“Hot Coffee” Movie Will Reveal the Reality Behind Famous McDonald’s Case

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Jim Reed

At long, long, last. A new documentary may reveal the TRUTH about a tragic case. One personal injury case in the early ’90s has been held up as the epitome of a “frivolous” lawsuit. In 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck was severely burned by spilling a cup of McDonald’s coffee onto her lap.

After a long struggle with the McDonald’s legal forces, Stella was awarded $2.9 million in damages by a New Mexico jury. The story became a national lightning rod for controversy over personal responsibility and bogus litigation. Poor injured Stella was lampooned for stupidity, clumsiness and greed. The term “Stella Award” was even coined to refer to any lawsuit or victim award viewed as preposterous.

New documentary presents radically different view of coffee case

“Hot Coffee,” slated to be released in 2011 according to IMDB.com, returns to the principals in the case to find out the REAL details. In many of the most important, basic details, Stella’s hot coffee case was very different from what was reported in the media.

One thing that is mentioned in the trailer (check it out above) that is not usually emphasized is the fact that the courts drastically reduced the jury’s verdict. Despite that reduction, the tort reformers NEVER mention that fact and ALWAYS refer to this as the multi-million dollar McDonald’s case! Very dishonest.

Also in the brief trailer you can see participants reflecting on the case and the amount of disinformation that was spread. The reason, suggested by some experts: McDonald’s objective to embarrass Stella Liebeck, ridicule her legitimate claim and foster a public climate in which injured claimants were reluctant to press for justice.

Thanks to the filmmakers for all their hard work on this important story. Hopefully it will change the reigning public opinion about Stella Liebeck’s intentions and claims.

Thanks for reading,

Jim
________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

Google Scholar Launches Online Access to U.S. Laws and Cases

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Jim Reed

I want to pass along some BIG news that is wonderful for everyone: Google is now offering FREE access to a huge amount of U.S. law through Google Scholar.

Why is this a big deal? Because historically law firms have had to pay incredibly high rates to gain access to online case law via services such as WestLaw and Lexis. The Ziff Law Firm currently pays more than $6,000 a year to Lexis! I have been longing for the day when we can eliminate that cost.

(Google has been developing Google Scholar for years now – it’s “a freely-accessible Web search engine that indexes the full text of scholarly literature” according to Wikipedia. The beta version was launched in late 2004, and now the Google Scholar index includes most peer-reviewed online journals from many of the world’s scholarly publishers.)

Here’s the official Google Blog post, “Finding the laws that govern us,” regarding their new service.

How it works (basically!)

Know how to use Google? You’ve got the concept, then! Go to the Google Scholar home page and select the radio button for Legal opinions and journals. You can search by the names of the parties in a particular case or the type of decision. Not only will Google Scholar return the results for a specific case you are looking into, it will offer links to associated cases for your further research.

While Google’s current offerings don’t match all the features of Lexis yet, it is only a matter of time until we can accomplish all we need to do for FREE.

And that’s the way it should be – information wants to be free.

A postscript on Google

Google is continually coming up with new features. I came across this post on the iPhone J.D. blog, a resource for lawyers who use iPhones (as I do!). Follow this link to a great post on using Google on your iPhone and some speculation on what might be available from Google in the future.

Thanks for reading,

Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney

Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

E-mail me at FreeReports@zifflaw.com for two free books:
NY Car Accidents and NY Car Insurance Secrets YOU Need to Know.

Elmira Motorcycle Crash Demonstrates Danger Turning Vehicles Pose to Bikers

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Adam Gee

As a personal injury attorney who handles a LOT of motorcycle crashes, I feel confident in saying that one of the greatest dangers to bikers is turning vehicles. As every biker well knows, people in cars just don’t see bikers; they turn in front of them and cut them off not because they are malicious, but bikers just don’t register on their radar. The majority of the motorcycle collisions I handle in New York and Pennsylvania involve cars turning in front of motorcycles, and unfortunately, these types of accidents often involve VERY significant injuries. When a car turns in front of a motorcycle, there is often nothing the biker can do to avoid a collision. The biker sometimes tries to get around the car, lays the bike down, or drives off the road entirely to try to avoid the collision, but the end result is usually the same: a seriously injured biker.

