June, 2015 - Braunfotel and Frendel

Facing allegations of a traffic violation in New City

Even the most careful drivers in New City may find themselves in a tough legal situation. Perhaps they are being blamed for a car accident or of fleeing the accident scene. Perhaps they are accused of driving recklessly or engaging in dangerous behaviors such as texting while driving. Perhaps they are even facing allegations of driving with a suspended license. All of these accusations can lead to traffic tickets and long-term consequences.Depending on the type of charges one faces, a traffic violation could cause a person to lose his or her driver's license. This in turn can affect just about every aspect of a person's life, from being able to get to their job, go to doctor's appointments, pick one's kids up from school or even simply run to the [...]

Facing allegations of a traffic violation in New Cityjames2015-06-26T00:00:00+00:00

What is the effect of contributory negligence in New York?

In the 19th century courts had to deal with cases in which the defendant in a negligence action alleged that the plaintiff was also negligent in causing his or her own injury. In response, courts devised a rule known as contributory negligence.""The original contributory negligence doctrine was harsh. It held that if the plaintiff was negligent in the slightest degree, that served as a complete bar to any recovery. Measured in terms of percentages, the defendant could be 99 percent at fault and the plaintiff one percent at fault, and the defendant would win the case and owe the plaintiff nothing.Over time, courts began to look for ways to ameliorate this all-or-nothing characteristic of contributory negligence, and gradually a new doctrine of comparative fault" came into existence. Most states today [...]

What is the effect of contributory negligence in New York?james2015-06-24T00:00:00+00:00

Understanding the arraignment process in New York

Last week we discussed the arrest and booking procedures in New York. In this post, we are going to discuss arraignment proceedings.Arraignment takes place in court after the arrest and booking procedures. In the arraignment proceedings, the accused will find out what crime he or she is being charged with. A person is allowed to have an attorney at his or her arraignment proceeding. This attorney can be retained by the accused, or one can be appointed to the accused by the court. If a person wants to retain his or her own attorney, but cannot do so before the arraignment occurs, the state will provide the accused with an attorney, at it's own expense.The prosecutor and the accused's attorney may enter into discussions with regards to settling the case [...]

Understanding the arraignment process in New Yorkjames2015-06-19T00:00:00+00:00

Change to medical malpractice statute of limitations coming?

The statute of limitations in New York is something that potential medical malpractice plaintiffs need to take seriously. Not initiating your legal claim in a timely manner can lead to the unfortunate result of your claim being barred from consideration. This is what happened in a 2013 case, involving a patient who died after doctors misdiagnosed her otherwise-treatable form of lung cancer but whose surviving relatives waited too long before filing a lawsuit. Their legal claims were accordingly rejected by the court.The tragedy of that case has led to a movement in the state legislature that has produced a bill known as Lavern's Law." If enacted into lawThe state Assembly has already passed its version of Lavern's Law, but at the time of the news account on which this post [...]

Change to medical malpractice statute of limitations coming?james2015-06-19T00:00:00+00:00

What is a certificate of merit in a medical malpractice action?

So you believe that you have been injured by an act of medical malpractice. You and your attorney both further believe that you have a strong case, and your lawsuit is not barred by the applicable New York statute of limitations governing medical malpractice actions. Everything looks good to file your lawsuit, or so you think. But there is one more requirement that you will need to satisfy before you can take your complaint to court: you will need to obtain, or at least make a good faith effort to obtain, a certificate of merit.A certificate of merit serves the purpose of pre-qualifying your lawsuit as being valid in the opinion of at least one medical practitioner. Your belief in your case, and that of your attorney, are generally insufficient [...]

What is a certificate of merit in a medical malpractice action?james2015-06-10T00:00:00+00:00

187 people accused of drunk driving over Memorial Day weekend

Many New Yorkers celebrated the Memorial Day weekend with picnics, parades and other special events. Alcohol was served at many of these events, and most people drink responsibly. However, New York police were cracking down on the Memorial Day weekend on those who they claim had gotten behind the wheel of a car after having too much to drink.In New York, police accused 187 people of drunk driving over the Memorial Day weekend. Police had set up sobriety checkpoints statewide, and over 5,500 vehicles were subject to such checkpoints. The dates the initiative took place spanned from May 22 to May 25. In addition, 726 motor vehicle crashes were investigated during that time, although it is not reported which of those accidents involved alcohol. Seven individuals lost their lives in [...]

187 people accused of drunk driving over Memorial Day weekendjames2015-06-05T00:00:00+00:00

Diagnosis failure: a common source of medical malpractice

Hospital physicians by necessity often work in a high-stress environment in which the ability to quickly assess injury or illness and to determine the most appropriate treatment path is not only highly valued but can also make the difference between between recovery and a worsened medical condition. But on occasion the need for alacrity can lead to a misdiagnosis, a common source of medical malpractice.In times past the failure to correctly diagnose the source of a patient's symptoms might have been due to ignorance or even a lack of adequate training, but as the science and technology of medicine have advanced the reasons for making this kind of medical mistake may be because of the increasing range of possibilities based on the same manifestations. Chest pains and shortness of breath [...]

Diagnosis failure: a common source of medical malpracticejames2015-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

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