Construction Accidents
Under New York State’s Labor Law property owners and general
contractors must provide all workers on construction sites,
both skilled tradesmen and laborers, with a safe place to work.
Construction accidents are common when there is a negligent
failure by the owners and/or contractors to make ‘safety first’.
Falling from a broken scaffold or being struck by a falling
object often results in a devastating injury to the worker and
a significant future economic loss to his or her family as well.
In addition to successfully representing injured construction
workers in court, attorney Andrew W. Tully has written and lectured
on the topic of Labor Law 240(1) (“the Scaffold Law”), Labor
Law 241(6) (the Industrial Code) and Labor Law 200 (Safe Place
to Work).
Excavation Accidents
A trench cave-in is the most common type of serious and too
often fatal accident in the field of construction excavation.
The most regrettable aspect is that a trench cave-in is preventable
if the contractor complies with the existing trench safety
laws and regulations. There is no justification in New York
State for any laborer or other worker to be compelled to enter
and work in an earthen trench unprotected in violation of
existing State and Federal trench safety laws. Tully Law Office,
P.C. is fully familiar with these laws and regulations and
we have experience in representing the victims of a negligent
trench cave-in. We have recovered money damages for our clients,
by settlement or jury verdict, for the catastrophic injuries
and economic losses that result from the violation of trench
safety laws.
Workplace Accidents
In New York State, almost all workers are covered by the Workers’
Compensation Law, which guarantees that workers who sustain
injury or illness arising in and out of the course of their
employment will have their necessary medical bills paid and
will receive certain payments for income lost due to the work-related
injury. However, the same Workers’ Compensation Law limits
the remedies available to injured employees and, in most cases,
prohibits an employee from suing his or her employer. The
injured employee may, however, have the right to sue a negligent
party other than his or her employer (or co-employees), for
the injuries sustained. At Tully Law Office, P.C. we will
give you our legal opinion as to whether, under the existing
facts and applicable law, such a ‘third party’ lawsuit may
be brought in your case, and what other remedies may be available
to you under the Workers’ Compensation Law.
Back to top ^
Motor Vehicle Accidents
The New York State ‘No Fault Law’ (Insurance Law, Article
52) covers people injured in the state through the use or
operation of a motor vehicle. With a few exceptions, this
law provides for the immediate payment of certain basic economic
losses, including hospital and medical bills, and the reimbursement
of a portion of lost wages resulting from accident-related
injuries. These payments are made by the No-Fault insurance
carrier, regardless of whose negligence caused the accident.
However, the ‘No Fault Law’ also limits the right to bring
a lawsuit for pain and suffering arising from motor vehicle
accident-related injuries to those people who have sustained
a “serious injury” as defined by the Insurance Law. At Tully
Law Office, P.C., we will give you our legal opinion as to
whether the injuries diagnosed by your treating physician
fall within one or more of the nine categories of “serious
injury” identified by the ‘No Fault Law’. If that jurisdictional
threshold has been met, then we’ll discuss with you the benefits
and risks involved in pursuing litigation against the negligent
party or parties.
Premises Liability
In New York State owners of real property, whether commercial
or residential, municipal or private, developed or undeveloped,
must use reasonable care to keep their property in a safe
condition. This enforceable duty of care is owed to every
person whose entry upon the property is either known or reasonably
foreseeable. At Tully Law Office, P.C. we are skilled in determining
whether or not an actionable defective/dangerous condition
existed and whether the owner or other responsible party had
legally sufficient notice of said condition. We are experienced
in representing people who were injured due to defects or
hazards upon someone else’s property, and have recovered monies
for our clients in premises liability cases through both settlements
and favorable jury verdicts.
Products Liability
Dangerous products in the marketplace can cause significant
or catastrophic personal injuries. These products, which have
often been moved through a long stream of commerce, can be
inherently dangerous by design, or dangerous due to a manufacturing
defect or malfunction. The law of New York State imposes several
legally enforceable duties of care upon manufacturers and
sellers of goods and products. This law of products liability
has a high level of interfacing between state and federal
substantive, procedural and evidentiary rules. Tully Law Office,
P.C. is experienced in the analysis of the liability issues,
statutes of limitations, federal preemption, and the determination
of the proper party or parties legally responsible for such
defects, and we have successfully represented clients significantly
injured by a defective product.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is the most complex, intense, expensive
and difficult field of personal injury litigation. Physicians
and other health care providers have a legal responsibility
to use good and accepted medical practices in the diagnosis,
care and treatment of their patients. A departure from good
and accepted medical practices can cause or contribute to
significant or catastrophic new harm or the exacerbation of
a patient’s pre-existing injury, illness or condition. Victims
of such medical departures have an absolute right to be fully
compensated for their new or worsened injuries, condition
or illness. Where it can be established that a medical departure
by a heath care provider has resulted in a significant injury,
Tully Law Office, P.C. is ready to take up your case and provide
you with a full and fair day in Court before a jury.
Back to top ^
Wrongful Death
If a person is killed as a result of the negligence of another,
the deceased’s estate has a legal right in New York State
to bring a lawsuit against the negligent party and recover
money damages for the conscious pain and suffering sustained
by the decedent. Also, those survivors who were economically
dependent upon the decedent at the time of his or her death
have the right to bring a lawsuit to recover lost financial
support (past and future) from the party negligently responsible.
In most cases, New York law presently does not permit recovery
for the emotional consequences of losing a family member,
no matter how negligent the offending party. Tully Law Office,
P.C. is sensitive to this issue and experienced in the commencement,
prosecution and successful disposition of wrongful death actions
on behalf of the estate and/or the financial dependents of
the decedent
Municipal Liability
Personal injury cases arising through the negligence of the
municipalities in New York State such as counties, cities,
towns, villages, or the state itself require special attention,
because municipalities have their own strictly construed statutory
procedures and comparatively short time deadlines for the
mandatory filing of a notice of claim and the commencement
of a lawsuit against them. Tully Law Office, P.C. is ready
to advise you as to the relevant municipal issues including
the prior written notice requirements regarding defective
sidewalks and certain other properties, filing deadlines,
venue, pre-suit municipal hearings, and municipal standards
of care, and to represent you if you have been significantly
injured due to municipal negligence.
School Safety
Schools are under an enforceable legal duty to adequately
supervise the children in their charge. Although some in-school
accidents are inevitable and no school is the legal guarantor
of absolute student safety, a school or school district will
be held liable for all foreseeable injuries sustained by its
students as the result of inadequate supervision. At Tully
Law Office, P.C., we are experienced in the representation
of children seriously injured as a result of their school’s
negligent breach of its duty of supervision, and will work
with parents to make sure that their child’s legal interests
are well protected.
|