Irene Gabo on Rusa Radio 105.1 FM – June 16, 2021

I was on a bus and it was in an accident with a taxi. I am not sure who was at fault but I was standing and fell from impact to the floor of the bus. How do I know who is at fault and who to sue?

As a passenger you can sue both parties and your attorney can figure out who is at fault through discovery. Don’t forget there is often a police report, both bus and taxi have cameras on them that your attorney can request and every time the bus has an accident they have to call a supervisor who makes a full report and interviews the driver of the bus on the scene about what happened. So start a claim against both, remember you have 90 days for initial claim against the bus, and after that your attorney will find evidence to see who caused the accident, through discovery process.

I tripped on a sidewalk by a store, but didn’t fall, and left after a while without telling anyone. Now I went to the hospital a week later after my ankle got swollen and I am told its broken. Would the fact that I didn’t tell anyone used against me in the case?

You don’t need to tell anyone about your accident, as soon as it happens. Yes, it will help, because then the worker or owner from the store can then save the video of your fall timely, report is to their insurance company and generally it is easier during trial to prove the case to a jury where the victim reported it right after the accident, so the defendant could investigate what caused the fall and collect video or take photos. However, there is no rule that an unwitnessed accident cannot be won. It is essentially your word against the word of the side you are suing, who didn’t see your fall, so they cannot definitely prove it did not happen, and then its just who the jury will believe.

My son was riding a bicycle on Brighton, on a sidewalk and was hit by a dolly with fruits that an employee was carrying. Now he needs surgery but there is no insurance

There are several options. Hire an attorney right away to contact the store in front of which it happened to find out if they carried what is called “med pay” coverage. This is coverage in addition to liability insurance that protects those injured on or near their property and pays for their medical treatment. The problem is most of these are limited to 5k, some to 25k, but with surgery, it may not be enough.

Another option is doing the surgery at public hospital like Bellevue or Coney Island Hospital where they can help your child apply for government issued medical benefits, which will pay for the surgery in full. The issue becomes at the end of the case, when its time to settle the lawsuit, Medicaid may want to get paid back a portion of what they paid for your son’s surgery.

I am a home attendant and when I was going out of the elevator in my client’s basement the elevator and floor were uneven and I tripped. There is no video there, but I left soon after the fall to the hospital. Is this only Worker’s Compensation because I was at work doing laundry for my client?

You will also have a case against possibly the landlord and the elevator company that serviced the elevator in that building. Your attorney can find out the building’s owner and from the department of building records or from the inside of the elevator itself the name of the elevator company and bring a claim against them. Just remember, when you collect WC and also have a lawsuit against another party, approximately 2/3 of your paid WC benefits will need to get paid back when your action against the landlord and elevator company closes, unless your injury was catastrophic, which I don’t think was the case here. So for example your case settles for $90,000.00 and your owe $30k to WC for the medical and out of work benefits, 20k will have to be paid back to them.

My daughter was in a park on the monkey bars and when she jumped down there was an uneven rubber mat and she fell. When I went back a week later to take photos, the mats were fixed. Does this mean I cannot have a case for her anymore?

It doesn’t necessarily mean that because every repair or fix that the City of New York, does, including the Department of Parks is documented and photographed. Meaning if the work was done to fix the mat there has to be record of it before that there was a problem with it, and a photograph. Have your attorney make what is called a FOIL request with the department of Parks and make sure that the claim against the City of new York is filed within 90 days.