A recent incident in the city of Elmira illustrates my point. On November 17, 2009, a biker proceeding north on Clemens Center Parkway ended up in a collision with a pickup truck owned and operated by Judson Route of Roaring Branch, PA. The Judson vehicle was heading South on Clemens Center Parkway, and turned left onto East Water Street when the biker was so close to the intersection that he could not avoid a collision. The Elmira Star Gazette covered the incident here.

I’m sure Mr. Route didn’t mean to pull in front of the biker. I’m sure Mr. Route is a pleasant enough fellow who would never dream of intentionally causing a collision. But that is the risk bikers face every time they get on their motorcycle; some wonderful person could have a moment of inattention which fundamentally alters the life of the biker and his or her loved one.

To our biker friends, ride like you are invisible, because too many times you are!

To make sure bikers buy the right kind of insurance coverage to protect themselves and their famlies in the event of a crash, I wrote a book entitled “Would You Ride Your Motorcycle Naked?” My book is available FREE to New York and Pennsylvania bikers, and to those whose loved ones are bikers. Click the link above to get your free copy now, before it is too late!

Thanks for reading,
_______________________________
Adam M. Gee, Esq.
NY and PA Motorcycle Attorney
The Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Malpractice Payouts Are At All-Time LOW

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Jim Reed

Despite what insurance companies and doctors may want us to believe, there is NOT a medical malpractice lawsuit “crisis.”

The fact is, 2008 marked the LOWEST number of malpractice payments by physicians since at least 1990 (when the records were first kept). It’s possible that last year saw the lowest number of payments EVER.

Who’s hiding the good news – and why?

I discovered this startling statistic via the Day On Torts blog by Tennessee injury attorney John Day. John does a great job of staying on top of the latest medical malpractice news. (I recently referred to his blog in another post; check out “Facts Confirm New York Medical Malpractice Takes Heavy Toll.”)

The figures on the medical malpractice payments come from the National Practitioner Data Bank , a government information service that tracks the performance of health professionals – doctors, dentists and other practitioners. Basically, it keeps tabs on the state of the U.S. health system and is meant to promote quality care.

The information it collects comes from government agencies, professional health groups – with peer reviews, and medical malpractice payers. Specific information isn’t available to the general public, but researchers can access statistical data from the NPDB – and here is what they discovered about malpractice claims in the United States:

The number of payouts doctors made for malpractice claims was 11,037 in 2008. That is the smallest amount since the NPDB began tracking data in 1990.
The total value of those 11,037 awards? It was $3.6 billion. Modified for inflation, that is the second-lowest amount on record.

What is happening? Are hospitals suddenly much safer? Have doctors discovered a way to never make mistakes? If only the statistics were caused by such breakthroughs.

The real causes behind the drop in medical malpractice payments? Changes to the medical liability laws, making it more difficult to bring a case. Another culprit: limits on the number of malpractice lawsuits. These hindrances mask the actual state of health care in the country. Trying to control or correct the outcome doesn’t change the root of the problem.

We can see from the reported figures that that the insurance companies and physicians’ lobbies are making progress, painting a rosy picture of American health care while keeping their costs down.

What really gets me is that they aren’t satisfied with bringing the malpractice awards to a record low. Or with paying out the second-lowest amount since 1990. They are still pushing the information that we are in a medical malpractice crisis, with the number of cases out of control and astronomical payouts.

The truth is in the numbers, however, about the true state of medical malpractice litigation. The “crisis” is a sham.

