cny injury law newsletter - michaels & smolak · the case of a 10-year old who lost a leg is...

Auburn | Liverpool | Syracuse | Geneva | 866.698.8169 | michaels-smolak.com vol 2 issue 1 | winter 2014

CNY Injury Law Newsletter

TOOTIN’ OUR OWN HORN DEPARTMENT

Michaels & Smolak Once Again Ranked “Tier 1 Best Law Firm” By U.S. News & World Report

IN THE COMMUNITY

Michaels & Smolak honors “Everyday Heroes” at Syracuse Crunch games!

NEWS YOU CAN USE

A Yellow Dot Can Save Your Life

LEGAL QUESTION OF THE DAY

“How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth”?

NEW LAW ENFORCEMENT

New York State Troopers’ New Anti-Texting-While-Driving Weapon.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Attorney David Kalabanka

Safety Advisory

Ten Safety Tips for Driving in Snow and Ice

Welcome to the third edition of theMichaels & Smolak newsletter!

Don’t hesitate to send your comments (the good, the bad and the ugly!) to Mike Bersani at [email protected].

And if you like what you see, please “friend us” on Facebook, “follow us” on Twitter (@cnylawyers) or subscribe to our blog (centralnewyorkinjurylawyer.com).

Our Team

lee michaels

jansmolak

michael bersani

David Kalabanka

Se habla espanol! Know any Spanish (or for that matter, French) speaking folks who need a personal injury lawyer? Attorney Mike (“Miguel”) Bersani is totally fluent in Spanish, having lived in Spain for a few years and having married a native Spanish speaker. He also speaks fluent French, having lived in Paris for five years. He’ll be happy to “hablar” or “parler” with his clients.

cny injury law newsletter

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we deeply appreciate

the trust our clients have

placed in us and we will

strive to uphold that trust by

working hard and fighting

for our clients’ rights.

IN THE COMMUNITY Michaels & Smolak honors “Everyday Heroes” at Syracuse Crunch games!

As all of Auburn and Cayuga County knows, all summer long, at each home Auburn Doubleday baseball game, Michaels & Smolak honored a “Hometown Hero”, that is, a local community volunteer

who had given his or her time and talents to a local charitable organization. In front of the whole crowd, we regaled them, and their family and friends, with free game tickets, food, drink, etc.

But that was not enough for us. In fact, the program’s success only whetted our appetite for more! So now we have expanded the program to all of Central New York.

This fall and winter, and all the way through April, “Everyday Heroes” are being nominated, selected and then honored at all Syracuse Crunch home hockey games.

What’s really cool about this program is how it recognizes that volunteering is not just an individual effort, but a family, community one. If family and friends aren’t right next to the volunteers while they are giving of their time and talents, then they are often helping them balance things at home and work so that they can volunteer. That’s why we at Michaels & Smolak are again treating not only the volunteers, but their family and friends as well.

Have you noticed an Everyday Hero in your community or neighborhood? Let’s thank them together! Nominate someone today for a chance to win 4 tickets to a 2013-2014 Syracuse Crunch home game, $40 food vouchers ($10 per person), 1 parking pass for the Oncenter Garage, 4 custom hockey pucks and recognition on the video board during the game.

Come on, help us honor our Everyday Heroes right here, right now! It could be a friend, a relative, or just someone whose volunteer efforts you admire. Call us or email us know!

Michaels & Smolak

NEWS YOU CAN USEA Yellow Dot Can Save Your Life

As New York car accident lawyers, we have represented many critically injured motor vehicle accident victims over the years. One thing we have learned is that first responders who arrive at the scene of a wreck aren’t always able to take into account the victims’ health history or medical con-

ditions before rendering treatment. And that’s too bad, because that knowledge can mean the difference between life and death.

For example, if you are on blood thinners you sure would want anyone performing emergency medical care on you to know about that. After all, you could bleed to death if they do surgery on you without knowing you are on blood thinners. Another example: Drug allergies. You sure would want them to know that!

Now there is a potentially life-saving program from the New York State Sheriffs’ Association that can help you, your family, and your friends alert first providers about their medical conditions and medications. It’s called the “Yellow Dot Program” and it works like this:

Pick up the Yellow Dot kit at your local sheriff ’s office. Then place the “yellow dot” decal you find in the kit on the driver’s side rear window of your vehicle (see photo). This alerts first responders that vital medical information is stored in your glove compartment. Then fill out and place in your glove compartment the “yellow dot card” which has your photo on it and contains all the important medical information that first providers need to know about you. You can complete one card for each person who regularly occupies the vehicle.

