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Can I Sue for a Sports or Fitness-related Injury?

Can I Sue for a Sports or Fitness-related Injury?

One of the biggest trends over the past decade has been the growth of intense sports and fitness programs for adults, with many working professionals heading out to engage in Crossfit, triathlons, kickboxing, rock climbing gyms, intramural sports, and all other types of physical activities that can carry with them a high risk of physical injury. And when injury does happen either through another’s negligence or intentional actions, the question arises of whether the victim can bring a personal injury lawsuit for his or her injuries.

Winning a Personal Injury Suit Generally

A defendant may raise a number of defenses in a sports/fitness related suit. The defendant might argue that you as the plaintiff was also negligent, but so long as the defendant was negligent, this only means that the plaintiff’s award might be reduced (and not that the plaintiff would be blocked from bringing a case). A defendant might also argue that a plaintiff consented to the injurious action, e.g. by agreeing to participate in a boxing match in which both participants would be hitting each other. Similarly, a defendant can argue that a plaintiff voluntarily assumed a risk by appreciating the nature of the risk of injury and nonetheless proceeding. While consent and assumption of risk may be valid arguments, you should work with your attorney to determine whether facts in your case negate those defenses.

What about Waivers?

Many gyms, recreational, and sporting organizations will require participants to sign a waiver of liability prior to participating in an activity. In some cases, this will limit the plaintiff’s ability to bring a suit, but this is not always the case, and you should always speak with an attorney to determine whether you have a viable personal injury suit in spite of a waiver. Waivers must be very explicit in what they entail in order to be effective, and courts will construe the waiver in favor of the plaintiff when possible. Furthermore, where the injurious conduct was reckless or intentional, a waiver will be ineffective.

Legal Help in Your NYC Personal Injury Matter

Personal injury attorney Justin Brandel represents injured victims and their families in all types of accidents across NYC, and will fight to win the settlement or verdict you deserve. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation to discuss how we can help you win recovery for your injuries.

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$431 Million Paid Out by NYC Transit in Personal Injury Suits

$431 Million Paid Out by NYC Transit in Personal Injury Suits

More people take public transportation in New York City than in any other city in the country, and those numbers are only growing as more people move to the city. The MTA reports that, in 2015, around 5.7 million people took the subway each day, with a ridership of around 1.73 billion per year. Those numbers are the highest since 1948, when car ownership was much less common. And, as anyone who has been a regular rider of the NYC subways over the past decade can tell you, the statistics are clearly apparent, with subway cars and platforms getting more crowded all the time. This of course can be a dangerous trend, given the combination of speeding trains, electrified tracks, and steep platform drop-offs. This danger is demonstrated by a recent NY Daily News article which pointed that, in just the past five years, NYC Transit has paid out $431 million to victims in personal injury suits in a total of 4,592 cases relating to injuries on the subways or city buses.

88 Cases Involved $1 Million+ Payouts

The average payout by NYC Transit to victims over the past five years has been $94,000, although that average is lifted up by a smaller number of high settlement and verdicts that have been awarded. In 88 of the cases brought for personal injury on the bus or subways, the injured plaintiff was awarded at least $1 million.

In one recent case, a 19-year old student was awarded $9 million after he slipped onto the tracks due to a hole on the platform edge had been concealed by an MTA employee, and both of his legs had to be amputated below the knees. The NY Daily News revealed that the NYC Transit’s own internal reporting on dangers on the platforms revealed that 85% of the stations reviewed had major trip-and-fall dangers.

Winning Your NYC Subway/Bus Injury Case

The article also included an in-depth discussion of how, despite what may appear like the high number of payments made in these types of cases, the transit authority appears to have a standard practice of attempting to delay and obstruct personal injury cases as much as possible. According to those involved in such litigation, opposing attorneys will haggle over small details, withhold evidence, and intimidate victims by blaming them for their injuries.

