up a complimentary evaluation of your pending case. You and your attorneys will discuss all the issues with how your case has been litigated to that point and determine what is the best plan for your case moving forward. If you decide to make a change, your new counsel will ensure a smooth transition occurs in transferring the legal file from your old attorneys. Your new attorneys will take complete charge of the transition and ensure they promptly secure access to your legal file. You also will not have to worry about paying two sets of lawyers. If you later secure a financial recovery, you will still pay only one legal fee, and from that fee, the lawyers will resolve how the legal fee will be apportioned between the firms. But this should not and will not be your concern.

You might ask how the transition is made. Since you want to avoid a gap in representation you will want to retain new counsel prior to discharging your current attorney. Your new counsel will explain to you how to terminate the relationship in writing and ensure that the opposing attorneys, insurance carrier, and the court is all made aware that you have officially retained new counsel.

Your new attorney will ask you to bring any correspondence or documents that you have in your possession from your current attorney to your first appointment. Your new attorney will want to carefully review the file before committing to substitute for your original attorneys. You can expect the attorney to ask many questions in order to get up to speed on your case.

If your case has already been filed, your new attorney will prepare a “consent to change attorney” document. This is a formal notice to the court and all other parties involved that a new counsel is taking over representation.

Personal injury lawsuits can take years and it is important that you trust the firm you have retained. You need a firm that will communicate with you, respect you, and most importantly look after your best interests. Choosing an attorney is a big decision, and if you conclude that you might have chosen the wrong one, it is important for you to retain new attorneys you believe will best represent your interests.

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If you break a bone, you wouldn’t think twice about consulting a doctor. If you are building a house, you would first call a contractor. But you may not know that when you find yourself in an accident, it is critical that your first call should be to hire skilled personal injury attorneys with ample experience understanding the nuances of the law so you can recover fair and reasonable compensation for your injuries.

If you are asking yourself whether it is worth it to hire a personal injury lawyer, the answer is clearly yes. Don’t convince yourself that you will be “saving money” if you decide to represent yourself. You will almost surely cost yourself far more money than you would pay qualified personal injury attorneys for their legal fee.

First, it is important to understand how personal injury attorneys get paid. Unlike attorneys that may offer you a service where they bill you by the hour, your personal injury attorneys will take a case on a contingent basis. This means that they will advance the costs of litigation on your behalf and will only recover those costs as well as their legal fee if they can secure you a financial recovery. Because personal injury attorneys do not make any money, and in fact lose money when they cannot secure monetary compensation for injured victims, they generally do not take personal injury cases they believe will not result in a financial recovery. If you entrust your case to a trusted personal injury attorney, you will know you have hired a skilled legal professional that believes in your case and will fight to get you every dollar you are owed.

Furthermore, the legal system is simply not set up for individuals to successfully represent themselves in personal injury actions. If you were to handle your own personal injury case in court, you would be responsible to know all deadlines for filing of legal papers, how to draft pleadings and motions and other legal documents and appear at regular court conferences. You would be responsible to comply with court orders you may not understand or else risk dismissal of your case. You would be expected to be know the legal requirements of your case, even though you lack the legal experience to do so. The defense would likely take advantage of your lack of expertise and inundate you with discovery demands that they know you will not be able to handle. Furthermore, you would not know when the defendants are demanding something proper and when they are simply fishing for harmful information that could hurt your case. Without an attorney, you would have an extremely difficult time navigating the complexities of your case and would likely lack the time and resources to succeed.

How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me?

When you hire skilled, experienced personal injury attorneys, they will handle every aspect of your case for you. This will ensure that you do not have to worry about the day to day requirements of prosecuting your case, and instead you can focus on getting medical treatment and recovering after a serious injury. You need trusted counsel who understands the law and how insurance companies operate. You need attorneys who know how to gather the proper evidence and hire experts that will maximize the value of your case. You need attorneys who will prepare you for every important question that you may be asked at your deposition. Finally, you need attorneys who know the value of your case and are skilled in negotiating the highest possible monetary value for your case. Without a trusted attorney on your side, you would have no idea when you are being offered fair and reasonable compensation for your injuries.

The insurance company you are filing a claim against will have attorneys fighting on their side, and you have the right to put up the same fight. In addition, insurance carriers simply do not take cases as seriously when victims do not retain a qualified attorney to fight for them. According to a study by Insurance Research Council, an individual who hires legal representation is likely to get a compensation package that is three times larger than any compensation you might receive on you own. There is truly nothing to lose and everything to gain by hiring trusted, skilled personal injury attorneys that will fight to get you the monetary compensation you deserve while you attempt to move on with your life following a devastating injury.

