The freedom to protest is a long-held right, protected by the First Amendment, which is at the heart of the ethos of the United States. New York City in particular has long been a hub for protesting, home as it is to a range of diverse, vibrant communities, all with a passion for changing the world. You have a right to practice dissension, but if you find you need a Bronx personal injury attorney dedicated to your safety, our firm can help.  

Staying safe when protesting is an important consideration; these situations often involve large crowds, and can get out of hand very quickly. In addition, some officials can tend to be a little over-zealous when it comes to dealing with protestors, especially in the case of more controversial or passionate causes. Knowing your rights helps you to stay safe, and offers the ability to assert yourself in a confident, calm manner.

What Are Your Rights?

All citizens have the right to protest in New York, reviewing these rights and the laws with a Bronx Civil Rights Lawyer can only help, but when it comes to protesting, there are no official permits required to do so, as long as no pedestrian traffic is blocked. You also have the right to hold signs, and hand out any flyers.

Permits may be required if you wish to gather in a city park, or march in the street, potentially blocking traffic.

Citizens have the right to record the police and any police activity, as long as you are not interfering with the discharge of their law enforcement duties. To help with this, make sure that you are at a safe, respectful distance away. In addition, a police officer does not have the right to confiscate your footage or videos without a warrant. They also have no right to view the footage, or to delete any data you have gathered.

What If You Are Arrested?

Being arrested can be frightening, but it is important that you are aware of your rights to ensure that you can advocate for yourself. There are a few things to remember during the arrest and immediately after:

• You have the right to remain silent; anything you say to the police has the potential to be used against you if the case goes to court. Only speak to confirm name, address, and date of birth.
• You have the right to legal representation, and this should be your first action. Your lawyer will not only be able to assist you, but may be able to arrange support from a bail fund in the event that you are unable to afford the amount set.

If you are stopped by the police, the officer involved is legally required to disclose their name, rank and command, as well as a valid reason for deciding to stop you. Once your interaction is over, they should also provide a card with their name, rank, badge number and their command.

These conditions apply if the officer suspects your involvement in criminal activity, if you are searched or frisked, or if you are stopped at a checkpoint or roadblock.

Do I Need A Permit To Protest?

Ensuring that you have the correct permits and documentation in place is a crucial part of staying safe and reducing police involvement during a protest.

The following actions will require you to acquire the appropriate permit from the authorities:

• Hold an event which will include more than 20 people in a New York City Park
• Plan to use amplified sound, such as megaphones, speakers or sound systems, on public property
• March in a public street as part of your protest
• Conduct any procession which involves 50 or more bicycles or vehicles in a public street

How Can I Stay Safe?

Protesting for your cause is important, but you must also take steps to protect yourself and those around you.

These can include:

• Know Your Rights

Having a clear, solid understanding of your rights and responsibilities allows you to express these calmly if required. It also means that you understand your freedoms, and cannot be bullied or intimidated into leaving the protest. This is important for keeping yourself safe.

• Stay With A Group

Where possible, always head to a protest as part of a small group, and all stick together during the main event. This means that you have a solid circle you can rely on, as well as back up and support if things go wrong. If one of you is injured, taken ill, or arrested, there are also solid and reliable witnesses to offer assistance at the scene.

• Read The Crowd

For most people, protesting is a chance to defend or fight for a cause they feel passionately about, and so tensions and emotions can run high. Sadly, in some cases, individuals may enter or join a protest with the sole intention of causing trouble, drama, and harm. Make sure that you read the crowd; if the mood has turned and things are getting dangerous, it is always a better idea to walk away while you can, and allow your personal safety to be respected. There is no glory in ending up seriously injured, and crowds can turn in a second.

• Protect Your Privacy

The increase in mobile technology has made it easier than ever before for individuals to spread information and share data. This can, however, be detrimental if used for the wrong reasons. Mobile data can be used to track your movements, placing you at a particular location using cell phone towers and reception. In addition, appearing on video or in a photograph could have negative consequences if these images fall into the wrong hands. 

How Can We Help? 

As we mentioned, the first thing to do if you are arrested at a protest is to get legal advice. Here at Thomas Lavin, we have a wealth of experience in aiding individuals who have found themselves at the wrong end of law enforcement. Get in touch today, and see how we can help with support, advice and representation.

