CVA eNewsletter for May, 2013

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S c o t t D. C a n n o n , A t t y. Ke v i n Va n A l l e n , A t t y. L i n d s ay P. Q u i n t i l o n e , A t t y.

The road to justice starts here.

M A Y

2 0 1 3

When in doubt, talk it out (with us)
somewhat reluctantly, because he was “not a guy who liked to sue people.” After meeting with him, we had the difficult task of telling him that he waited too long to come to see us, as the law in New York says that if you are going to sue a municipality, like a Town, you must serve a Notice of Claim against the Town within ninety days of your accident, or you lose the right to sue! We think this is a rotten law, because it punishes good, hard-working people like this man, who has always supported himself and his family and was trying to do • D on’t wait in getting the right thing. legal advice Which brings us to the point of • I s your fire escape the story: if you safe? have been injured • You get what you pay for in an accident, NEVER wait to • Settling for MORE talk to a skilled, experienced lawyer about it, ASAP. Even if you aren’t sure you have a case, come talk to us immediately.

IN THIS ISSUE

We have a new construction accident case in which our client broke his back when the scaffold he was working on collapsed on Town owned property just outside Syracuse.

He fell twenty feet to the ground, pulverizing several bones in his spine. He was a dedicated employee, and didn’t even consider talking to a lawyer in hopes that his back would get better, And by the way, due to good lawyering and a bit of and that he could return to work. luck, we were able to convince a Judge in Syracuse
He realized after six months that it was impossible for him to return to work as he was permanently and completely disabled, so he came to see us, that the man should be given an exception to the strict “ninety day rule”, so his case is proceeding forward. Stay tuned.

We’ll leave the light on for you
This simple catch phrase made popular by a certain hotel chain is generally good advice for property owners. If you are expecting guests/visitors at night, keep an exterior light turned on so your visitors can see where they are going. If you don’t and your guest trips and gets hurt, you may find yourself in a lawsuit. As a property owner, you have a duty to keep your property “reasonably safe”, and providing lighting at night is one example of your legal obligation in this regard. But how far does your duty to provide lighting go? Would you have a responsibility to keep a fire escape lit? A trial court in Brooklyn recently addressed this question, in a lawsuit brought by a man who was injured when he tripped and fell on his neighbor’s fire escape. He had gone out to smoke on the platform in the dark, tripped, and hurt himself badly. The trial court ruled in favor of the injured man saying that the property owner should have had lights on the fire escape. The property owner appealed, and won, when the lawsuit was thrown out (thankfully). What do you think? Should a property owner be liable if someone gets hurt on an unlit fire escape? Maybe its cultural, because we live in Livingston County, but we think holding the property owner responsible is unfair. Having handled many, many “trip and fall” cases for injured folks, we think this one goes a bit too far.

Take it to Trial
Kevin has an unbelievable trial winning streak going, having obtained “not guilty” verdicts on eight straight criminal jury trials! As impressive as that accomplishment is, the decision to go to trial on a criminal case carries immense risks. For example, in Kevin’s latest case, our client had been offered a plea deal of 1-3 years in state prison, so if

Take the advice you pay for, even if it means swallowing some tough medicine.
he had been found guilty at trial, he would almost certainly have received a longer prison sentence. While theoretically courts are not supposed to punish a defendant more harshly for exercising his/her constitutional right to a jury trial, more often than not that exact thing happens.

So, what to do? Take it to trial or not? For starters, make sure you have a great lawyer. Yes, it stinks having to pay a lawyer a ton of money, but nowhere is the old expression more true than in hiring a lawyer- you get what you pay for. Next, LISTEN to your lawyer! Take the advice you pay for, even if it means swallowing some tough medicine. And lastly, remember every case is different- make your decision with your lawyer, about taking it to trial, on the facts of your case, not what happened in Uncle Billybob’s trial.

SETTLE FAST? YES– but for much less $$
The decision to take a civil case to trial, like a car accident case, is soooo different that the decision in a criminal case. In a typical car accident case, many they increase their offer to $250,000, then one month before trial it is increased to $350,000 and the day before the trial starts they offer $500,000. In the middle of the trial they offer you $1,200,000, and then you have a decision to make- take the $1,200,000 and be done, or take it to verdict. Every case is different but you get the point. times the only way to get the full value of your case is to bring it before a jury. It generally goes like this: at the time you start your lawsuit, the insurance company for the defense knows your case is worth $1,500,000, but offers you only $100,000. Three months before your trial, So what about those TV lawyers who say “We will get you money fast without ever going to court”? Well, they can do that, but they neglect to tell you they are settling your case for about 10% of its value. If you ever hear an injury lawyer tell you to settle fast or without “going to court”, RUN in the other direction as fast as you can! Preferably to our office!

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Cannon &Van Allen, LLP 10 University Drive P.O. Box 446 Geneseo, NY 14454 (585) 243-9330

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