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As society increasingly becomes more environmentally conscious as well as health conscious, more and more people are turning bicycles. Not only are people starting to bike more often to avoid taking their cars, but it is also a great form of exercise. In New York City alone Mayor Bill DeBlasio added over 100 miles of new bike paths. Citi Bikes are taking the streets by storm, as you can now see racks of bikes on every corner. There are a recorded 20.6 million Citi Bike trips made in 2019. In addition, with the onset of coronavirus, there has been a boom in bike sales and an upward trend of bikers on the road. According to the New York Department of Transportation there are over 900,000 New Yorkers who ride a bike regularly; with over 510,000 cyclist trips made each day in New York City. However, biking in a big city has proven dangerous. New York city is full of hazards. There are cars, buses, pedestrians, other cyclists, and uneven roads at every corner.  Because of all these hazards, 2019 reported the highest rate of bicycle accident fatalities as over 30 people lost their lives, three times the rate of fatalities in the previous year. With a large number of cyclists, cars, and pedestrians all sharing the same space in a crowded city, accidents are bound to happen.

What are the Most Common Causes of a Bicycle Accident?

Many factors can contribute to a bicycle accident which may be caused by the negligence of a driver, pedestrian, or biker. Elements that may contribute to an accident are impaired vision or obstructed views, disobedience of traffic laws, driver’s inattention or distraction, defective signage, poor road conditions, failure to enforce speed limits, improper lane changes, following too closely, failure to yield, and failure to exercise necessary caution while operating a vehicle or bicycle. In addition, bike accidents can have catastrophic ramifications whether the accident involves an automobile and bike, two bikes, or a pedestrian and a bike. Accidents may result in traumatic brain injury, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, facial lacerations and other soft tissue injuries, as well as the wrongful death of the cyclist.  Even if the bicyclist is equipped with all the necessary road safety equipment, a bicyclist will often be thrown to the ground by the impact with resultant serious injuries. A bicyclist may bring a lawsuit against an offending motorist and may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering and potentially lost wages as well. Always wait for the police to come to the scene and write up an accident report. A police report will contain the name of the motorist, owner, and insurance carrier for the vehicle, as well as a description of the incident. The report will note whether any violations have been issued to the driver and all contributing factors to the incident. It is also important to seek immediate medical attention even if in the moment you are not sure whether you are seriously injured. Adrenaline may mask the true extent of your injuries. Seeking medical attention will support your later personal injury claim.

When a bicyclist is struck by a motor vehicle there are bound to be numerous medical bills. The bicyclist is generally entitled to have all medical bills paid by the no-fault insurance of the motorist. If the offending vehicle is uninsured, no-fault insurance for any vehicle owned by the biker or insurance carrier of any vehicle of any resident with whom the bicyclist resides will pay the bills. If there is no motor vehicle owned in the residence, a New York resident may file a claim with MVAIC (Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation). This is a non-profit organization which offers no fault or bodily injury coverage for those injured in a motor vehicle accident with no available insurance to cover costs. The attorneys here at Hill & Moin LLP can assist you in filing that claim. In addition, if there are two bicycles involved in the accident your attorneys will explore if there is either homeowner’s insurance or renters insurance on the part of the negligent bicyclist that may be available to compensate you for your injuries.

If the bicyclist is working on the job at the time of the accident, workers compensation will pay for the medical bills. If you are delivering food for your job or running an errand for your employer, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in addition to filing a claim for your pain and suffering attributed to your injuries. Hill & Moin LLP will facilitate free compensation with a skilled workers’ compensation attorney who can help you file all necessary forms with the New York Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB).

Underinsurance is also an important factor to remember. If the motorist who struck you only has minimum coverage of $25,000, which is required in New York, you should check the insurance policy of your own vehicle or the insurance policy of an owner of a vehicle with whom you reside. If the coverage is above the required minimum of $25,000, you may make an underinsurance claim with that insurance carrier policy for additional compensation if you are able to secure a tender or surrender of the entire underlying insurance policy by the insurance carrier of the responsible party.

New York City passed Administrative Code 19-190 in order to try and reduce fatalities and injuries involving motor vehicles and bicycles.  This Code states that  “any driver of a  motor vehicle who fails to yield to a  pedestrian or person riding a bicycle when such pedestrian or person has the right of way… and whose motor vehicle causes contact with a  pedestrian or person riding a  bicycle and thereby causes physical injury,  shall  be guilty of a  misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars, or imprisonment for not more than thirty days or both such fine and imprisonment. In addition to or as an alternative to such penalty, such driver shall also be subject to a civil penalty of not more than two hundred fifty dollars” (NYC Admin Code 19-190). This code was enacted as a response to the great number of bicyclists who are injured by motor vehicles each year in New York City. Bicycle accidents can be highly complicated with respect to determining which insurance policy will pay for medical bills, lost wage, and pain and suffering. You need skilled, experienced attorneys who can help you navigate the maze of New York laws so you can get necessary medical treatment while you aggressively pursue financial compensation for your injuries.