Because of this, it is important for those victims injured in NYC bus and subway accidents to work with an experienced attorney to bring their suit. By delaying working with an experienced attorney, victims can make it much harder on themselves as evidence becomes harder to identify and the opposing side builds up a case against you. But by contacting a subway/bus accident attorney immediately, injured victims and their families increase their chances of a speedy, full recovery.

Legal Help in Your NYC Subway or Bus Accident

If you have been injured on a NYC/MTA bus or subway, or PATH, Metro-North, or Amtrak train, legal assistance is available to help you recover for any and all losses you have suffered as a result, including the costs of medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages and reduced income potential, and pain and suffering. Personal injury attorney Justin Brandel represents injured victims and their families in all types of transportation accidents, including subway and bus accidents, and will fight to win the settlement or verdict you deserve. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation to discuss how we can help you win recovery for your injuries

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12-Year Old’s Crushed Helmet in Brooklyn Bike Accident Highlights Danger

12-Year Old’s Crushed Helmet in Brooklyn Bike Accident Highlights Danger

The crushed bicycle helmet of a 12-year old in Borough Park, Brooklyn in a September collision with a Lexus sedan is a stark reminder of how dangerous NYC roads are for bicyclists and just how critical wearing a helmet can be in protecting your life. Pictures of the helmet show it mangled and torn into at least three pieces after the accident. No doubt as a result of wearing the helmet, the 12-year old was able to survive the impact with the Lexus, and was taken to Maimonedes Hospital in serious but stable condition and placed into surgery. A witness described the gruesome scene to the New York Post, saying, “I heard the sound, boom! And I ran outside. I saw the (boy) on the ground bleeding from his face…his whole head was covered in blood.”

The 2015 Lexus GS350 was driven by an unidentified 24-year old at the time it collided into the 12-year old at the intersection of Dahill and Cortelyou at 7 AM on a September Wednesday morning. Police arrived at the scene and appeared to conclude that the collision was an accident and did not issue a summons.

The Lifesaving Impact of Bicycle Helmets

The fact that the 12-year old was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision with the Lexus no doubt lowered the severity of the injuries and is a stark reminder to us all of the importance of wearing bicycle helmets. Research into bicycle accident statistics indicate that wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of severe brain and head injuries by 66% to 88%, even when there is a collision with a motor vehicle. Because brain and head injuries are often catastrophic injuries severely impacting a person’s life and ability to perform basic bodily functions for decades and beyond, wearing a helmet while bike riding thus becomes critical.

Several days after the accident, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said that they were still unclear why the accident had occurred. The investigation continues, however, and the engineer’s cellphone has been taken into custody for analysis, and drone footage and other surveillance footage was also being analyzed. Officials had retrieved a data recorder, similar to the “black box” retrieved in airline crashes, from the train, but it had malfunctioned. A second data recorder, however, was later retrieved and is being analyzed for further clues into the causes of the horrific accident.

Contact a New York Bicycle Accident Attorney Today

Regardless of the severity of injuries in a bicycle accident – whether catastrophic or less severe injuries that nevertheless involve medical bills, pain and suffering, and other financial losses – victims of bicycle injuries and their families should make sure that they are doing everything they can to recover the compensation they are owed and which can be critical to making sure they get on the road to recovery.

If you’ve been injured in a bicycle accident, you should contact a bicycle accident attorney as soon as possible to improve your chances of a full and timely recovery. At the Law Offices of Justin Brandel, we will aggressively pursue your claim and fight to get you the full compensation you deserve for all injuries sustained in your bicycle accident. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation and take the first step in protecting your rights.

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Hoboken Train Crash Injures 114 People, Kills One

Hoboken Train Crash Injures 114 People, Kills One

https://callbrandel.com/contact/In what appears to be the largest crash in the history of the New Jersey transit system, a light rail Pascack Valley Line train careened into the Hoboken Terminal on the September 29, apparently without lowering its speed, and slammed into the terminal wall itself. The crash caused injuries to 114 people and one death. The injuries mostly occurred to passengers on the train itself who were jostled by the impact of the train, but injuries also occurred to people waiting on the platform due to structural damage to the terminal. The single fatality resulted when debris from the terminal ceiling fell on a 34-year old woman due to the impact of the train hitting the terminal wall.

