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MVAIC: Uninsured Coverage for New Yorkers

If you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident or in an accident where the person at fault is uninsured and you do not have your own motor vehicle insurance coverage your rights to file an auto insurance claim still exist. There is an organization you can turn to in order to make your claim. The organization is the New York State Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC). The MVAIC can compensate you for economic losses such as doctor bills, lost wages and household help as well as your pain and suffering for any injuries you sustained.

MVAIC provides no-fault and bodily injury coverage to those claimants who are eligible for benefits. To be eligible for MVAIC coverage the auto accident must have occurred in New York state; you are a legal resident of New York when the accident occurred; neither you nor anyone in your household has automobile insurance; and neither you (nor your spouse) is the owner of the vehicle that was involved in the accident.

Additionally, there are certain conditions that must be adhered to when making a claim. For example, the motor vehicle accident must be reported to police within 24 hours of the accident; a Notice of Intention (NOI) is submitted to MVAIC within 90 days of the accident, if the accident was with a hit & run or unidentified motor vehicle; and an NOI is submitted to MVAIC within 180 days of the accident, if the accident was with an identified motor vehicle.

Accidents are unfortunate and even more so when the party at fault is uninsured. If you find yourself in this situation contact the MVAIC at (646) 205-7800, or give our law firm a call and we can direct you in the right direction.

Keep tuning into Falk & Klebanoff PC’S radio show “Let Me Call My Lawyer” every Sunday on LI News Radio (103.9 FM) from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. as I welcome call-in questions and provide our listeners with our best legal advice. Every show is different as our audience’s inquiries direct the flow of the program.

There comes a point when sometimes you don’t know which way to turn. You have fallen victim to an unsafe workplace condition, a trip/fall incident, or a car accident. Perhaps you have received a traffic summons for a moving or non-moving violation, such as no license, registration or insurance. Whatever the case may be we encourage you to call in to address impending situations.

Our radio show is an open forum for you to ask questions, listen to others who are going through the same kinds of situations you are. I listen and give you the best possible advice.

If you have legal questions Falk & Klebanoff can assist you in many legal areas including personal injury cases; traffic violations; real estate law; immigration law and commercial litigation. When the unexpected happens, we’re here to help you with all of your legal problems.

Since 1995, Falk & Klebanoff PC has been offering superior legal services to clients throughout New York. We are also licensed to practice law in New Jersey. We are excited to bring our expertise to the radio and to be able to reach out to a wide audience.

I always say I got into this business to help people — so call in and let Falk & Klebanoff help you.

So it's snowing and icy outside.  That makes it treacherous to maneuver around.  Sidewalks and parking lots are coated with snow, ice and in some, cases, something called "black ice".  What happens if you find yourself on the ground, after slipping and falling due to these conditions.  If that happens, please make sure to photograph the conditions causing you to fall, either immediately if you are able, or as soon as practical after the accident occurs.  This will preserve evidence of the condition that caused your accident.

If you fall during the course of the storm you probably do not have any recourse against the responsible party.  That is because snow and ice removal is usually not required during a storm.  The law gives the property owner, or responsible person a reasonable amount of time after the storm ends to begin and complete removal of the dangerous condition.  However, once the storm has ended, property homeowners, or other responsible party, such a snow removal people, pursuant to a contract with the property owner,  must clean their property properly and completely; which means removing any dangerous slippery or other hazardous conditions,  If a proper cleaning is not performed, and a hazardous condition remains, if you are caused to fall due to this hazardous condition, you may have a claim for any injuries you sustain.

A personal injury attorney can help you determine if you have a claim for your slip and fall.  The attorney can help explain whether the cleanup activity was reasonable and, if in fact, negligence occurred. You have to look at each incident on a case by case basis to see if the person responsible for cleaning the snow created a dangerous condition by reason of the cleanup efforts.  Another issue to be addressed is whether the responsible party had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous, slippery condition.  This means did they actually know it existed or did it exist for such a long period of time that they should have noticed the condition before you fell.

There are instances when even if the area was cleaned, before you fell, sometimes the temperature rises so there is snow and ice melt and then it falls and there is a refreeze.   The person responsible for the snow and ice removal is required to make sure that if there is a refreeze, the area in question is continually made safe.

If you fall on snow and ice you should fill out an accident report so the incident is on record. I would always recommend that you get the police involved and if there are witnesses you should get their names and addresses. And most importantly, to repeat what I said above, take a picture as soon as possible so that you can capture the actual conditions that caused you to fall.

There are many factors to consider before suing a party, and a personal injury attorney can help you analyze the situation. If you have fallen victim to a slip and fall incident, give us a call.

Know Your Rights!

If you work on a construction site for a living, you know that on a daily basis you are faced with the risk of an accident or injury.  Site owners, general contractors, and those who hire an employee for a trade each have a responsibility to make the workplace safe.  Unfortunately, despite these legal obligations to insure the safety of the work site for the worker, accidents and injuries occur.  When workplace accidents cause injuries to a worker, a worker is entitled to file a claim not only for Workmen's Compensation Benefits, which cover lost earnings and medical bills, but also a claim to be compensated for pain and suffering along with, in the case of a worker's death, any loss of familial support.   These claims can be pursued separate and apart from the Workmen's Compensation Claims.

The injuries that usually occur at a construction site, tend to be serious, and in some cases fatal, especially if the worker falls from a height, like from a scaffold or ladder.  When these types of serious accidents occur, there are laws in place here in New York that are meant to facilitate filing a lawsuit and collecting compensation for the worker and /or his family.   For example, I worked on a case recently where a worker was installing roofing at a Home Depot site. He was not given the proper safety netting and other fall prevention equipment.  As a result, he tragically fell 25 feet to his death. Falk & Klebanoff P.C. pursued a claim against the General Contractor, sub contractors and Home Depot and was able to secure a $2.75 million settlement for the family of the deceased worker that included payments for not only the worker's pain and suffering ( he died instantly) and but also for the family's loss of support.

If injuries occur that are not height related, New York law still protects the worker, and in some instances imposes absolute responsibility on the General Contractor, Sub Contractors and Property Owners for the loss.  Certain statutes protect employees, such as the New York State Industrial Code, which has provisions governing specific and general work site related activities.

If there is no elevation related injury or if a specific provision of the Industrial Code was not violated, the injured party still has a right to pursue Common Law Negligence Claims against the responsible parties.  Ideally, in most cases, the worker's lost earnings, doctor, hospital and treatment bills will be covered and should be paid by Worker's Compensation Insurance provided by the worker's employer.

If for some reason, the employer does not have Worker's Compensation Insurance available to protect the worker, a claim can still be filed for payment of the lost earnings, doctor, hospital and treatment bills with the Uninsured Worker's Compensation Pool.  The worker has the option of suing the employer for all of the worker's losses if the employer does not provide Worker's Compensation Coverage.

As soon the injured party is able seek the advice of a knowledgeable attorney, preferably one who handles these types of accident cases, and worker's compensation claims, he should do so to enable the attorney to preserve the worker's rights and pursue all the responsible parties. Lawyers who specialize in this area can help injured workers and their families determine the best course of action and to get proper and quick compensation.

If you’re in a mess, give us a call!

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