Yellow Dot kits save lives and are available for free. Pick up a kit at any deputy sheriff ’s office: You may also request a kit by going to www.nysheriffs.org/yellowdot.

TOOTIN’ OUR OWN HORN DEPARTMENTMichaels & Smolak Once Again Ranked “Tier 1 Best Law Firm” By U.S. News & World Report

We’re proud to report that Michaels & Smolak has once again been honored by U.S. News & World

Report as a “Tier 1” National Best Law Firm for our area of expertise, that is, New York personal injury law.

The 2014 rankings were announced November 1 of 2013.

The U.S. News & World Report website describes its selection process as follows:

“Rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process”.

Yes, the lawyers at Michaels & Smolak are highly accomplished New York personal injury lawyers. But we could not have gotten there without a lot of help — from a great staff, great referring attorneys and wonderful clients. Thank you all!


areas in which W E C A N H E L P

our attorneys can help

with all personal injury &

malpractice cases such as:

• Motor Vehicle Accidents

• Catastrophic Injuries

• Construction Accidents

• Slip/Trip and Falls

• Wrongful Death

• Medical and Legal Malpractice

• Defective Products

• Almost any Accident or

Malpractice Case of Any Kind

LEGAL QUESTION OF THE DAY“How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth”?

We at Michaels & Smolak have heard this question hundreds of times. And there is no easy answer. That’s because so many factors affect the settlement “value” of a case.

What do we mean by “value” anyway? The settlement value of a case is based on a prediction of whether a jury will find you have a valid case, and if so, what the jury will award you for your injury. Since juries vary widely, and it is impossible to predict what any particular jury will do, we consider what an average jury would do.

Why are juries different? Because they are made up of people, and people are all different. The chemistry of the jury, with their individual biases, will impact the jury deliberation and thus the result. Also, juries in some geographical areas, such as New York City and Buffalo, are generally more generous with their verdicts than juries in rural areas. Thus, the venue of your case matters in determining “value”.

But not only do juries vary widely, so too do the facts of each case. Although we have been practicing law for decades, we have never had the “same case” twice. Each one is different. That’s because the factors discussed below, which affect value, are infinitely variable. Here are the main variables:

❶ The “Liability” ComponentHow solid is our case for holding the defendant legally liable for your injuries? If the defendant is clearly liable, your case is worth more. The settlement value of your case goes up propor-tionally with the likelihood of a jury finding defendant liable.

Michaels & Smolak

NEW LAW ENFORCEMENTNew York State Troopers’ New Anti-Texting-While-Driving Weapon.

Blow a stop sign, speed, or turn without signaling, and a cop can see it, stop you, and ticket you. Even talking on a hand-held cell phone (illegal in New York) can be seen from outside your car.

But texting-while-driving is different. How does a cop “catch” you doing it? Most texters keep their phone down on their lap or at least below the window line, so a cop traveling behind, or even beside the texter, is not going to see it happen.

Until now. New York has recently given State Troopers thirty-two tall, unmarked SUVs for the express purpose of peering down at drivers’ hands and catching them “red-handed”.

This new “looking down on texters” project is part of Governor Cuomo’s aggressive attack on texting-while-driving, which includes steeper penalties (from three to five points) and establishing “Texting Zones” designed to encourage motorists to pull over for texting.

Our advice? Keep your hands “above board”. Don’t text yourself into a ticket, or worse, into a graveyard.

❷ The “Causation” ComponentSometimes it might be very clear that the defendant was liable, and that you were injured, but not at all clear the two things are linked. We call that a problem with “causation”. We are legally required to prove the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries. This problem comes up a lot when you have pre-existing injuries. For example, if you had pre-existing neck pain and are claiming that it got a lot worse after the accident, the defendant will often argue that none or very little of the injury was caused by the accident. If this argument appears strong, your case is worth less in settlement.

❸ The “Injury” ComponentThe more significant your injury, the more horrible your suffering, the longer you have to endure it, the more it limits your activities…the more your case is worth. So, for example, the case of a 10-year old who lost a leg is worth more than the case of an 80-year old with the same injury because the 10-year old has about 70 years left to soldier on with that injury, while the 80-year old has only a few left. And the missing leg case is worth more than the missing finger case and both are worth more than the fractured-but-well-healed knee case.