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In today’s day and age social media often plays a large role in our lives. This is how we stay connected to friends, share our vacation photos, post updates about our lives, and much more. It is all too common for people to share every aspect of their lives on these platforms, and even post photos of their breakfast. However, if you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit it is vital to avoid posting on social media. As we all know, once you put something out on the internet it is no longer yours. In cyberspace that picture, comment, or post is out there for the whole world to see. Simply deleting the post does not guarantee that it is gone. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance not to share anything on any social media site for the duration of your case.

What Will Happen if I Post to my Social Media Account?

Anything posted on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter about the accident can and will be used against you by the defense. A post or picture may that differs your testimony or a written statement you have given. If you officially state that you are in too much pain to engage in physical activities, but then post a photo showing you exercising at the gym, dancing at a club, or playing a game of basketball, this will impact negatively on your credibility. Photographs are powerful comments on your physical condition.

Be extremely careful about what you post. Better yet, avoid posting at all. Advise your friends and family not to post pictures of you as well. A photo depicting you as being the picture of good health will diminish your prospects of monetary recovery. Social media at best will have no impact on your case, but it has the potential to very significantly lower the settlement value of your case.

Additionally, put all your accounts on private and be particularly vigilant against friendly new strangers that ask to friend you during your case. Even if your account is on private settings do not be lulled into the false sense of security that your account is invisible; the internet is by design not a private place, and posts seem to always have a way of making it to the public eye. As social media takes on a greater role in our lives, courts are more inclined to admit social media posts into evidence.

Don’t derail your case by using social media unwisely! Even postings not related to your accident can affect your case. Don’t think for a minute that trivial political comments might not have an adverse effect on the outcome of your case. Be hyper aware of what you and your friends are posting! When you abstain from social media you avoid the consequences of being ambushed during questioning at your deposition and trial as to what you have posted on your social media sites. Don’t let social media impair your prospects for a large settlement.

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Electric scooters, specifically Revel mopeds, have taken New York City streets by storm. Starting out in Brooklyn in 2018, these mopeds made their way to Queens in 2019 and NYC in 2020. With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Mayor Bill De Blasio stated that New Yorker’s will have to “improvise” how they get around the city. With the hunt to find new modes of transportation that are convenient and environmentally friendly came the expansion of Revel into the bustling NYC streets.  Although there was a boom in ridership, the optional safety classes were suspended due to the pandemic. This combination may have led to two fatalities and a vast number of other reported electric scooter accidents. Due to these tragic incidents, Revel had no choice but to suspend service. Revel tweeted that “we’re reviewing and strengthening our rider accountability and safety measures and communicating with city officials, and we look forward to serving you again in the near future.” These scooters can reach speeds up to 30 miles an hour, five miles over the New York City speed limit. Yet there are no municipal or state training requirements. The rider need only download the app, upload driver’s license information, and pay a small fee.

Are Electric Scooters Safe?

A former Revel employee even reported that “as a rider with experience, I do not trust them. They’re cheap, They’re plastic. The wheels are small in circumference. It’s a bouncy ride. In the rain we would get a lot of accidents.” This ex-employee went on to state that “you never know if you are going to get a safe and reliable vehicle. It’s kind of like a lottery.” You cannot play the lottery with your life, your passengers’ life, or the countless lives of the pedestrians and bicyclists around you. While these bikes are simpler than riding a motorcycle, the risks are the same and people are only now realizing that motorized mopeds are not toys. While the app does require people to wear helmets, there are countless reports of customers riding these bikes without helmets, wearing flip-flops, and carrying young children on their backs. They can easily fall risking broken limbs, spinal cord injuries, and even brain damage due to lack of protective gear and the high speeds.

These electric bikes are registered motor vehicles.  The mopeds are certified by the U.S Department of Transportation and registered with the NY Department of Motor Vehicles.  NY state classifies these mopeds as “limited-use motorcycles,” but Revel does not require more than a driver’s license to operate it.

Know your rights if you are involved in an accident involving a moped, electric bike, or motorized scooter. The attorneys at Hill and Moin LLP will help you seek compensation for personal injuries attributed to a collision involving any of these vehicles of transportation.

