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J.J. was a union carpenter. He was working on a job site framing a column with tracks while on a 6 ft. frame ladder. J.J., when given the 6 ft. ladder, asked for scaffolding or an 8 ft. ladder but was instructed to use what he was given as there was nothing else available. This ladder was old and wobbly with the feet worn smooth and the right brace bent. The ladder was not secure as the right brace would not lock in all the way and it came crashing down.

The New York Ladder Accident Attorneys Can Help

J.J. suffered injuries to his right ankle, left knee and back. J.J. knew he needed a lawyer who would work diligently to pursue a large compensation for his ladder accident. The highly skilled New York construction accident attorneys at Hill & Moin obtained a $650,000 settlement for J.J.. J.J. explained that the personal injury attorneys at Hill & Moin are “great” and he “appreciates all the hard work.” Additionally, J.J. was impressed by the communication he received throughout his case despite the COVID pandemic. With this settlement, J.J. plans to buy a house for his family.

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F.A. is a union laborer with over 20 years on the job. F.A. was at a commercial office building in Brooklyn working on a partial replacement of the air conditioning system fan line. He set up a 6 ft frame ladder which he had used before. As he was standing on the ladder, it collapsed sending F.A. tumbling to the ground landing on his back. The ladder was old and the safety lock was bent. He was quickly brought to the hospital by ambulance where he had stayed for three days.

As a result of the workplace accident, F.A. suffered several and serious back injuries. F.A. would no longer be able to perform his long-time duties as a manual laborer and return to his prior occupation. Just sitting or standing caused F.A. much pain.

New York’s Ladder Accident Lawyers Can Help

F.A. knew that he needed fierce and reliable ladder accident attorneys to assist him in obtaining compensation for his life altering accident. Referred to Hill & Moin by another attorney, F.A. explained the employees and personal injury attorneys at Hill & Moin in New York, were “very nice and attentive.” F.A. will use his sizeable settlement on his kids.

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P.M. was leaving work to go meet her cousin. P.M. suddenly found herself meeting the concrete as she hit the floor. Looking back, she could see her foot got caught in the broken up uneven area of the sidewalk which had caused her to trip and fall.

P.M. suffered a fractured ankle and underwent surgery. P.M. was confined to her bed for 4 months as she could not bear any weight on her ankle. An active young woman, now P.M. would suffer relentless pain every day.

The New York trip and fall attorneys can help

P.M. found Hill & Moin and believed they were the best New York premises liability attorneys to litigate her case. With the help of Hill & Moin, P.M. was thrilled with her settlement of half a million dollars. Despite the stressful and difficult time she was going through, she had a “great experience” working with Hill & Moin who were quick to “answer all of her questions”. P.M. was extremely satisfied with the outcome of her case and might now be able to buy an apartment and hope for a better future.

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J.B. was getting ready to start his day cleaning up New York City streets as a city sanitation worker. He went to the sweeper truck assigned to him and began working tirelessly. J.B. had just began sweeping the streets that day. He attempted to board the truck after fixing the truck’s mirror but there was a defective step on the narrow stairs of this truck. Due to this defect, J.B.’s right foot slipped, and he fell backwards onto the street. As a result of this workplace incident, J.B suffered a fractured right knee. He would no longer be able to continue cleaning NYC streets as he once loved.

Hill & Moin LLP is Here to Help

J.B. was in search of high-quality and well-known representation and was recommended to call Hill & Moin. After speaking with them, Hill & Moin immediately began working on his workers’ compensation case in order to effectively find the best resolution. As a result of their relentless hard work and professionalism, during the COVID-19 pandemic on top of that, J.B’s case settled for $225,000. J.B. was delighted regarding the outcome of his case and was eagerly waiting to pick up his check.

J.B. described working with Hill & Moin as “very great”. He added that he enjoyed working with them and that they were very responsive and answered of his legal and procedural questions. He cited the excellent staff there and thanked them for all their hard work. He stated that he felt as if he was part of the family. J.B. plans on using his settlement proceeds to invest in a house. J.B. stated that he would absolutely recommend anyone, whether it be friend, family or stranger, who is looking for experienced and professional representation to call Hill & Moin and join the ever-growing family.

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There are a number of reasons someone might be uninsured. Maybe you moved and never received a bill at your new address; maybe you drive a moped or scooter and have never needed insurance. Regardless of why you are currently uninsured, it’s important to understand what your options are after being sued. Fortunately, all hope is not lost.

