Practice Areas and Legal Definitions
Aviation Accidents:
Airline crashes typically result in the most traumatic injuries and death. These cases are extremely complex and may involve federal, state, or international laws and treaties. There may also be limitations on recoveries and caps on damages. Weather, maintenance, ground preparation of flights, pilot error, manufacturing defects and controller error may all contribute to a crash.
Typically, the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) will conduct an investigation. Obtaining a copy of the NTSB report and having the evidence reviewed by an aviation expert is crucial to determining if there is a potential issue and responsibility.
Construction/ On-the-Job Accidents:
Construction labor makes up one of the three most dangerous occupations in the United States today, each year producing thousands of debilitating injuries and wrongful deaths. Factors that contribute to construction accidents include workers working on elevated platforms without fall protection or wearing defective safety harnesses and lanyards, lifting loads with worn and weathered cables, and/or working in trenches with improper trenching and using outdated tools and equipment. Farming and manufacturing accidents, as well as the oil and gas industry accidents, can also cause serious injury, including toxic exposure.
Under New York State Labor Law, the owner and general contractor is often held responsible when a worker falls from a scaffold, ladder, or other elevated work platform, even if the worker and/or his employer may be partially at fault. The right to pursue a claim against either of these parties is independant of the right to Workers Compensation benefits. If you are involved in such an accident, it is imperative that you contact a lawyer immediately in order to ascertain, and preserve, your rights.
Toxic Exposure: The number of dangerous, toxic substances in the workplace environment has grown significantly over the past 50 years. Some toxic substances are shown to cause substantial injury to people, such as lead-based paint (linked to brain damage, especially in children), asbestos (linked to lung cancer and restrictive lung disease), dry cleaning and other solvents (linked to brain damage and major organ damage), pesticides such as dioxin and DDT (linked to birth injuries) and toxic landfill waste (linked to leukemia).
Medical Malpractice:
Medical malpractice is the failure of a health care provider to follow the accepted standards of practice of his or her profession in the community where the service is rendered. If a physician was careless, lacked proper skills or disregarded standardized rules resulting in injury to a patient, a jury may find the health care provider liable for negligence. Hospitals can also be held liable for the negligence of their employees, including staff nurses and technicians.
Examples of Medical Malpractice include:
- Failing to diagnose a tumor while reading an x-ray
- Puncturing a nearby organ or tissue during surgery
- Failing to order necessary and appropriate medical tests
- Failing to diagnose a condition in time to treat it properly
- Failing to refer a case to a medical specialist
- Prescribing incorrect medication
- Brain Injury
- Birth Injury
- Cerebral Palsy
- Incorrect diagnosis that results in a failure to treat a medical condition
- Failing to properly administer anesthesia
- Emergency room negligence
- Dental Malpractice
- Cosmetic Surgery Malpractice
Motor Vehicle Accidents:
Legal claims that arise from vehicle accidents are typically governed by the law of negligence. Any individual who negligently operates a motor vehicle may be required to pay damages to an injured victim. A personal injury case involving a vehicle accident may become formalized through civil court proceedings, or may be resolved through an informal settlement before a lawsuit is filed. Vehicle accidents can include:
- ATV accidents
- automobile accidents
- aviation accidents
- bicycle accidents
- boating accidents
- commercial and school bus accidents
- motorcycle accidents
- pedestrian accidents
- rear end collisions
- semi-tractor trailer accidents
- SUV rollover accidents
- train accidents
- truck accidents
The surviving family members of a fatally injured accident victim may be able to bring wrongful death charges against the defendant.
Municipal Liability:
Cities, Towns, and other municipalities or their agencies usually receive additional protection from claims by very short filing requirements. For example, to pursue a claim against the City of New York, an injured party is required to file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident upon which it is based. For this reason, if you are involved in an accident in which a municipality may be responsible, you must consult an attorney immediately.
Slip and Fall/Premises Liability:
Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere and can cause serious personal injury. Most slip and falls happen in commercial settings, such as grocery stores, drug stores, office buildings, construction sites, gas stations and malls, but they also happen on private property. Premises Liability accidents can include toxic exposure, animal attacks, swimming pool accidents and amusement park ride accidents. In any event, there exist duties on the part of the property owners to maintain the property responsibly and avoid the existence of hazardous conditions.
Dangerous or defective conditions may be large or small, temporary or permanent. Therefore, investigation of the claim is essential to a successful case. Temporary conditions such as water on the floor of a grocery store, or snow and ice on the stairs of a restaurant need to be investigated quickly.
If you or someone you know in the New York City area needs the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney, call Pecoraro & Schiesel today at 866-435-3792, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.