If you rent a house or an apartment, and if you’re injured by slipping and falling on the premises, indoors or outdoors, can the landlord be held liable? With help from a Bronx premises liability attorney, can the landlord be compelled to reimburse you for your medical bills and lost wages?

Like so many legal questions, the answer is “It depends.” If you’ll keep reading, you’ll learn more about a landlord’s liability and the factors that must be considered when someone files a personal injury claim arising from a slip-and-fall injury on private property.

What is a Landlord’s Legal Obligation?

Landlords in New York, along with homeowners, business owners, and state, county, and local governments, are obligated by law to make sure that their properties and premises are “reasonably” hazard-free for their tenants, customers, employees, and visitors.

If a New York landlord’s negligence is the reason why you’ve suffered an injury, and if you and your lawyer can prove it, under New York law you are entitled to full compensation for your medical expenses, lost earnings, personal pain, suffering, and other related damages.

Premises liability claims that arise from slipping and falling on another person’s private property most frequently involve these types of injuries: traumatic brain injuries, severe spinal cord injuries, back, neck, and head injuries, contusions, and broken bones.

What Are the Leading Causes of Slip-and-Fall Accidents?

Every year, thousands of New Yorkers are injured in slip-and-fall accidents that could have been prevented.

The leading causes of these accidents include:

1. slippery or wet floors
2. cracked, slippery, or uneven sidewalks or pavement
3. curled-up carpets, floor mats, and rugs
4. cluttered hallways, aisles, and walkways
5. dilapidated and uneven staircases
6. insufficient lighting – particularly in staircases and parking areas

As you may have guessed, slip-and fall injuries are sustained in the greatest numbers by the elderly.

If You Are Injured on Private Property, Are You Entitled to Compensation?

If a New York landlord has been negligent, and you are injured by slipping and falling because of that negligence, you will be entitled to monetary damages, but in many cases, obtaining those damages isn’t easy.

An injured victim of negligence in this situation will not only have to offer proof that a landlord was irresponsible, but a victim will also need to provide proof that the landlord’s negligence was a direct cause of the personal injury or injuries.

That makes it essential for a slip-and-fall injury victim to be represented by the right New York premises liability attorney. If you’ll keep reading, you will learn what is required to succeed with a premises liability claim in the State of New York.

Is the Law Fair to Landlords?

State laws that address premises liability try to be fair. The law tries to balance the landlord’s obligation to prevent harm with the personal obligation of employees, customers, tenants, and others to stay aware and alert.

The law presumes that landlords cannot be held liable for every possible accident that may occur on a property. Thus, New York obligates a landlord to take every “reasonable” measure to repair hazardous conditions, keep properties safe, and prevent accidents and the injuries they cause.

What Is Required to Prevail in a Premises Liability Case?

How is balance and fairness in these cases achieved by the courts? To prevail with an injury claim for premises liability, an injury victim (the “plaintiff”) and the victim’s attorney must offer proof that one or more of these allegations is true and that a landlord:

1. should have known about the hazard that caused the accident because a “reasonable” property owner in a similar situation would have known about the condition and would have taken steps to repair it

2. knew about the dangerous condition and did not repair it

3. was in fact responsible for the hazard

Landlords in New York may not know every legal detail about their obligations, but they do know that they’re legally responsible for maintaining their properties in reasonably safe conditions.

What Questions Must Be Resolved in Premises Liability Cases?

Premises liability cases usually focus on what a landlord “should” have been aware of and whether a landlord acted “reasonably.”

In premises liability cases, the central questions are:

1. When did a landlord know about a hazard, and when did the accident happen?
2. Did a landlord reasonably have enough time to have the hazard repaired?

After a landlord learns about a leaky pipe or a cracked sidewalk, for example, several days may be needed to schedule and complete repairs. Until that happens, a landlord should have warning signs posted.

What Defenses May Be Offered Against Your Injury Claim?

If you take legal action against a landlord for a slip-and-fall injury, the landlord may insist that you were the negligent party. In a premises liability case, a landlord may respond to your injury claim with one of these defense arguments:

1. You weren’t watching where you were going.
2. You entered an area that was off-limits, or you were trespassing.
3. Warning signs and/or yellow cones provided sufficient warning of the hazard.
4. Reasonable individuals would have noticed and avoided what was clearly a hazard.