Pro Se Litigation and the Importance of Legal Counsel

Pro Se representation allows plaintiffs or defendants to represent themselves in court, should they lack the means to hire a lawyer. “Pro Se” translates from Latin to “on behalf of themselves.” This translation is essentially what Pro Se representation allows plaintiffs and defendants: the option to represent yourself in court without legal counsel. The right to Pro Se representation is Constitutionally protected and allowed by most courts. Judges are typically sympathetic to the burdens of Pro Se litigants, making certain allowances they might not for a lawyer. For example, a judge may assist a Pro Se litigant with staying on top of the procedural aspects of a case. They will, however, not offer a Pro Se litigant legal advice.

Should you be considering the Pro Se option, there are some important things to note. While it’s true you’ll be saving money on attorney fees, it’s likely you’ll be opposing a seasoned lawyer representing the plaintiff in court. Covering any damages you’ve incurred as a result of the plaintiff’s injuries will be your responsibility, and yours alone. What you would spend on a lawyer to mitigate damages would likely be worth the cost, especially if the potential settlement is large.

When your financial security is at stake, contacting an attorney, even if just for a consultation, is always the smart bet. Even if hiring an attorney may cost exponentially more than representing yourself, experienced counsel could be the difference between winning and losing a case.

Consider Coverage Options for the Future

Unfortunately, there is no way to receive coverage for a specific accident after it occurs. This, however, should not prevent you from purchasing insurance. An insurance policy will cover settlements and attorneys’ fees in potential cases against you going forward. Also, many insurance companies offer fair prices for coverage even after accidents.

Ultimately, the protection an insurance policy offers is vitally important, and something everyone should invest in. When searching for insurance, be it auto, health, or home, don’t limit your options to the big names (i.e. Allstate, Geico, State Farm, etc.). Regional insurers may offer policies that better fit your needs in terms of price and/or coverage options. If you’re unfamiliar with insurance and what policies might be optimal for you, an insurance broker could assist you in finding the right policy.

What If My Insurance Company Has Denied Coverage?

Should you purchase insurance and find yourself in a situation where your provider denies coverage, it’s important to understand why this happened, and what steps to take next. Most often, insurance companies disclaim cases they believe do not fall under the purview of a specific insurance policy’s coverage. Sometimes an insurance company’s rationale for disclaiming coverage may be convoluted and difficult for a person unfamiliar with law and contracts to understand.

When an insurance company disclaims, they are governed by strict rules. These rules prevent companies from frivolously denying coverage to maintain profit margins. Many lawyers specialize in the field of insurance law and could better help you understand what protections you are entitled to recover based on your policy, as well as if your insurance company is abiding by the rules. If you find yourself in this position, consider contacting an attorney for a consultation.

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As long as you were not completely and totally responsible for an accident, you may have a viable claim for your injuries. Whether you were in a car wreck, slipped and fell on a sidewalk, or were involved in a construction accident, you may still be eligible for significant compensation. In construction cases, the Labor Law places the burden on building owners and general contractors to create a safe work environment for construction workers regardless of whether the worker is partially at fault. For car accidents and premises cases, New York has a pure comparative negligence rule allowing victims to receive compensation even when partly at fault.

Construction Accidents

Labor Law (§) 240 (1) is a very favorable law that protects construction workers from effects of gravity-related hazards. The law provides:

“All contractors and owners and their agents…in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning, or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect, or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed.”

Labor Law §240(1) mandates that owners and general contractors be held strictly liable for a failure to provide workers with proper safety equipment to protect workers from falling or protect workers from falling objects. Therefore, even if you contributed to the events leading up to injury, if there was a violation of Labor Law §240(1), you will be entitled to recover the full value of your monetary damages, even if you were partially or even largely at fault. The defense must show you were the “sole proximate cause” of their own injuries in order to avoid strict liability under this statute.

For example, in the case Rapalo v. MJRB Kings Highway Realty, LLC. a carpenter was building a scaffold when one of the planks he was standing on collapsed, causing him to fall nearly 30 feet. There was no argument that the carpenter played a role in the plank’s collapse, considering he’d just built it. Still, he won his case against the owners of the property at trial.

In addition to the strict liability protections available to construction workers under Labor Law §240(1), Labor Law §§241(6) and 200 also are available to hold general contractors and owners responsible even when an injured worker is partially responsible for the accident. Labor Law §241(6) holds general contractors and owners responsible where there is a violation of a specific section of the New York Industrial Code that was a cause of the injured construction worker’s injuries. Labor Law §200 seeks to hold contractors and owners responsible for allowing an unsafe work-site when they are aware of a dangerous condition or dangerous manner in which work is being performed and fail to take appropriate actions. Notably, these two sections differ from Labor Law §240(1) in that they do not hold general contractors and owners strictly liable for a violation. If you are partially responsible under these sections, your monetary recovery would be pro-rated based upon the worker’s degree of comparative negligence.

