Occasionally, individuals involved in a Buffalo personal injury accident may develop this condition. TMD stands for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. TMD occurs as a result of problems with the jaw and the surrounding muscles that control chewing and movement of the jaw.
The temporomandibular joint is the hinge connecting the lower jaw to the skull that is located directly in front of each ear. While TMD is not always the result of a traumatic injury, it can result from injury to the jaw, temporomandibular joint, or muscles of the head and neck such as from a heavy blow or whiplash.
Symptoms of TMD include pain in the face, jaw and around the ear when chewing or speaking, clicking or grating sounds in the jaw joint when opening and closing the mouth, sticking or locking of the jaw in an open or closed position, facial swelling, and difficulty chewing because the teeth are not fitting together properly.
Depending on the severity, treatment for TMD may include changing to a soft diet, use of a specially fitted orthotic device, application of heat, and use of various medications.
If you have suffered an injury as the result of another’s negligence and have any questions, we would be happy to help you. Please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
Many Buffalo personal injury lawsuits involve multiple issues and can result in very complicated trials. In an effort to avoid juror confusion and possible prejudice, New York State law allows some lawsuits to be “split up” into separate issues that are tried separately.
In personal injury cases, the courts may order a bifurcated trial for the issues of liability and damages. This may occur in cases where presenting these two issues separately assists in clarification or simplification of the issues and allows for a fairer resolution of the lawsuit. Although there have been many different reasons for bifurcating trials, the concern frequently expressed in personal injury lawsuits is that if the plaintiff has suffered severe injuries, the jury’s sympathy for the plaintiff’s plight may cause them to lean towards finding the defendant at fault, even if the evidence does not support this conclusion.
One advantage of a bifurcated trial is that if the defendant is found liable, the parties may be able to reach an agreement on the amount of damages prior to conducting the trial on that portion of the case. As a result, in some cases a lengthy trial may be avoided by splitting the issues up.
While it is permitted for the court to bifurcate a personal injury trial, in many cases the issues of liability and damages cannot be presented separately because the plaintiff’s injuries have an important bearing on the issue of liability or are probative in determining how the accident occurred. In such cases, the issues of liability and damages must be presented together.
While it may seem that the breed of a dog involved in an attack could be important in a personal injury lawsuit, experienced Buffalo personal injury attorneys will tell you that it is not. Most dog bite cases revolve around the issue of whether the owner was aware that his or her dog had “vicious propensities” prior to an attack, and the New York State courts have determined that the breed of a dog is not evidence of a particular animal’s vicious propensities.
What is important is evidence that the specific dog involved in the attack had a tendency to engage in dangerous behavior and that the owner was aware of this tendency. As a result, if you have been bitten by a dog and choose to pursue damages in a personal injury lawsuit, your attorney will want to look into the dog’s prior behavior. Evidence of vicious propensities may include prior incidents of snapping, snarling or jumping up on people. Courts may also consider whether the dog was kept as a guard dog or a pet.
Whether other evidence is indicative of vicious propensities depends on the specific circumstances of the case. For example, the fact that the owner normally kept a dog tied up is not necessarily indicative of vicious propensities, unless there is additional evidence establishing that the reason the dog was kept tied up was because the owner was concerned that the dog would engage in dangerous behavior if released.
If you have been bitten by a dog and have any questions regarding this topic, please feel free to call our office at 716-542-5444. We would be happy to help.
It is very rare for Buffalo personal injury attorneys to be involved in cases where a passenger is considered responsible, at least in part, for his or her own injuries following a car accident. Generally, a passenger is entitled to assume that a driver will use reasonable care and obey the traffic laws. As a result, a passenger is seldom responsible for the negligence of the driver of a vehicle.
There are, however, exceptions to this rule. Passengers are also required to use reasonable care for their own safety. Failure to wear a seat belt, for example, may result in a passenger bearing at least partial responsibility for his or her injuries.
A passenger’s knowledge of the competency of the driver may also be considered when determining if a passenger contributed to his or her own injury. Knowingly choosing to ride with an intoxicated driver or failing to protest when a driver chooses to drive in a dangerous manner may also result in the passenger being found negligent. Such situations generally must be analyzed by a jury in light of what the passenger could reasonably be expected to know and what actions he or she could reasonably take toward self-protection under the specific circumstances of the case.
If you were a passenger in an auto accident and have any questions, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444. We would be happy to help you.
Unfortunately, a Buffalo personal injury lawsuit can be a slow process. A Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness for Trial are documents filed with the court once the parties are ready for trial. Their purpose is to inform the court that the case needs to be put on the court calendar for trial as of the date of the filing of the Note of Issue.
For New York State personal injury cases, the system has been set up to minimize the intervention of the court in the process unless it is necessary. As a result, there are usually several steps that the parties are supposed to complete prior to filing a Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness for Trial. In personal injury cases, these steps may include providing the other party with a Bill of Particulars, conducting depositions of the parties involved, completing any necessary physical examinations, and the exchange of all discoverable information and documentation requested by the parties.