Other factors also help us determine settlement “value” including, of course, the medical expenses, lost income and the amount of insurance money available.

Who decides whether to settle the case? You do! Our attorneys just tell you what they believe your chances of success are, and what we believe a fair settlement reflecting those chances is. The insurance company on its end does the same thing. Sometimes we agree with them, sometimes we don’t. The insurance company might present us with a settlement offer that we believe is unfair in that it is too low to accurately reflect what an average jury would give you. But ultimately you decide whether to take the offer or go to trial.

Either way, settle or trial, we will do everything ethically in our power to maximize your settlement or trial verdict. That’s our job, and we love it. And we’re good at it! Just click the “results” tab on our website to see for yourself.


attention attorneysI N J U R Y & M A L P R A C T I C E R E F E R R A L S

a lot of lawyers and law

firms refer all their injury

and malpractice cases to

Michaels & Smolak. Why?

(1) We are known for getting top dollar (in settlement or verdict) for the referred case

(2) We carry all expenses of the case

(3) We give personal attention to your clients

Consider referring your

cases to us!

STAFF SPOTLIGHTAttorney David Kalabanka

David is life-long resident of Central NY, and an Auburn native who graduated Magna Cum Laude from Syracuse University School of Management and then earned his law degree from the Syracuse College of Law.

Before joining Michaels & Smolak 14 years ago, David was a partner in a Syracuse-based insurance defense firm. He was at that time on the other side of our cases. We got smart and decided to invite him to our side, he accepted, and the rest is — well — history. “I’ve never regretted making the switch”, says Dave. “Representing injured people is much more fulfilling than trying to thwart their claims to save the insurance company a buck. I never had an insurance adjuster give me a hug or cry with relief after a big win, but that happens frequently now.”

Dave’s time working for the “evil empire” — as he half-jokingly calls the insurance side — was not wasted. It was there that David learned the “tricks of the trade” of how insurance companies and insurance defense firms evaluate and defend cases. David has been successful using this experience and knowledge to “turn the tables” on the insurance companies to obtain large settlements and verdicts for his injured clients. A few examples are a $3.2 million verdict for a burn injury victim, a $3.6 million verdict in a medical malpractice case, and a $2.8 million dollar settlement for a construction injury victim.

Dave has consistently been selected as Super lawyer by Law & Politics Magazine since the honor was first established. The title Super Lawyer is given only to those attorneys who are considered to be among the top 5% of all lawyers in the State of New York.

David loves hunting, fishing and outdoors. He is a big fan and supporter of youth hockey. He also enjoys people, which is no doubt why people enjoy him. He is the “favorite” lawyer not only of many of our clients, but also our entire staff.

David’s favorite past-time is his family; wife Mary, and two sons, Colin and Jack. “There’s no place I would rather raise my family than in upstate New York”, Dave says. “And there’s no place I’d rather work than at Michaels & Smolak”.

Michaels & Smolak

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Safety AdvisoryTen Safety Tips for Driving in Snow and Ice

OK, this is not exactly “news”, but it sure is good advice. Yes, you have probably heard it all before, but because we care about your safety, we want to remind you of the best advice for driving in wintery weather:

➊ At the onset of winter, check your tire tread depth, battery and antifreeze level. Carry in your trunk a shovel, jumper cables, bag of salt or cat litter, flashlight, reflective triangles, extra windshield cleaner, ice scrapper and snow brush, heavy woolen mittens and blankets.

➋ If the weather is bad, avoid traveling if you can! Keep that Christmas carol “Let It Snow” in mind (“the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful . . .”).

➌ If you must go out, wait until the snow plows and sanding trucks have done their job.

➍ Allow yourself extra time to reach your destination.

➎ Go slow and allow at least three times more space than usual between your car and the one you are following.

➏ Brake gently to avoid skidding.

➐ If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake. If you have standard brakes, pump them gently. If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.

➑ Keep on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.

➒ Be wary on bridges and overpasses — they freeze first.

➓ If you get into an accident on a slippery road or where there is poor visibility do not get out of your car. You are exposing yourself to being directly hit by approaching vehicles whose drivers may lose control.

cny injury law newsletter - michaels & smolak · the case of a 10-year old who lost a leg is...

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