Thanks for reading,
Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

New Anti-Subrogation Law for New York State Could Curb Insurance Companies’ Greedy Practices

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Jim Reed

Last week, the New York State Legislature passed an anti-subrogation bill. To the general reader, I realize this news needs some explanation, but believe me, this is VITAL information for anyone who lives in New York State and it is GREAT NEWS for NY consumers!

Roy A. Mura, posted about the new law on his excellent blog, Coverage Counsel.

Roy gives a very technical explanation, but the real gist of it is that this new law will prevent health insurance carriers in N.Y. from getting away with their historic practice of “double dipping.”

You can check out Roy’s detailed analysis of the new bill in his post “New York State Legislature Passes New Anti-Subrogation Law.”

Below is my less technical explanation of what this new law means to the average person.

What is subrogation – and what’s so bad about it?

As a concept, think of subrogation as you paying someone else’s debt and then your attempting to collect from the person that originally owed the debt. No problem if you do it fairly, but insurance companies have been adding their own twist to the idea.

An example would be: You know Jim owes Mary $40. You run into Mary, she mentions your friend Jim’s debt and you pay it. Then you ask Jim for the money. Fair enough. But what if Mary also asked Jim for the money again? And he paid it again? If he paid you back too, he’d be out $80. Mary would end up with $80 – twice the amount she risked!

The analogy is close to what the insurance companies have been doing for years. First, they charge you HUGE premiums for your health coverage. Then, if you get hurt, and you successfully pursue a personal injury case, they tell you you have to pay them back for the health bills they paid on your behalf!

So essentially, you pay for coverage and then when you use the coverage that you paid for, they say they should get reimbursed IN FULL from YOUR money!

Thankfully, this law will stop this horrible double dipping. I am just glad that the whole health care debate is finally shining a spotlight on some of the egregious past practices of health insurance companies!

Thanks again to Roy A. Mura for his detailed posting about the anti-subrogation bill and his permission to link to it from the NY Injury Law Blog.

Thanks for reading,

Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Lawyer
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

Attorney Adam Gee Added to Faculty of Solo Practice University™!

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Adam Gee

The Ziff Law Firm is proud to announce that Adam Gee, one of our injury and malpractice attorneys and an author of this blog, was recently added to the faculty of Solo Practice University™ . Solo Practice University™ is a web-based educational and professional networking community for lawyers and law students. Adam will be teaching a class on one of his favorite areas of practice, motorcycle accident law. Adam is the author of a book on motorcycle insurance entitled “Would You Ride Your Motorcycle Naked?”

“Motorcycle collisions have become an important part of my practice, and I learned very quickly that motorcycle collisions aren’t like other automobile cases” explains Adam. “The biggest mistake an attorney new to handling motorcycle cases can make is assuming the way they handle a car crash will work in a motorcycle case; the rules are different, the people are different, the science is different, and the attitudes of the insurance adjusters and jurors are different. Recognizing this at the front end is key to obtaining a just result for your client at the conclusion of your case.”

When asked why he agreed to join the faculty of Solo Practice University™, Adam explained there were two major reasons. “First, I want to do whatever I can to make sure that bikers receive top notch representation. If I can help other attorneys across the country avoid some of the pitfalls and overcome the problems I have discovered in handling these case, I feel it is my obligation to share that information. Secondly, I fundamentally agree with the message and purpose of Solo Practice University™. Law school teaches you how to think like a lawyer. They teach you how to read and analyze cases, where to find the law, and give you the very basics in a number of different areas of practice. The scary reality is that law schools are horrible at teaching you how to actually practice law. Solo Practice University™ bridges that gap by allowing experienced attorneys to give real world instruction on finite areas of law. This is what law schools should be teaching their students.”

Please visit Adam and a host of other great attorneys as they teach the topics they know best at Solo Practice University™.

Experienced Attorney Warns: Protect Your Personal Injury Case By Being Smart About Social Media

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jim Reed

I have written before on the NY Injury Law Blog about the dangers of giving away your privacy online with social media. Sloppy postings on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other social sites can easily undermine personal injury cases – and believe me, insurance companies are well versed in any techniques to weaken plaintiffs’ cases.

