Buffalo personal injury accidents involving automobiles require that the injured party prove that he or she suffered a “serious injury” as that termed is defined under New York State No Fault Insurance law. While there are several categories that an injury may fit under to meet the threshold of being a “serious injury,” one of the vaguer categories is a finding that the victim suffered a “significant disfigurement.”
Unlike the other categories of serious injury, New York courts have generally ruled that what constitutes a significant disfigurement is not a medical determination requiring the expertise of a doctor or other medical provider. Instead, whether an injury constitutes a significant disfigurement is based on how a “reasonable person” would react upon seeing the scar or other visible injury.
An injury is considered disfiguring if it alters a person’s natural appearance for the worse. It is only considered significant, however, if a reasonable person viewing the alteration caused by the disfigurement would regard the condition as unattractive, objectionable, or as the object of pity or scorn.
Whether a disfigurement is significant will usually be determined by a jury. Important factors in making this determination usually include its location, size and visibility. Also, juries generally tend to evaluate disfiguring injuries to women as more serious than similar injuries to men.
If you have suffered a serious injury and need help, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
The outcome of all Buffalo personal injury lawsuits will ultimately be determined by the evidence available. To a certain extent, cases hinge not on truth, but on proof. The truth does not matter if you cannot prove it.
For personal injury lawsuits, this can be especially true when it comes to medical treatment. The defense in such a lawsuit will be looking for holes in the treatment record – such as lapses in treatment or apparent failure to report certain conditions – that could be used to argue that your injuries are not as serious as you claim.
As a result, it is extremely important to be truthful with your medical providers and to report all of the conditions you are suffering from to them. Your personal injury attorney will need a complete record of your problems when pursuing your case. While a certain ache or pain may not seem as serious as other problems you are experiencing, you should still bring it to your doctor’s attention so that it is documented. If it is not documented and later turns out to be more serious than originally thought, the defense will in almost all cases argue that because it took so long to appear in the medical record, it must not be related to the accident that led to the personal injury lawsuit.
If you have suffered a personal injury, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444. We would be happy to help you.
Most Buffalo personal injury lawsuits are fairly straightforward in their basic structure: The person or persons injured seek monetary compensation from the person or persons responsible for the injury. An injured party bringing the lawsuit is termed a plaintiff, and a party against whom a claim for damages is being made is known as a defendant.
Occasionally, however, a defendant may believe that another party should be held responsible for the damages to the plaintiff. This can occur, for example, in a car accident when the defendant feels the actions of another driver forced him or her to act in such a way that the collision with the plaintiff occurred. Because the plaintiff did not choose to directly sue this other party, the defendant may be able to file his or her own claim against this person. This additional party to the action is known as a third party defendant.
This situation usually occurs when the defendant is seeking to recover at least part of the damages it anticipates paying to the plaintiff from the third party defendant.
If you have suffered a personal injury and have any questions regarding this subject, we would be happy to help you. Please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
The region surrounding Buffalo includes several beautiful New York State parks and natural area. While the public is encouraged to enjoy the recreational opportunities afforded by these parks and may be exposed to certain risks as a result, the State has an obligation to maintain these parks in a reasonably safe condition.
The State owes the same duty of care to keep its property in reasonably safe condition in view of all of the circumstances as any private citizen. The scope of that duty varies depending upon the foreseeable harm. As part of the State’s duty to keep its property reasonably safe, it has a duty to warn of a dangerous condition that is not open and obvious.
In Arsenault v. New York State, a family vacationing at Taughannock Falls State Park was struck by falling rocks. The mother was killed in the rock fall, and the father and two infant children were injured. Because there were several signs warning visitors not to approach the area where the rock fall occurred due to the potential for falling rocks, the State sought to have the case dismissed prior to trial based on the theory that it had provided adequate warning of the danger and, in any case, the danger was obvious. The injured parties claimed they did not see the signs.
When hearing the case, the Court noted that whether the signage was adequate could not be determined as a matter of law and that the defendant’s own submissions confirmed that many people violated the warnings – calling into question their sufficiency. As a result, the Court determined that a jury would have to weigh the facts and determine whether the warnings offered by the State were reasonable under the circumstances.
Initial medical expenses in nearly all Buffalo personal injury auto accidents are paid through the injured party’s No Fault insurance provider. The medical providers treating the injured person submit their bills to the No Fault provider, which is then required to pay them.
As a result, the No Fault provider should have a complete record of every medical provider you treated with following a motor vehicle accident. The medical providers also usually submit copies of their reports to the No Fault provider, which are a part of the file. As a result, obtaining the No Fault becomes a means for the defense to double check that they have all of the medical records.
Also, No Fault insurance providers frequently require injured parties to undergo what they refer to as independent medical examinations. This is an examination by a medical provider of their choosing. Following this examination, the insurance company’s medical provider will provide an opinion regarding the injured person’s condition, whether that condition was caused by the motor vehicle accident, and if the treatment being undertaken is necessary. Because the examiner is hired by the insurance company – which has an interest in not paying for treatment – personal injury attorneys usually look upon these examinations with some suspicion. If the medical examiner cuts off treatment and finds that the person is not injured, this finding may be helpful to the defense. As a result, it is to their benefit to obtain such reports.
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident and have any questions, please call us at 716-542-5444.