Premises Liability and Car Accidents

New York’s comparative negligence rule allows for fault to be apportioned between negligent parties in a case based on the respective parties’ contribution to the accident. For example, you may have been in a car wreck that was mostly your fault, but the other driver was arguably negligent. Your fault may be apportioned at 70%, while the other driver is found to be 30% responsible. In this hypothetical, you would receive 30% of the damages. Thus, if a jury found your fractured leg injury was worth $100,000, you would still recover $30,000.

In DeCerce v. New York State Thruway Authority, we can see how comparative negligence applies in a case related to a car accident. Here, the widow of a man killed in a car accident brought a wrongful death suit against the defendants, claiming that unsafe roads were the cause of her husband’s death and that the defendant was negligent in failing to keep the roads properly maintained. The defense argued the widow’s husband was driving recklessly and that the accident was his fault. The court apportioned 50% of the blame to the widow’s husband and 50% to the defendants for the cause of the accident. The widow still received hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here’s an example of a premises liability case that demonstrates how comparative negligence permits an award to an injured person who was partially at fault. In Lindsay v. Costco Wholesale Corp., a woman was walking in the parking lot of a Costco store when she slipped and fell off the curb of an icy sidewalk, resulting in a fractured ankle. The jury determined that the defendants were negligent in allowing the snow and ice to accumulate and apportioned 75% of fault to Costco and 25% to the injured woman. Still, she received $416,250 of the $555,000 reward.

Conclusion

While it may seem counterintuitive, the fact is that in New York you can be a cause of an accident and still receive significant compensation. If you have been injured in an accident, don’t delay in speaking with an attorney right away to protect your rights.

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New York City is full of traps for unsuspecting citizens. Pedestrians are exposed to constant risks such as tripping over cracked or raised sidewalks or slipping on food or drink left on a public staircase. Property owners that do not properly shovel and salt their sidewalks can expose pedestrians to highly dangerous black ice. A cleaning company could leave wax on a marble floor with no cones, warning tape, or signs to warn visitors inside of the building of the dangerous condition.

If you have slipped and fallen on someone else’s premises, you may be entitled to compensation if the responsible party did not keep his or her premises in a safe enough condition. The responsible party could be a landowner, a managing company, a tenant or a contractor.

If you are seriously injured in a slip and fall, it is imperative that you seek immediate medical attention for your injuries. The longer you delay treatment, the less the responsible insurance company will want to pay you. If you wait too many days before seeing a doctor, the insurance company may argue the accident did not happen when you claim it happened, or they may argue that your injuries are less serious because you didn’t seek urgent medical attention.

When Should I Get an Attorney?

Immediately after receiving initial medical treatment, you should contact skilled personal injury attorneys. Your attorneys will immediately preserve vital evidence necessary to win your case. Investigators can take high-quality photographs of the condition that caused the accident, if it is still available to be photographed. However, if the responsible party is aware of the accident, they may immediately try to repair the dangerous condition before it can be photographed. It is critical you contact experienced personal injury attorneys right away so they can obtain photographic evidence before it is too late. Furthermore, your attorneys can investigate whether any witnesses might exist that can help verify your claim. If there are other photographs or videos, they can attempt to secure them.

If you have suffered serious and permanent injuries because of the careless or negligent actions of a responsible party, your attorneys can start a lawsuit against them. The responsible parties will contact their insurance carrier, and they will hire insurance attorneys to defend them. Both sides will then exchange all information and documents they possess that are relevant to determining who is responsible for the accident as well as the nature and severity of your injuries.

The most critical part of a slip and fall case is often the depositions. At your deposition, the other side will have an opportunity to ask you any question they may have about the case. They will ask you many questions about the facts leading up to the accident, such as what you were doing, where you were looking, and what you were wearing, just to name a few questions.

Your attorneys may also hire experts necessary to understand the situation in its entirety. These experts can include a safety or engineering expert as well as medical experts. Your experts will craft a plan for trial that will give you the greatest possible chance of the greatest possible recovery.

In order to win the case, your attorneys must prove the other party was negligent in causing the accident. Property owners and managers may be responsible if they caused a dangerous condition or failed to properly address a dangerous condition they knew or should have known existed on their premises. If an individual slips and falls in a residential setting, to prove the landlord was negligent the landlord must have control of the hazard, repairing the hazard must have been reasonable, and the injury must have been a direct consequence of a failure to fix the hazard.

Do not speak with anyone but your attorneys about your case. You may receive calls from insurance companies, property owners, or others. They could use information that you provide against you. Your attorneys can handle all communication on your behalf if such a situation should arise.

Slip and fall cases can happen to anyone, and it is important that you quickly retain attorneys skilled in handling slip and fall personal injury cases to ensure you receive all compensation you are due. Experienced attorneys can provide you with all the necessary information to take on your case and inform you of your rights.

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