The following guest post from Virginia injury lawyer Ben Glass provides a very clear outlines of the Do’s and Don’ts of using social media for people who want to protect their privacy and their personal injury cases. I’m reprinting it here with Ben’s permission. Here is Ben’s Guest Post:

Warning for Clients About Social Media

FACT – While initially people were quite guarded about what photos they posted online and who has access to them, people are gradually becoming more exhibitionist. Your friends may have photos of you, that can be searched by your name, on their pages. In other words, your own privacy settings cannot protect you entirely.

FACT – The courts have ordered injured plaintiffs to produce their Facebook pages to the insurance company lawyers.

FACT – Evidence from Facebook has been admitted in Ontario Courts and is used by the police and the traditional media.

FACT – Every insurance defense lawyer has a law clerk on Facebook who is looking for their opponents’ pages, profiles and pictures on Facebook.

So, does that mean you have to withdraw from the 21st century and avoid social media? As your lawyer, I would like to say, well, yes. Avoid it like the plague. However, as a human being, I recognize that may not be possible. So, what steps can you take to protect yourself?

Step One: Take a critical eye to your social media sites to see if there is anything you would not want the insurance company lawyer to see. Remember that the insurance company will not know the context of your photos or comments. They won’t know if you swallowed a bottle of pain killers to get through that party.

Step Two: Check your privacy settings. Most sites allow you to block certain people altogether from seeing that you even are on the site. Block the opposing lawyer and his/her clerk. Keep in mind, however, that there will be law students and others whose names you won’t know, so this is not foolproof.

Step Three: Search your name in the search field to see what comes up and make sure it is acceptable.

Step Four: While you are at it, do the same thing on Google and You Tube. Make whatever adjustments are necessary.

Step Five: Don’t accept friend requests or answer emails through social media from people you do now know. On Facebook, if you send a message, you grant the receiver access to your profile for a certain number of days. That is a common device to get access to your profile. Keep in mind that because of the lawsuit process, the opposing legal team knows a lot about you and could send you an email that might make you think you know each other.

If you are in doubt about whether or not your pages are acceptable, speak to your personal injury lawyer about it.

- Ben Glass, Virginia personal injury lawyer. Check out Ben’s website, BenGlassLaw.com, for more of his advice about personal injury law and protecting your case.

Thanks for reading,

Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

Just Asking for Disaster: Why Some Legal Matters Shouldn’t Be Do-It-Yourself Projects

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Jim Reed

Here is a hilarious guest post, “Self-Help Legal Switcheroo” by Rick L. Law, an Elder Law attorney in Aurora, Illinois. Rick exposes the absolute flim-flam that is legal advice and documents on the Internet. Here’s Rick’s Guest Post:

“We all like to save money — especially on legal matters. Millions of people are now using do-it-yourself online legal form services like www.legalzoom.com. To check it out, I went there, too. Their home page proudly raves, “Save time and money… created by top attorneys… helps you create reliable legal documents… we even review your answers and guarantee your satisfaction.” There is even a testimonial from an attorney who says, “As an attorney, I have been pleasantly surprised with the ease and efficiency of legalzoom.”

What is not as obvious, at the very bottom of the home page, is their disclaimer of liability. Go ahead and scroll down to the bottom of the page—you’ll see the disclaimer in very light print. It states:

“The information provided in this site is not legal advice, but general information on legal issues commonly encountered. Legalzoom’s legal document service is not a law firm and is not a substitute for an attorney or law firm. Legalzoom cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction. Please note that your access to and use of legalzoom is subject to additional terms and conditions.”

The words “additional terms and conditions’ is a hot-link that if you click on it will take you to an even longer disclaimer! The disclaimer guts all of the assurances of reliability and suitability of use that you may have assumed were part of the “actual review of your answers and guarantee of satisfaction.” YOU ARE THE “LAWYER” WHO CHOOSES THE LEGAL FORM!