When an infant in Buffalo suffers a personal injury or the wrongful death of a parent, a parent or guardian of the infant may pursue a claim for damages on the child’s behalf. If the child does not receive compensation for damages, in some cases concerns may arise regarding how the infant’s finances will be handled.
Generally, in cases where one or both the parents are alive, they will be responsible for administering the finances of the child. When this is not the case, a guardian may be responsible for seeing to the care of the infant until he or she reaches adulthood. Exactly how the child’s finances will be handled depends upon the specific circumstances of each case.
It is not unusual, however, for the parties to make arrangements for the damages awarded to the child to be placed in a trust fund where it can only be withdrawn to pay for certain expenses (e.g., medical expenses) or upon certain events happening (e.g., the child reaching adulthood). There are, however, no specific rules and the managing of the infant’s damages will be tailored to fit each case.
If you have suffered a personal injury and have any questions, we would be happy to help you. Please feel free to call at 716-542-5444.
Traumatic Brain Injury is among the more difficult injuries for Buffalo personal injury attorneys to prove. While some brain injuries involve bleeding in the brain or skull fractures that a jury will be able to clearly see in brain scans or x-rays, these tools may not be precise enough to show more subtle damage.
As a result, traumatic brain injuries usually must be proven through a demonstration of how the damage has altered the functioning and performance of the injured party. Individuals with traumatic brain injury often exhibit changes in behavior, mood, and cognitive functioning that can be described to the jury. Also, there are a variety of diagnostic tests that brain injury treatment providers may use when evaluating the condition of the victim. The results of these tests also can be presented to the jury and their meaning explained by the medical provider.
Fortunately for those seeking compensation following a traumatic brain injury, newer imaging devices are becoming available that actually show how the brain is functioning. These newer devices include PET scans – which can show areas of the brain that are not receiving sufficient oxygen, and more powerful MRI machines capable to detect structural damage that previously could not be seen – including small iron deposits left by microscopic blood vessels.
Other improvements in tradition MRI testing may also assist in the diagnosis of brain injuries. MRI Diffusion Tensor MRI studies can see how water molecules flow through brain nerve fibers. If the nerve fibers are damaged, the water does not flow evenly. Functional MRI studies show which areas of the brain are functioning when the patient is asked to perform different thought related tasks and can be used to determine if the brain is operating normally.
If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, we would be happy to help you. Please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
When a personal injury lawsuit is filed against a municipality, such as the City of Buffalo, or a governmental subdivision or agency, such as a school district, there are special rules that must be followed. One manner in which New York law differs with respect to the rights of a government entity versus a private business or citizen when sued is that a government entity may require the injured party to submit to a hearing pursuant to section 50-H of the General Municipal Law.
A demand for a hearing under this section must be issued to the injured party within 90 days of the filing of the Notice of Claim. At the hearing, the injured person will be questioned under oath regarding the occurrence and extent of the injuries or damages for which claim is made. He or she may also be required to submit to a physical examination.
While this hearing does not occur before a judge, the injured person does have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If the questions posed are improper, the attorney may then act to protect his or her client’s rights.
In most cases, a transcript of the person’s answers will be made. This transcript may be read as evidence by the parties at trial or when presenting motions to the Court.
If you have suffered a personal injury and have any questions, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
In most cases, once a court grants or denies a motion made in the course of a Buffalo personal injury lawsuit, that’s it. Under certain exceptional circumstances, however, the court may grant an injury victim the opportunity to either reargue or renew a prior motion.
A request for leave to reargue does not require that any new information be submitted to the court. Instead, it is based upon matters of fact or law allegedly overlooked or misapprehended by the court when determining the prior motion. By law, it cannot include any matters of fact not offered on the prior motion. This motion must be made within thirty days after service of a copy of the court’s order determining the prior motion and written notice of its entry.
A request for leave to renew is based upon new facts not offered on the prior motion that would change the prior determination – or demonstrate that there has been a change in the law that would change the prior determination. A key requirement of a request for leave to renew is that it must set forth reasonable justification for the failure to present such facts on the prior motion. If the injured party was aware of the information but simply chose not to submit it when filing the original motion, the court is not obligated to grant leave to renew the motion.
If you have suffered a personal injury and have any questions on this topic, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
Many Buffalo personal injury lawsuits are settled without ever having to go to trial. While such cases are often settled through negotiations with the opposing party, it is possible for a court to rule that there is no defense to the case. This requires the injured party to submit a motion for summary judgment to the court.
A motion for summary judgment must contain all the information necessary for the court to reach a determination that there is no defense. As a result, the personal injury attorney submitting such a motion on your behalf must include proof in legally admissible form that any defense has no merit. This proof would typically include statements taken from the parties during depositions or written admissions.
The defense is granted the opportunity to respond to this motion, and, if they are able to submit sufficient facts refuting the injured party’s claims, a trial will still be necessary. If they cannot, however, the court may rule that that the injured party has proven the defendant’s liability without having to resort to a trial.
Even when a plaintiff proves the defendant’s liability on a motion for summary judgment, they still must prove damages. This may require a trial on the issue of damages only. Because the defendant has been proven at fault, however, such a trial frequently may be avoided as the defense will wish to settle the case without being exposed to the risk of a jury setting the damages higher than expected.
