Personal Injury – Redmond Law Firm

Personal Injury Law- If You have a Car, You need SUM Coverage

wplawyer — Sat, 03 Jul 2021 13:14:00 +0000

If You have a Car, You need to have SUM Coverage

What is SUM Coverage?

SUM stands for Supplemental Underinsured Motorist Coverage. This type of insurance will protect you and your family members in the event that the vehicle that struck you, did not have enough coverage to pay for your injuries.

In New York State, a vehicle is only legally obligated to carry a minimum of $25,000.00 in bodily injury insurance. This means that if you do not have SUM coverage and someone hits you with the minimum amount of insurance, your recovery could be limited to $25,000.00.

Case Example:

You are involved in a serious accident that causes you to fracture your arm and leaves you with a disfiguring facial scar. The car that struck you only carried the minimum of $25,000.00. Luckily, you purchased SUM coverage in the amount of $500,000.00. You will first need to settle the case for $25,000.00 with the car that hit you. After this is completed and your own insurance provided you with written consent to settle the $25,000.00, you can now obtain an additional $475,000.00 from your SUM policy.

You Cannot Carry High SUM Coverage with Low Bodily Limit Limits In New York State

This means that you cannot protect yourself with more coverage if someone hits you, but have small limits if you hit someone else. For example, If you want to have 250,000.00 in SUM coverage, then you must have 250,000.00 in bodily injury insurance if you caused injuries to someone else.

Check Your Insurance Policy and Make Sure You Have SUM Coverage

Brokers and insurance companies rarely offer and explain SUM coverage to their customers. Check your policy and make sure you have it!

If you have been involved in any kind of accident – call Attorney Neil Redmond on his Mobile Phone 646-285-7115 for a free consultation.

The post Personal Injury Law- If You have a Car, You need SUM Coverage first appeared on Redmond Law Firm.

What is Knee ligament injury means? Personal Injury Law

wplawyer — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 13:11:00 +0000

Knee Ligament Injuries may require surgery

Soft tissue knee injuries are very common after a car accident, especially if you were struck by a car as a pedestrian.

Understanding the Anatomy

Knee ligaments are tough bands of tissue that connect the bones in our bodies. The two most important ligaments in the knee are the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) which connect the femur or the thigh bone to the tibia. A traumatic impact from a car can cause these ligaments to stretch too far or even snap.

Soft Tissue knee injury symptoms

The usual symptoms you will feel to your knee are:

-pain, often sudden and severe

-a loud pop or snap during the injury

-swelling

-feeling of looseness in the joint

-inability to put weight on the joint without pain

How is it Diagnosed?

Most soft tissue knee injuries can be diagnosed through a MRI How is is treated? Typically, doctors will recommend the following to treat a soft tissue knee injury -Rest the knee-avoid an excess weight, the recommend that you use crutches when walking -Ice your knee -Compress the knee-using bandages or sleeves -Elevate your knee -Wear a knee brace-to stabilize the knee and protect it from further injury -Physical Therapy involving strengthening exercises

Surgery

If the knee does not heal conservatively through physical therapy then orthopedists will perform arthroscopic or reconstruction surgery.

If you have been involved in any kind of accident – call Attorney Neil Redmond on his Mobile Phone 646-285-7115 for a free consultation.

The post What is Knee ligament injury means? Personal Injury Law first appeared on Redmond Law Firm.

Personal Injury Law -What Expenses Will I Be Charged in my case?

wplawyer — Sat, 22 May 2021 12:58:00 +0000

Personal Injury Law – Most personal injury case retainer agreements provide for a one-third legal fee contingent upon a recovery (by verdict or settlement) and will include language something like this:

The percentage fee is calculated on the amount recovered. The disbursements are deducted from the plaintiff’s settlement or verdict amount. The disbursements properly chargeable to the case are items such as investigation and expert fees.

So what’s that mean?

It means that the expenses and disbursements (we’ll give examples in a moment) are deducted from the plaintiff’s settlement or verdict amount (and reimbursed to the lawyer who, after all, advanced those items out of his own bank account).

Insider Tip #1 (You won’t like this one): Your lawyer is not permitted to guarantee you that you will not be responsible to repay his expenses and disbursements, even if the case is lost. This would violate Judiciary Law 488 which prohibits lawyers from “buying” lawsuits. It’s OK to take a case on a contingent percentage and to advance the disbursements (which are really client expenses) but telling a client he will never be liable for these disbursements is what’s prohibited. The law aims to keep attorneys from using their own financial clout to compete for clients. [That said, I know of no lawyer who ever made serious efforts to get his disbursements paid by his client after he lost a case.]

