As soon as a personal injury case settles, clients want to know, “when will I be paid?” We answer our clients with a Case Closing Report that provides a timeline on when a client will be paid and exactly how much. In general, once a case settles a client will receive his or her check within about a month. However, we make a commitment to move our cases as fast as possible and usually are able to deliver the check to a client in less than a month, often in less than three weeks. I want to review the standard settlement payment timeline and then discuss our efforts to deliver money to our clients even faster.
Consumer News 
Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration in a Personal Injury Case
All personal injury firms rely on negotiation, mediation and arbitration. While these three mechanisms have some similarities, each functions in a different way. The good personal injury attorney will use all three depending on what will best serve a client and case. Here is a primer on these three tools of the trade.
I’ve Been in a Car Accident in New York, What Should I Do?
If you or a loved one has been injured in car accident or motor vehicle accident in New York, there are certain steps that you must take and certain steps that we recommend you take. We prepared this helpful guide.
Kudos to Touro Law Schools Disaster Relief Clinic Offering Pro Bono Help with Hurricane Sandy Issues
We were pleased to offer some of our client support material to Professor Benjamin Rajotte, the Director of Touro Law School’s Disaster Relief Clinic. The school announced that they offer “no cost legal assistance with insurance claims, environmental remediation, government assistance programs including FEMA, insurance and consumer fraud concerns and other legal problems that are a result of the storm.”
Who Is Responsible for the Sidewalks on Long Island?
With the spring thaw, many homeowners will face upheavals and cracks in the sidewalks in front of their homes. The responsibility for fixing those sidewalks varies on Long Island depending where you live. In some cases, the homeowner is responsible for the sidewalk; in other cases, the town has responsibility. (See the chart below)
Why does this matter? Responsibility for the sidewalk can carry significant costs. Consider these three issues that homeowners must address if their town holds them responsible for damaged sidewalks:
What to Wear to a Deposition
We often hear from people who have a simple question: What do I wear to a deposition? It is always important to remember the objective for the deposition: You want to make a good impression. You want the opposing attorney to know that you will make a good witness. We offer our clients some simple guidelines to follow in dressing for a deposition.
Doing a Good Thing: April is National Donate Life Month
As April winds down, we want to remind readers that April is National Donate Life Month. Please don’t let the month end without making sure you are or become an organ donor.
New York Attorney Offers Free Consultation on Personal Injury Cases
We commit ourselves to delivering remarkable service to our clients and that commitment includes our offer of a free consultation to anyone with a question about a personal injury or medical malpractice case. Our highly educated staff will answer the phone quickly and do our best to answer your questions and help you. There is no charge for this service and no obligation for calling our office at 1-800-660-1466.
Great Legal Service Requires Great Customer Service
We’re avid readers of Seth Godin’s blog and his piece this morning, “The End of the Diva Paradox,” struck a chord. He wrote of a day and age when the sheer quality of a person’s performance – he refers to surgeons and opera singers – made it unnecessary to treat others with respect or even courtesy. Having worked as an attorney for 25 years, I have met my share of legal divas – lawyers with great legal skills who didn’t bother with the niceties of treating others well. Godin believes the day of the diva has passed and I wholeheartedly agree.
New York Taxi Accidents – Holding Renegade Taxi Drivers Responsible for their Damaging Behavior
There are approximately 49,000 taxi drivers in New York City, most of whom are good, law abiding drivers. Those cab drivers provide over 250 million rides each year. There is a small percentage of drivers that thumb their nose at the law and can turn a mundane cab ride into a nightmare. To change this behavior requires aggressive work by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) and passengers willing to stand up to taxi drivers who put them in harm’s way.
Asa Aarons of Ask Asa on CBS-TV in New York ran a report last week and asked for help in identifying some of the risks that passengers face when climbing into a cab and what people can do if they run into trouble with a taxi driver. I want to elaborate on what I told Asa on television last week.