Ideally, these steps can be completed with little or no court intervention. During these early phases of a personal injury lawsuit, the court will usually only become involved if there is a dispute about whether a party is entitled to information or documentation requested of the other party.
Once the portion of the case involving the exchange of potential evidence is believed to be completed by the parties, the Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness for Trial is submitted to the court. These documents inform the court that the parties have completed the exchange of information and should be ready to conduct a personal injury trial in the near future. The court then knows it is time to put the case on the court calendar.
The Clarence Rotary is conducting their annual fund-raising effort to help those in the area that need healthcare, sponsor youth activities, fund scholarships and community projects.
For 2011, they’ve outdone themselves. In an effort to meet their fund-raising goals, they’re raffling off the chance to win either a 2011 Porsche Boxster, a 2011 Porsche Cayenne or $40,000 in cash.
To help a great cause, and maybe drive away in a new Porsche, see their raffle website – the Clarence, NY Car Raffle site.
Following a Buffalo personal injury car accident, an injured party must establish that he or she suffered a “serious injury” to successfully sue for damages. What constitutes a “serious injury” is defined in Article 51 of the New York State Insurance Law. The requirement that the injured party prove “serious injury” only applies to automobile accidents. It is not an issue in other types of personal injury lawsuits.
There are several different categories of serious injury, one of which is “a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person’s usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.” This category is why the defense is frequently very interested in what the injured party could or could not do for the first three to six months following an automobile accident.
If a person is unable to perform most of his or her usual activities for at least 90 days during the first six months following an accident, he or she will be considered to have suffered a serious injury and may sue for damages. While what constitutes “substantially all” of the person’s normal activities must be decided on a case by case basis, areas usually considered include the ability to work, perform normal household chores, drive, and care for children.
If you have been involved in an auto accident and have any questions, we would be happy to help you. Please call us at 716-542-5444.
Buffalo personal injury attorneys see many cases where automobile accidents occur at intersections. When two cars collide at an intersection controlled by a stop sign or yield sign, the jury must engage in a two-step analysis to determine who was negligent in causing the accident.
First, the jury will analyze the actions of the drivers using New York State Vehicle and Traffic law 1172, which sets forth where drivers must stop when a stop sign is present. It provides that drivers must stop (or, in the case of yield signs, stop when safety requires)at a clearly marked stop line. If such a line is not present, then drivers shall stop before entering the crosswalk. If there is no crosswalk, then drivers shall stop at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of the approaching traffic. If the driver failed to stop as required, he or she shall be found negligent.
If the driver did properly stop, then the jury will examine the drivers’ actions using Vehicle and Traffic law section 1142(a). Section 1142(a) requires that after having stopped, a driver must yield the right of way to an approaching vehicle if a collision might occur if he proceeds. If the driver did not do so, the jury must impart negligence upon that driver.
If you have suffered a serious personal injury in an automobile accident and have any questions regarding this topic, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
Under New York State Law, all Buffalo automobile drivers and front seat passengers are required to wear a seat belt. Rear seat passengers over the age of sixteen are not required to wear seat belts, although it is a good idea to do so.
If you are in an auto accident and not wearing a seat belt, the amount of damages you recover may be reduced based on your decision not to protect yourself by wearing a seat belt. If the defense chooses to argue that your damages should be reduced based on this factor, the burden is on them to prove that you did not, in fact, have your seat belt on. If they successfully establish this, what else they must prove depends on where you were sitting.
If you were in the front seat and required by law to wear a seat belt, you are considered negligent by law, and the defense only has to prove that some, or all, of your injuries resulted from the lack of a seat belt to obtain a reduction in the damages you will be awarded. If, however, you were in a position in the vehicle where use of a seat belt was not mandatory, the defense also must prove that a “reasonably prudent passenger” would have used the available seat belt. The jury only may reduce damages based on your failure to use a seat belt if it first finds that a reasonably prudent person would have worn one in the same situation.
If you have been injured in a car accident and have any questions, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
The rights of pedestrians using Buffalo’s crosswalks are governed under New York State law. The New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law offers several provisions specifically related to pedestrians that must be considered when determining which party was negligent – and to what degree – when a pedestrian suffers a personal injury after being struck by an automobile.
Where traffic control devices are present at a crosswalk, pedestrians are required to abide by those devices in the same manner as drivers. As a result, a pedestrian crossing against the light, even if using a crosswalk, will usually be found to bear at least some of the responsibility for his or her own injuries if struck by a car.
Additionally. even if a pedestrian does have the right of way, New York State law provides that a pedestrian may not suddenly leave the curb and enter the crosswalk when a vehicle is so close that it would be impractical for the driver to yield. Doing so would constitute negligence on the part of the pedestrian.
If you have been injured by an automobile and have any questions regarding your legal rights, we would be happy to help you. Please feel free to call our office at 716-542-5444.