The Cause of the Accident Remains Unclear

Authorities have been investigating the Hoboken train crash but have not released conclusions on the cause of the accident. The operator of the train, a 29-year veteran of the New Jersey rail system, claims that the train was moving at the appropriate speed of 10 MPH as it approached the station, but also said he has no memory of the moments leading up to the crash and that the first thing he remembered was waking up in the cab of the train after the crash. The engineer’s report of the speed of the train contradicts witnesses who have said that the train appeared to have not slowed down as it entered the terminal.

Several days after the accident, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said that they were still unclear why the accident had occurred. The investigation continues, however, and the engineer’s cellphone has been taken into custody for analysis, and drone footage and other surveillance footage was also being analyzed. Officials had retrieved a data recorder, similar to the “black box” retrieved in airline crashes, from the train, but it had malfunctioned. A second data recorder, however, was later retrieved and is being analyzed for further clues into the causes of the horrific accident.

Help is Available for Train and Subway Injuries

If you have been injured on a New York or New Jersey subway, PATH, light rail, Metro-North, or Amtrak train, legal assistance is available to help you recover for any and all losses you have suffered as a result, including the costs of medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages and reduced income potential, and pain and suffering. Personal injury attorney Justin Brandel represents injured victims and their families in all types of transportation accidents, including subway and train accidents, and will fight to win the settlement or verdict you deserve. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation to discuss how we can help you win recovery for your injuries.

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When is a Dog Owner Liable for a Dog Bite in New York?

When is a Dog Owner Liable for a Dog Bite in New York?

While most people may have been scratched by a dog at one point or another in playing with or petting a dog, a serious dog bite is a whole other matter. People can die from dog bite injuries – and children and the elderly are especially vulnerable – and a serious dog bite can require expensive medical bills, not to mention significant pain and suffering that can last for months and years. Determining whether a dog owner is liable for a dog bite injury is not always a straightforward matter, so an understanding of New York dog bite laws can be critical to knowing whether you have the ability to pursue a personal injury case for damages against the owner.

New York Law on “Dangerous Dogs”

Generally in New York, a dog owner has to have reason to know that his or her dog was a “dangerous dog” and/or had “vicious propensities” in order for there to be liability for a dog bite claim. Some people might refer to this as the “one free bite” law – meaning that an owner gets a free pass for the first time that the dog bites a victim – but this is not quite accurate.

If the dog has previously bitten a person or other animal, causing injury or death to the person or animal, then the dog will be considered a “dangerous dog” under New York law, and the owner will be strictly liable for other injuries caused by the dog. But a previous biting incident is not the only way for an owner to know that the dog is dangerous and/or has vicious propensities, and thus to be strictly liable for dog bite injuries. New York courts have recognized that even where a dog has not caused death or injury, so long as the owner was aware that the dog had a “proclivity to act in a way that put others at risk of harm,” the owner may still be strictly liable for injuries caused by the dog.

Putting the Blame on a Dog Bite Victim

Defendants in dog bite cases will often try to place the blame on the victims in dog bite injuries by suggesting that the victim was negligent in approaching or antagonizing the dog. It is important to understand, however, that, even if the victim did exhibit some level of carelessness in interacting with the dog, this will not necessarily prevent the victim from recovering compensation for his or her injuries from the dog owner, although that recovery may be lessened depending on the circumstances. A good dog bite attorney will fully investigate the matter to find evidence of the dog being a dangerous dog and defend against arguments of negligence on the part of the victim.

Legal Assistance in Your Dog Bite Claim

If you or a family member has been injured by a dog bite in New York or New Jersey, dog bite attorney Justin Brandel can help investigate your situation and fight for maximum compensation for your injuries through a settlement or verdict. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation and take the first step in winning recovery for your dog bite injuries.

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