If you decide to be your own lawyer, please understand that legalzoom has the best of all worlds. They advertise that they will provide you with the best form of your choosing and save you money — but if you ever have a problem because of that document, they’re not responsible. You are the one who made the decision about which legal document was right for you and your circumstances.

Just yesterday in a meeting with a client, that client exclaimed, “Wow, I never knew that there were so many things to think about in our estate planning.” I responded, “You know, that’s what most people say when it comes to estate planning, disability, Medicaid, or veteran’s benefits. You don’t do this work every day, so you just can’t know all of the issues.”

The real value of what any professional counselor does is listen to your description of your circumstances and goals, and then choose the best course of action.

There is an old story about a factory which shut down due to an equipment failure. The owner of the factory called a renowned expert to rush to the factory to get things moving. The owner told him, “This shutdown is costing us $100,000 per day!” The expert arrived, walked around the faulty machine, then took out a screwdriver and adjusted a thing or two. Within moments the machine came back to life and the factory began to hum with activity. The owner was thrilled — until he was given a bill for $10,000. He roared, “But it took you less than 10 minutes to fix the machine — it cannot possibly cost $10,000!” The expert calmly responded, “No, it took me a lifetime to know exactly where and how to use that screwdriver. The bill is $10,000—but the value to you is $100,000 per day.”

Moral of the story: The right solution for the circumstances often requires a lifetime of preparation.”

- Rick L. Law, http://ricksblog.lawelderlaw.com

Thanks for reading – and thank you, Rick for the guest post!
Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

Free and Found on the Web: Great Programs for Trial Lawyers

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Jim Reed

A cool thing about blogs: Every once in a while, you come across a post with incredibly helpful information from someone with an insider’s knowledge.

That was the case for me with the following post, found at Winning Trial Advocacy Tips: Proven Courtroom Tips to Help You Persuade Jurors and Win Trials. This blog, part of TrialTheater.com, features advice to boost the expertise of trial lawyers.

I loved the following post by Elliott Wilcox. With his permission, I am using it here on the NY Injury Law Blog as a guest post. Thanks for the post, Elliott, and the sage tech advice!

Free Software for Trial Lawyers

On a budget? Here are some software programs that will help you prepare for your next jury trial and won’t break the bank. Most of these programs work on a variety of platforms, but since I’m a Mac guy, one or two of them might be Mac-only.

IMAGE EDITING PROGRAMS

GIMP: www.gimp.org

Need to crop photos, modify images, or enhance images for trial? This is a cheap (free) alternative to Adobe Photoshop. It includes a wide variety of image editing tools. It’s not easy to get started, but it’s a powerful resource.

Seashore: www.seashore.sourceforge.net

A simple image editing program that’s easier to use than GIMP.

Inkscape: www.inkscape.org

This is an illustration program (similar to Adobe Illustrator) that lets you create vector drawings and illustrations. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the professional program, but it lets you create amazing artwork.

Hugin: www.hugin.sourceforge.net

If you’re trying to take photos of a large, panoramic area, you usually can’t fit the entire scene into a single photo (at least not without a thousand dollar camera lens). Hugin solves that problem by letting you stitch 2+ photos together into a panoramic view.

AUDIO EDITING PROGRAMS

Audacity: www.audacity.sourceforge.net

If your evidence includes audio recordings of depositions, interviews, or police interrogations, Audacity is an invaluable tool. With this program, you’ll be able to edit audio recordings, extract smaller portions from extended interviews, and perform other audio editing functions.

3D MODELS / CRIME SCENE MODELING

Sketchup: www.sketchup.google.com

Create 3D and 2D models, apply textures, and voila! you’ve created an interactive model of the crime scene!