How Are These Cases Resolved?

Most premises liability claims in New York are resolved privately in out-of-court negotiations, but when a claim cannot be settled privately – and that’s uncommon – a jury can decide if the landlord had an adequate length of time to repair the hazard that caused the accident and injury.

If you’re injured on your landlord’s premises – or on private property anywhere in New York –seek medical attention immediately, even if you don’t “feel” injured. After your medical treatment, arrange at once to discuss your options with a Bronx premises liability attorney.

How Quickly Do Negligence Victims Need To Act?

Don’t procrastinate. The statute of limitations in New York gives the injured victims of negligence three years to begin the legal process, but you must not wait three years – or even three weeks – to schedule a consultation with an attorney.

Over three years, evidence will deteriorate or disappear. If there were eyewitnesses to the accident, their memories will fade. The sooner you act, the more likely it is that your injury claim will prevail.

It doesn’t matter if your circumstances are affluent or modest, because New York’s injury attorneys work on a contingent fee basis, and you’ll pay no attorney’s fee unless and until your Bronx personal injury attorney wins the compensation – and the justice – that you will need.

Your first meeting with a premises liability attorney comes with no cost or obligation. You’ll learn how the law applies in your own situation, and if you and your attorney move forward with an injury claim, the law in New York will be on your side.

If a negligent driver injures you in traffic in New York, you are entitled to compensation for your medical bills and lost wages. But what if you’re partially to blame for the accident? Can you still be compensated? In that case, you’ll need to be represented by a Bronx personal injury attorney.

The most common type of personal injury claim in New York is a claim of negligence – a claim that one person’s negligence is the reason why another person was injured.

Negligence is a complicated and often confusing aspect of personal injury law. Generally speaking, negligence is what happens when someone is careless in a way that causes harm or injury to someone else – a failure to act with care when you owe another person a “duty of care.”

What is a Duty of Care?

Supermarkets, for example, have a duty of care to their customers to keep the floors dry and safe. If you slip and fall on a slick floor and injure yourself because someone spilled a liquid and because the store failed to clean it up promptly, you may have an injury claim against the store.

Whenever someone is injured, it’s almost always because someone else was careless. Whether it’s a traffic injury, a slip-and-fall injury at a restaurant or a supermarket, or a dog bite injury on your own block, the key legal question after any accident with injuries is “Who was at fault?”

It’s quite common in personal injury cases for defendants to insist that a plaintiff had at least partial responsibility for his or her own injuries. In some states, if an injury victim has any share of the responsibility for an accident, that victim cannot recover damages.

How Does “Comparative Negligence” Work?

The law in New York, however, is the comparative negligence rule. Here is how it works:

Let’s say that you are driving in New York and speeding five to seven miles per hour over the posted speed limit. Then, while you are moving through a green traffic signal, an intoxicated driver moving at forty miles per hour over the posted limit slams his or her vehicle into yours.

Furthermore, let’s say that you choose to seek compensation, and you sue the other driver for your damages, which amount to $100,000. When a jury considers your case, it may decide that because you were speeding, you have ten percent of the responsibility for the collision.

In some states, you wouldn’t be allowed to sue for damages, but under New York’s comparative negligence rule, if the other driver is ninety percent responsible for the accident – and for your personal injury or injuries – that driver must pay ninety percent of your damages, or $90,000.

What if You Are the Party Mostly at Fault?

Even if you were fifty-one percent at fault for the accident, you would still be entitled to $49,000 in damages. Unlike many states, New York lets injury victims recover damages even if their portion of the fault for an accident surpasses fifty percent.

If you are involved in a traffic crash or any other accident that leads to a personal injury trial, you should know that judges and jurors in New York are legally bound by the state’s comparative negligence rule, which also binds automobile insurance claims adjusters in this state.