So the one-third legal fee is on the net, fine. But what are the expenses and disbursements that are “properly chargeable?”

Let’s get the easy ones out of the way first. Here are several typical plainly proper categories and also some typical amounts you might see on the closing statement. (The closing statement is what your lawyer files with the court system at the end of your case to advise the authorities of the recovery, his fee and his disbursements.):

court filing fees (e.g., $210 to start the lawsuit)
investigator (e.g., $250-$1,500 to take scene photos and get witness statements)
medical records (@$0.75 per page, this can be $100-$2,500 depending on treatment)
doctor’s narrative report – ($500-$1,500 for your treating doctor to write a report detailing in lay terms your injuries, their causation and your prognosis)
deposition transcripts (approx. $5 a page, could be $500 -$2,500 depending on length and number)
experts fees ($2,000 -$15,000 or more depending on how many doctors testify for you in court and if other experts such as engineers, accident reconstructionists, etc. are needed that can drive up this cost many thousands more)

Here are expenses and disbursements that are plainly wrong and have resulted in lawyer disciplinary action:

financial assistance to the client for personal fiancial obligations (lawyer disciplined with public censure in Matter of Arensberg)
charging client for non-existent expenses or for which the lawyer hasn’t paid (lawyer disbarred in Matter of Mann)
making loans to client (lawyer suspended in Matter of Cellino)

Here are some other expenses and disbursements that have been held may not be charged to the client, but did not result in lawyer disciplinary action:

investigator’s fee to accompany and sit with attorney at trial (Levy v. State)
new attorney to handle an appeal (Shaw v. Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co.; Siagha v. David Katz & Associates, LLP) – unless the original retainer agreement clearly and explicitly provided for such an expense to be charged to the client
ordinary office overhead

The key for clients is this:

Make sure your questions about expenses and disbursements are answered to your satisfaction, and that when you sign a contingency fee retainer agreement for your personal injury claim, it accurately and completely answers your concerns.

If you have been involved in any kind of accident – call Attorney Neil Redmond on his Mobile Phone 646-285-7115 for a free consultation.

The post Personal Injury Law -What Expenses Will I Be Charged in my case? first appeared on Redmond Law Firm.

Personal Injury Law- Controversy Behind The Term “Soft Tissue“

wplawyer — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 12:05:27 +0000

The Controversy Behind The Term “Soft Tissue Injury”

Perhaps one of the most commonly used terms that is used to downplay injuries from the insurance defense side in the area of personal injury law, is the term “Soft Tissue Injury.” Just hearing the term gives you a feeling that it is not serious right? Let’s explore soft tissue injuries and find out why they are wrong.

What is a “Soft Tissue Injury”?

For the most part, a soft tissue injury, is an injury not involving a fracture. Soft tissue injuries include, disc injuries to the spinal column (herniations and bulges), torn ligaments which would include, (rotator cuff tears, meniscal tears, anterior cruciate ligament tears-ACL, Collateral ligament injuries, posterior cruciate ligament tears, SLAP tears etc.. and less serious injuries including bruising, minor sprains/strains.

How are soft tissue injuries treated and diagnosed?

Soft tissue injuries are typically treated conservatively by doctors and if you are not getting better, they may send you for diagnostic testing such as a MRI. Over time, doctors may recommend epidural injections and perhaps even surgery. Surgeries could include arthroscopy and spinal decompression surgery.

SOFT TISSUE INJURIES CAN BE VERY SERIOUS

Soft tissue injuries can be very serious, let us look at two examples:

One person is involved in a car accident, where as a pedestrian, their foot gets run over by a car causing a fracture to their pinky toe. The injured party’s fracture heals and they make a complete recovery.

VS.

The second person is rear ended by a tractor trailer causing their head and neck to violently jerk forward and back. The injured party is diagnosed with multiple disc herniations of the cervical spine and after over a year of extensive treatment their physical condition does not improve. This person ends up undergoing major spinal surgery but does not recover and is never able to go back to work.

Which injury is more serious? You be the judge.

If you have been involved in any kind of accident – call Attorney Neil Redmond on his Mobile Phone 646-285-7115 for a free consultation.

The post Personal Injury Law- Controversy Behind The Term “Soft Tissue“ first appeared on Redmond Law Firm.

