Generally speaking, your receipt of workers' compensation benefits (and no-fault benefits) is contingent upon your appearance for a physical examination with the insurance company's doctor (oftentimes more than once). How the physician conducts the actual examination is up to the... View More

I'm sorry about your son's accident. The Graves Amendment serves to protect rental car companies. It shields them from liability resulting from the negligence of the driver who rented the vehicle. What steps can you take to ensure fair compensation? If you are not already working with a... View More

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answered on Mar 11, 2025

I’m sorry to hear about your son’s injury and the difficult situation you’re facing. It’s understandably frustrating when dealing with insurance issues on top of an already challenging recovery process. The Graves Amendment, a federal law passed in 2005, can impact rental car accident... View More

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answered on Mar 7, 2025

The graves amendment essentially works like this: normally, under New York vehicle and traffic law section 388, the owner of the vehicle is vicariously liable for the negligence of the driver of the vehicle. But when long-term commercial lessor owns the vehicle, the graves amendment kicks in to... View More

It depends. If your wife's case is settled after your divorce is finalized, then the settlement proceeds will be considered your wife's separate property and not marital assets. Even if the case is resolved before your divorce, under New York Domestic Relations Law § 236, if the... View More

It could depend on the breakdown of damages - if they consist of solely one person's pain & suffering, or they involve components that impacted both parties (such as consortium), which are addressed by my colleagues. Depending on how it is drafted, the release form at the conclusion of the... View More

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answered on Mar 13, 2025

I understand that navigating the division of assets, including settlements, in a divorce can be complicated. In New York, property division in divorce cases is governed by the principle of equitable distribution, meaning that marital property is divided fairly, but not necessarily equally. The fact... View More

It sounds like your affairs were totally separate three years ago, and that you had you had your own separate insurance. Under those facts, that should limit any possible theories of recovery against you. With your arrangements now, it's difficult to say. Your assigned insurance attorney is... View More

Your daughter's insurance company will not likely be responsible for the incident. Generally speaking, in New York, insurance follows the car, not the driver. Moreover, it appears your own insurance company has taken the lead in defending you in the lawsuit and would be first up for satisfying... View More

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answered on Feb 23, 2025

In New York your rights are limited by the no-fault law, section 5102 of New York’s insurance law. You get your medical bills and your lost income paid by your own car insurance up to $50,000. Anything beyond that you can claim from the at fault vehicle’s insurance, as well as claiming pain and... View More

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answered on Feb 23, 2025

You should be entitled to lost wages, payment of your medical bills and payment for your pain and suffering as a result of the negligent driver.

The NY Serious Injury Threshold law DOES NOT APPLY because you were driving a motorcycle. The law specifically excludes motorcycles from... View More

I'm sorry about your accident. Your question contains a number of components - all of which are valid. You raise good questions, some of which would ordinarily be addressed by first-party no-fault benefits. Unfortunately, New York law is not fair when it comes to motorcycles because they are... View More

Sorry to hear what happened to you. As my colleagues correctly advised, since you were driving a motorcycle at the time of the incident, the New York "serious injury" requirement does not apply to you. Unfortunately, that also means that the offending vehicle's insurance will not... View More

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answered on Mar 11, 2025

I’m sorry to hear about your accident and the injuries you’ve sustained. Based on the police report, it seems the car driver is at fault, which supports your claim for compensation.

In New York, motorcycle riders typically don’t have access to No-Fault Insurance (PIP) like car... View More

Sorry to hear what happened to you. Although you could arguably obtain a verdict greater than $25,000 at trial, there is no guarantee that you'd be able to collect on a judgment. And that's assuming you win. Instead, the costs associated with going to trial will eat up whatever recovery... View More

I'm sorry about your accident. More information is needed for a meaningful analysis, but it looks like you are currently represented. That would place your attorney in the best position to know the important details of the file needed to make a sound decision. As my colleague correctly... View More

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answered on Mar 12, 2025

I'm sorry to hear about the accident and the injuries you’ve sustained. In New York, when you’re involved in an accident, especially one where liability is contested, there are several factors to consider when deciding whether to accept an insurance settlement or pursue a lawsuit. Based on... View More

I'm sorry about your accident, but I'm glad you didn't suffer injuries. I hope everyone involved is okay. You could keep trying to contact them. If that continues to lead nowhere, then your options include going to court and filing suit, either on your own through a civil case or... View More

Sorry to hear what happened to you. As my colleague correctly advised, if the Town or its insurance carrier is ignoring you, your only option would to be file a lawsuit for your property damage. Before you can file any such lawsuit, however, you must first file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of... View More

Addendum - I see you are dealing with a town. That adds an additional element of a notice of claim to any action you may contemplate. In New York, actions against cities, towns, villages, or public agencies involve filing a notice of claim. Although this is generally 90 days, it would be best for... View More