When An Accident Happens, Take These Steps

After any accident with injuries in New York, these are the steps that you need to take:

1. Seek or summon medical help at once.

2. If it’s a vehicle accident, or if a law was broken, summon the police.

3. Take photos of the accident site, your own injuries, and the vehicle damages if it’s a vehicle accident.

4. If witnesses saw the accident, try to obtain their names and contact information.

5. If it’s a vehicle accident, exchange contact and insurance details with the other driver or drivers.

6. After you have been seen by a medical professional, contact a New York personal injury lawyer promptly.

What if You Are the Person Being Sued?

New York’s comparative negligence law makes it possible for more of the injured victims of negligence to recover compensation, but it also makes personal injury cases in this state more complicated legally than similar cases in most other states.

If you have any share of the responsibility for an accident, particularly a vehicle accident, while you are seeking compensation from the other party, that other party may also be seeking compensation from you.

In this circumstance, if you are accused of negligence, your own automobile insurer will try to negotiate an out-of-court settlement of the other party’s claim, but if a settlement cannot be achieved, your insurance company’s attorneys will represent you at a personal injury trial.

If someone else’s injury claim prevails against you in a traffic case, you will probably pay more in the future for automobile insurance. You can’t know what tomorrow may bring, so for now, it is a good idea to buy auto insurance that exceeds New York’s minimum legal requirements.

What Are You Entitled to as a Victim of Negligence?

But when another motorist is one hundred percent at fault for causing an accident and for causing your injuries, you are entitled by New York law to have that motorist’s auto insurance company compensate you fully for your medical costs, your lost wages, and your other losses.

In such cases, you must have the right Bronx personal injury attorney investigate the details of the accident and your injury, gather and examine the evidence, question any witnesses, negotiate for the settlement you need and deserve, and take your case to trial if necessary.

Is There a Time Limit for Taking Legal Action?

In New York, the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases gives a victim of negligence three years from the date of the injury to file an injury claim seeking damages. But you can’t wait three years – don’t even wait three weeks – to discuss your case with an attorney.

In that time, evidence will deteriorate or disappear, and the memories of witnesses will have faded. Instead, arrange to meet with a New York personal injury attorney as soon as you’ve been examined by a healthcare professional – while the evidence and memories are still fresh.

Your first consultation with an injury attorney is free, with no obligation. If you and your attorney move forward with an injury claim, you will pay no attorney’s fee until and unless your attorney obtains the compensation – as well as the justice – that you need and deserve.

If you suffer a workplace injury, will you be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits? Keep reading to learn who qualifies for workers’ comp in New York, who doesn’t, and why injured workers may need the help of a Bronx workers’ compensation attorney.

A job-related injury can pose a threat to your health, bring disruption to your life, make your future uncertain, and eat away at your resources. What do you need to know if you’re injured at work in New York?

The workers’ compensation system provides benefits to employees who are injured on the job or who become ill because of their work. Workers’ comp is paid for by employers and regulated by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

Who May Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

Unless you already know for sure that you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, ask your employer if you are covered.

The following employees must be covered under New York State law:

1. all paid employees of non-profits

2. all corporate officers if a corporation has more than two officers or two stockholders

3. county and municipal employees who engage in work defined by the law as “hazardous”

4. domestic employees who work forty or more hours a week for the same employer, including live-in maids and full-time sitters and companions

5. agricultural workers

6. all full- and part-time workers, leased and borrowed employees, volunteers and family members who work for a for-profit business

7. officers of one-or-two person corporations if the corporation employs other workers (although these officers may exclude themselves from coverage)

8. public school teachers, except for those employed by New York City, and public school aides, including those employed by New York City

9. State of New York employees, including some volunteer workers

10. all other workers determined by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board to be employees and not specifically excluded by law from coverage

Volunteer ambulance workers and volunteer firefighters are not covered by workers’ compensation. They are provided benefits for injuries or death suffered in the line of duty under the Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law and the Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefit Law.

How Is “Employee” Defined In New York State Law?

As you can see, almost every New York employer must offer workers’ comp coverage to employees. But who is and is not a legal employee, a contractor, or a volunteer? When workers’ comp benefits are at stake, the legal definition of “employee” is a question that gets complicated.

Most independent contractors, and most people who volunteer without pay for non-profit, religious, or educational organizations, have no workers’ comp coverage or entitlement. Independent contractors may, however, purchase their own workers’ compensation insurance.