Sweet Home 3d: www.sweethome3d.eu

Need to layout a residential crime scene or a slip& fall scenario? Sweet Home 3d can render home layouts, furnishings, and create floorplans.

OFFICE SUITE PROGRAMS

Scribus: www.scribus.net

This program is great for producing flyers, brochures, newsletters, etc. You can use it to create posters or enlargements for use in direct examination or closing argument.

OpenOffice: www.openoffice.org

Can’t afford (or don’t trust) Microsoft Office? OpenOffice includes a full suite of office programs. You’ll get a word processor, spreadsheet, database, graphics, and presentation programs.

Google Docs: www.docs.google.com

Create and edit web-based documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

The documents are stored online, so multiple parties can modify them at once (beware of attorney-client privilege violations).

AbiWord: www.abisource.com

This word processing program is similar to Microsoft Word.

PRODUCTIVITY PROGRAMS

Evernote: www.evernote.com

This program works on your computer, iPhone, PDA, etc. You can synchronize your notes everywhere at once. It’s invaluable for jotting down notes, websites, and more.

Freemind: www.freemind.sourceforge.net

Need to brainstorm new cross-examination questions? Trying to organize your direct-examination, but not sure which topics you should address or which order you should present them in? Freemind is a mind-mapping program. If you’ve never used a mind-map before, it might take a little getting accustomed to, but it will make it much easier for you to get those brilliant ideas out of your head and onto paper.

TimeBridge: www.TimeBridge.com

If you’ve ever tried to schedule a meeting with several busy people, you know how difficult it can be to find a time that works for everyone. This online meeting scheduler allows all of the invitees to choose a preferred meeting slot, then it finds tha day and time that work the best for everyone.

- Elliott Wilcox, Trial Theater.com

Thank you, Elliott, for the permission to re-post your excellent software suggestions. Readers, don’t miss out on the informative Trial Theater website, where you can find loads more advice and tips about courtroom presentation.

,
Jim
_________________________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel. (607) 733-8866 Fax. (607) 732-6062
Toll Free 1-800-943-3529
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

Discussion of New Texting Law– WHY LAWS ARE SO IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US!

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Jim Reed

In response to Adam Gee’s recent post regarding the new New York Don’t Text While Driving law (a GREAT law in my book), I received a FaceBook Comment from one of my best friends. Before even discussing her comment, I want to say that my friend is one of the kindest, most intelligent people I know so I truly take her comment to heart. She expressed a sentiment I hear all too often—THERE ARE TOO MANY LAWS!

While I certainly understand that sentiment and I am the first one to admit that there are plenty of absolutely stupid laws on the books, the plain fact remains that most laws are designed to protect us and our quality of life. We are incredibly lucky to live in a society governed by laws rather than the law of the jungle…..

MY FRIEND’S COMMENT:

You know – I was just saying the other day if we added up all the new laws that protect us from ourselves and the cost to enforce these laws – states could really turn their budget around. Seat belts, cell phones, texting, car seats for 8 year olds – it’s staggering.

MY RESPONSE:

Dear Friend: From my perspective, the costs of our laws are a VERY small price to pay for MANY, MANY saved lives.

When seat belts first came out, people thought it was nuts but just think of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives saved…. Last week, I sat with the family mourning the loss of their 9 year old daughter who died because she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt while riding in the car with a teen driver…..

I WISH people just used more common sense and such laws wouldn’t be necessary but the plain fact is that it takes laws to change behaviors….. Sorry about the soapbox speech but I think too many people focus on the bad side of the laws rather than focusing on the good that is achieved. I prefer my glass half full……

Thanks, Jim
______________________________
James B. Reed, Esq.
Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14901
Tel: (607) 733-8866
Fax: (607) 732-6062
Toll Free: 1-800-943-3529
Email: jreed@zifflaw.com
Web: http://www.zifflaw.com

Email me at FreeReports@zifflaw.com for two free books:
NY Car Accidents and NY Car Insurance Secrets YOU Need to Know.