Have you ever read about a million dollar verdict in a case and think that’s the end of the story and that the “lucky” plaintiff actually received the full amount that was awarded by the jury?  Think again….. Sadly for most people lucky enough to get a substantial verdict, the verdict is just the starting point in a second war to actually try to collect on the verdict.  Defendants rarely accept the jury’s decision without endless appeals contesting every element of the trial and the jury’s judgment.  And even worse, appellate courts routinely lower or even reverse the jury’s verdict substituting their judgment for the judgment of the jury that sat through the trial day after day and week after week.

A recent N.Y. case illustrates this point perfectly.  The newspaper headlines about the case publicized the $14 Million dollar verdict in the N.Y. medical malpractice case.  But the defendants appealed and the Appellate Court decided that a new trial was required.  Why?  The trial judge was allegedly too nice to the brain damaged plaintiff and to the jurors during this trial conducted at Christmas time.  Huh?  Isn’t a judge permitted to show basic civility and friendliness to the litigants and the jury?  No, says the Appellate Division, 2d Dept.  Keep reading for the gory details of this unfortunate case….

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A recent study by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed exactly what I have seen time and time again in my 21+ years of handling medical malpractice cases in NY and Pennsylvania:  there is a HUGE conspiracy of silence in the medical field. 

Doctors, nurses, hospitals and their insurance companies circle the wagons to deny that there are any problems or that anyone ever made a mistake.  Despite clear evidence of medical errors in the chart, despite clear evidence of a Dr who has screwed up on MANY prior occassions, most often no one is reprimanded, no one is fired, the mistake just gets swept under the carpet….. Read the rest…

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You may wonder why we, as trial lawyers who have no intention of ever becoming a judge, care about a pay raise for N.Y. judges?  There are several good reasons: 

(1)  Good judges benefit EVERYONE.  Although everyone hopes that they will never have to enter a courtroom, if you do, the quality of the judge who hears your case will be very important to you and your case.

(2)  We all know that “You get what you pay for”.  We are not going to get good people serving as judges if they have to take a huge pay cut to take the job.

(3)  Fair is fair.  N.Y. judges have not received ANY pay raise in eight years!  That means not even a cost-of-living increase.  That’s just not fair.  Love or hate judges, I think everyone would agree that it’s not fair that someone’s real wages would effectively decline year after year. Read the rest…

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If you are injured on the job no matter how minor you should report it to your employer. It may never become a Workers’ Compensation Claim but it is better to be safe than sorry. If you are injured on the job it is your responsibility to let your employer know you were injured and it is your responsibility to file your Workers’ Compensation claim.

Under New York workers’ compensation law, you have 30 days to let your employer know that you have been injured and you have two years to formally file a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board.

It is your responsibility to file with the Workers’ Compensation Board. Some employers help with this process but the majority do not.

If you miss work or seek medical treatment for your injuries, you must file a compensation claim if you want your medical bills paid and lost wage benefits while you are out of work.

You should talk to someone who handles Workers’ Compensation cases if you are injured. You can not be charged for the consultation and it is your best interest to know your right so you don’t make mistakes. You can call our Licensed Compensation Representative Jack Schamel at 733-8866 or you can email him at jschamel@zifflaw.com.

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Just when we think we have seen it all, the insurance companies come up with some new scheme to avoid living up to their responsibilities. The latest had even us shaking our heads! As you read this story, please keep in mind that Progressive was the insurance company for the very people it was mistreating. They weren’t doing this nasty business to someone else– they were doing it to their own customers. In other words, these folks paid good hard money in insurance premiums to be abused by their own insurnace company. Yeeeeeessshhhhh! Keep reading to get the gory details…… Read the rest…

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I have a confession to make. Sometimes it’s tough to be a trial lawyer when the media, Big Business and many politicians, constantly blame lawyers for all the ills of society. It’s tough to always be the scapegoat and the butt of lawyer “jokes”. It’s tough to work long hours to help your clients only to have many people believe that you spend all your time on the golf course (for the record, I do not even golf!). It’s tough to know that you spent seven years in college and law school working hard to get good grades and hear people say that the law degree you earned is nothing more than a “license to steal”. That’s the bad side.

The good side are those proud moments when your hard work helped your client get back on their feet. Those moments when an insurance company is forced to pay a claim that they had been wrongfully denying for years. Those moments when a client gives you a bear hug thanking you for “all you have done for me”. Those are the good moments.

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