In New York, independent contractors do not qualify for workers’ comp, and employers are not required to purchase coverage for them. The legal determination about who is an employee or a contractor is not made by employers but by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

New York Covers More Workers Than Most Other States

Thus, it’s possible that some workers who might be considered contractors in other states will be deemed employees in New York.

For example, someone hired to paint buildings by a painting company and someone hired to drive a truck by a trucking company may be considered employees since their services are an integral part of the operations of these companies.

If you’re injured at work in New York, you should have the advice of a good Bronx personal injury attorney – first. You may qualify for workers’ compensation without knowing it, but even if you do not qualify, you might have other legal options for obtaining compensation.

What Do You Have To Prove To Obtain Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

When a qualified applicant files a workers’ compensation claim, he or she must prove only that the injury happened at work or the illness happened because of the work. Injured workers do not have to prove that anyone was negligent. It is more like filing an insurance claim than a lawsuit.

The best strategy is to contact a workers’ compensation lawyer as soon as you’ve been hurt. Your attorney will review the particulars of your claim, verify that you are eligible for workers’ comp benefits, and see to it that nothing in your application will cause any unnecessary delays.

What Other Steps Should You Take If You’re Injured At Work?

With that in mind, these are the additional measures that you should take if you are injured at work:

1. Have a comprehensive medical examination immediately, even if you do not feel ill or injured. A latent or hard-to-detect injury that is ignored or overlooked could quickly develop into a critical medical condition.

2. You must submit an injury report in writing to your employer within thirty days, or you can lose your right to workers’ compensation. If your claim is for an occupational illness or disease, a report must be submitted within two years of the onset of the condition.

3. Ask your lawyer to help you file for workers’ comp. See your attorney and file the claim as soon as possible.

What Happens If Your Claim Is Denied?

When workers’ comp claims are rejected, injured workers may believe that they are being unfairly treated, and they might be correct. Some workers’ compensation insurance companies exploit any loophole or technicality that allows a claim to be denied.

If your claim for workers’ comp benefits is denied, the right workers’ compensation attorney can appeal that denial on your behalf. Benefits that are initially denied are frequently granted at an appeal hearing.

What Else Should You Know About Workplace Injuries?

If any party apart from your employer and your co-workers had any responsibility for your accident and injury, you may also seek compensation by filing a “third-party” personal injury claim. Your workers’ comp attorney can explain how third-party personal injury claims work.

On-the-job injuries can be devastating. Catastrophic injuries – spinal cord and brain injuries, for instance – may require life-long medical care, but lesser injuries can also keep you away from work for weeks and sometimes for months.

If you’re injured at work, you will need compensation, and you’ll require the help of a good Bronx workers’ compensation attorney. If you’re hurt on the job in New York, it’s imperative to contact the right lawyer and begin seeking compensation immediately.

Railroads and trains are not as common now as they were in the past, but 21st-century rail systems are still extensive and are still critical to the U.S. economy. Amtrak, for example, now operates in 46 states on 21,000 miles of track and carries over 25 million passengers every year.

Statistically, trains today are somewhat safer than buses and trucks when it comes to transporting people and freight. Nevertheless, the federal Department of Transportation reports that more than 2,500 train accidents and derailments still happen each year in the United States. If you have been in an accident with a train you may want to reach out to a Bronx public transit accident attorney.

RECENT TRAIN ACCIDENTS HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC

Most of these 2,500-plus incidents are minor. Other accidents result in serious injuries and fatalities. And several recent train accidents have been catastrophic:

1. In September 2016, a New Jersey commuter train crashed into the Hoboken Terminal, killing one person and injuring more than a hundred other people.
2. In June 2017, a subway derailed in Manhattan, and 34 people were injured.
3. In February 2018, an Amtrak train en route from New York City to Miami derailed in South Carolina, resulting in two fatalities and in injuries to 116 other persons.

Train accidents led to 35 deaths in New York State in 2018, according to the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis, but even if you are not a passenger or an employee, you could be injured (or worse) by train-related negligence. That’s because of derailments.

The Federal Railroad Administration also says train derailments that involve dangerous chemical spills and that require the evacuation of nearby residents have happened several dozen times every year in the last decade.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF TRAIN CRASHES AND DERAILMENTS?