Personal Injury Law – IF I WAS HURT IN CAR ACCIDENT- What Next?

wplawyer — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 13:24:00 +0000

Personal Injury Law – After being hurt in car accident many people feel scared and confused about what they should do next. To make matters worse there are many people that will try to take advantage of you when you are not thinking clearly after being hurt.

To begin with, avoid anyone that approaches you at the scene of the accident and attempts to get you to go to their clinic or their lawyer. What these people are doing is clearly illegal. New York State Lawmakers wanted to protect accident victims who are not thinking clearly after an accident from people who are looking to take advantage of them for financial gain. Additionally, many of the doctors and lawyers involved in soliciting accident victims will end up losing their license or even go to jail.

After the accident has happened and you are feeling pain, the first thing you should do is get medical treatment immediately. Many people who are hurt will either go to the Emergency Room of the closest hospital or to a doctor they trust to get proper treatment.

Next, after you have received medical care and you are still suffering from an injury you may want to consult a lawyer and find out what your options are and if you have a case. The law is very strict regarding time limits for filing a claim. In car accident cases, you only have thirty days to file a claim to ensure that all of your medical benefits will be paid for.

New York State has set up a complicated process to for your medical bills to be covered under your insurance policy called “no fault insurance” This means that your medical bills are supposed to be paid regardless of fault. The problem is that there are many rules and regulations under this no fault system with strict time limits and billing procedures. Many people need the help of a lawyer to guide them with this system. Additionally, many doctors do not know how to handle the no fault system while at the same time provide you with the care to help you get better. Often times, your lawyer can recommend a doctor that knows how to simultaneously deal with the no fault system while providing great medical care.

Finally, after suffering an injury now you will probably want to know if you are entitled to monetary compensation. Many people think just because they had an accident, now they will automatically win money, this is not the case. I like to explain to my clients that there are two parts to every case, first there is liability (fault) and next there are damages (injuries). First, your lawyer will have to assess who is at fault for the accident. If the operator of the vehicle that caused your accident was at fault then you can move forward to showing what your damages (injuries) are. In order to win your car accident case on damages, you have to prove that you have sustained a “serious” injury. If your lawyer is able to prove that your injuries are serious enough in court now you will be entitled to be compensated.

The bottom line is that you should always consult with lawyer you can trust after you are seriously injured in a car accident so that they can guide you through the process and advise you if you are entitled to compensation.

If you have been involved in any kind of accident – call Attorney Neil Redmond on his Mobile Phone 646-285-7115 for a free consultation.

The post Personal Injury Law – IF I WAS HURT IN CAR ACCIDENT- What Next? first appeared on Redmond Law Firm.

Personal Injury Law – What is a soft tissue injury?

wplawyer — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 11:37:50 +0000

What is a “soft tissue injury”?

Soft tissue damage refers to damage done to the muscles, ligaments, and tendons throughout the body. Often referred to as herniations, bulges, sprains, strains, contusions and tendonitis, soft tissue damage is usually caused by a traumatic event such as a slip and fall or a traffic accident. It can result in swelling, bruising, and loss of function. Immediately after an injury, the area affected by soft tissue damage should be protected, rested from any strenuous activity, kept cool with ice to regulate swelling, compressed and elevated. When the soft tissue is inflamed for a long period of time it could result in serious, long-term damage.

When soft tissue damage exists in the back and the spinal column is compressed, it may result in what is commonly referred to as a pinched nerve. Each vertebrae is separated by a gel filled sac that acts as a cushion between the bones. When the muscles surrounding and supporting the spine are inflamed, it pushes the bones together, squeezing the sac and causing it to bulge, called a bulging disc. In more serious cases, the sac actually ruptures. This is called a herniated disc. Besides being incredibly painful, these conditions can result in weakness or numbness in the extremities, known as radiculopathy.

MRI can confirm the existence of a bulging or herniated disc. Treatment varies depending on the severity of the case. For some, physical therapy and chiropractic manipulation will be enough to heal the damaged area. This is considered conservative treatment. There is the possibility that an epidural injection to the affected area could help reduce inflammation and give the injury an opportunity to heal. If nothing else is successful, spinal fusion or decompression may be an option to reduce pain. A doctor should be consulted before engaging in any sort of treatment.

If you have been involved in any kind of accident – call Attorney Neil Redmond on his Mobile Phone 646-285-7115 for a free consultation.

The post Personal Injury Law – What is a soft tissue injury? first appeared on Redmond Law Firm.