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Mrs. D.H., a teacher at a synagogue in her community, was shopping at a grocery store in Borough Park, Brooklyn when she fell while reaching for a product on the shelf.

A friend of Mrs. D.H.’s community, having previously worked with Hill & Moin, knew that they were the best suited firm to represent Mrs. D.H. and obtain for her a settlement that would more than satisfactorily compensate her for her injuries. Initially, Mrs. D.H. had many questions and doubts about starting a premises liability suit. With their many years of experience as litigators, the attorneys at Hill & Moin were able to fully clarify how the litigation would proceed and put Mrs. D.H at ease.

Mrs. D.H. is very thankful to Hill & Moin for helping her through the litigation process, navigating the many hurdles of the legal system. “To all the staff at Hill & Moin who worked so diligently and with much effort in settling my case – May God bless you all and shower you all with much luck and success. You have my highest recommendations.”  A settlement right before the Holidays came as “a reward from God”, says the teacher.

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It seems that the automotive industry, like so many others, is headed down the path of automation. Spearheading this revolution are companies like Tesla and Google, who have slowly but surely begun to usher self-driving cars into the mainstream. While not quite “mainstream” just yet, the introduction of this burgeoning technology into our society raises a number of legal and logical questions that as of now have no definitive answers.

Will Driverless Cars be Safer?

One question that immediately comes to mind is whether self-driving cars will truly provide a safer driving experience. While it’s true that self-driving cars don’t text, drink or drive, it’s also true that technology is often prone to failure. Think about how frequently the technological devices you interact with daily experience some type of complication (i.e. a computer freeze, mysterious phone shutdown, etc.) While these issues are usually not catastrophic, it goes to show how fickle modern technology can be. One little error or freeze within a self-driving car’s hardware could be the difference between a normal driving experience and a life-threatening car accident. According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan, driverless cars have an accident rate of 9.1 crashes per 1 million miles, compared to only 4.1 crashes per million in cars operated by humans. Clearly, the technology just isn’t there yet.

While concern about placing trust in a computer to get people from place to place will likely last for some time, there are marked benefits to consider. Self-driving vehicles will likely never get lost, distracted, or drag race at a stoplight. They could also enable humans to be more productive during their ride, turning attention to other things like news or business-related activities. Ultimately, the jury is still out on how safe driverless cars will be. However, over 2.5 million injuries per year due to human-operated car accidents, the potential for self-driving, electric cars may have significant benefit for society.

Liability in Driverless Car Accidents

The issue of potential liability for driverless car accidents is presently unsettled. Because driverless cars are still niche, we’ve yet to really see how the law is applied when accidents occur. Will injured parties attempt to sue the car companies, people behind the wheel, or both? Who is really at fault?

The first recorded pedestrian fatality from an autonomous vehicle occurred in March of 2018. A woman was crossing the street in Tempe, Arizona when an autonomous Uber vehicle struck and killed her. The woman’s family reached an unknown settlement with Uber less than two weeks after the accident.

Another noteworthy incident occurred in 2019 when a Florida man was killed after colliding with an 18-wheeler. At the time of the collision, his Tesla was operating in autopilot mode. The victim’s family is currently suing Tesla for wrongful death, though no settlement or verdict has been reached.

A subsequent lawsuit called Hudson v. Tesla and Oscar Enrique Gonzales Bustamante was filed in Florida. Here, the plaintiff’s Tesla was cruising at 80 mph in autopilot mode. The Tesla collided with a disabled vehicle on the side of the road, causing the plaintiff serious injuries and totaling his car. This lawsuit has yet to be decided, but its interesting to note that the plaintiff is pursuing compensation from both the car company (Tesla) and the owner of the disabled vehicle (Bustamante).

These three cases foreshadow the notion that victims will primarily seek compensation from the companies designing the faulty autonomous technology, as well as from the car companies themselves. In the first case mentioned, Uber was using a Ford Focus but was solely responsible for creating the faulty technology and, as such, were the party being sued.

In the second case, several charges have been levied against Tesla. These include charges of faulty technology and false advertising related to the efficacy of the vehicle’s autonomous capability. Allegations in the third case are much the same as the first and second.

Though no high-profile case has been decided in court, it appears from ongoing cases that the legal trend will be for injured parties to seek compensation from autonomous car companies, rather than autonomous car occupants. How this will shape the field of personal injury law isn’t totally clear, but it’s safe to say findings of fault will be a more complex issue in basic car accidents than ever before. Only as the technology continues to develop and more lawsuits are filed, however, will we know for sure.

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