New York City is one of the largest commuter rail and transit centers in the U.S. – and there are 3,500 miles of track in New York State – but so much rail activity creates plenty of opportunities for derailments, crashes, injuries, and deaths. The leading causes of train accidents include:

1. human negligence and error
2. faulty parts and mechanical defects
3. badly maintained tracks
4. obstacles including vehicles, boulders, debris, or animals obstructing the tracks

When the reason for a train crash or a derailment is negligence – by an operator, a manufacturer, or a railroad company – and when someone is injured because of that negligence, the victim is entitled by law to reimbursement for medical costs, lost wages, and all other related damages.

WHAT INJURIES ARE USUALLY SUFFERED IN TRAIN ACCIDENTS?

Trains typically move with a speed and momentum that makes quick braking impossible. Train crash survivors can be seriously or permanently disabled with traumatic brain injuries, severe spinal cord injuries, neck and back injuries, paralysis, and injuries that require amputation.

The life-long care and treatment for catastrophic injuries sustained in train accidents could put most New York families in a grave financial hardship situation. That’s why the law in New York State entitles train accident injury victims to full compensation for their medical costs and more.

If you’re injured, a train crash can lead to a difficult personal injury case. If your injury in a train wreck is catastrophic or disabling, you will need the maximum compensation and a lawyer who can win that compensation for you.

You’ll also need an attorney who has considerable experience representing the injured victims of train accidents – someone you can trust who puts you at ease, listens well, and gives your case careful, personalized attention.

CAN YOUR INJURY CLAIM BE RESOLVED OUT-OF-COURT?

If the evidence of a railroad company’s injury-causing negligence is obvious, an out-of-court settlement can often be negotiated quickly, but if no reasonable settlement amount is offered, the right lawyer will take a personal injury victim’s case to trial, if that’s the only way to win justice.

Railroad companies and commuter rail lines are “common carriers,” meaning that they carry paying passengers. Buses, taxis, commercial airliners, and even cruise ships are also common carriers. They are required to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of passengers.

If you are injured in a passenger train accident, for example, and the owners and/or employees fail to exercise that highest degree of care and diligence, you’re entitled to seek compensation for your injuries by filing a personal injury lawsuit with the help of a Bronx personal injury attorney.

WHICH PARTIES MAY BE LIABLE FOR TRAIN ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES?

To prevail with a personal injury claim after you’ve been injured in a train accident, your attorney will have to determine which parties or parties were negligent, and prove it. Depending on the details of a train accident, one or more of the parties listed here may have liability:

1. conductors, engineers, and other train crew members
2. mechanics and other maintenance personnel
3. railroad company management
4. railroad company owners
5. rail car and parts manufacturers
6. rail system designers

WHAT ARE THE VICTIMS OF NEGLIGENCE ENTITLED TO IN NEW YORK?

Personal injury settlements include economic damages (quantifiable damages like medical bills and lost wages) as well as noneconomic damages (for personal pain and suffering). New York courts only award punitive damages in situations involving extreme or egregious conduct.

When medical care after a train wreck is ongoing, your lawyer may ask a financial expert to project your future medical costs for settlement purposes. Noneconomic damages are harder to assess, but standard formulas are used to decide the amount that victims should receive.

When a train accident triggers a wrongful death claim, the decedent’s surviving family members must also rely on a financial expert to project their future income losses.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER?

But even when the responsibility for a train accident is obvious, negligent parties may still use every available defense strategy to reduce the amount they must pay. That’s one reason why an injured train crash victim must be represented by the right Bronx personal injury attorney.

If you are injured in a train accident because someone was negligent, your personal injury attorney will review the particulars of the train accident and the details of your medical reports, determine which parties were at fault, and negotiate on your behalf for an acceptable out-of-court settlement.

If no acceptable settlement is offered, your lawyer may recommend going to trial and asking a jury to order the payment of the compensation you seek. If you are injured in a train accident, don’t procrastinate. Seek a good lawyer’s help and get the justice you deserve. That is your right.

Check out one of our recent blogs here: UBER AND LYFT ACCIDENTS (WHAT ARE YOUR LEGAL OPTIONS?)