Irene Gabo on the Morning Show at Davidzon Radio – April 12, 2021

Irene Gabo on Davidzon Radio – 04/12/2021

1. My mom died as a result of corona. She didn’t leave a will. I am her daughter. How do I know get the house she owned put in my name? Can you help?

   First of all, I am very sorry for your loss, but yes I can help. In the case where a person died without a will, the first thing you must do before you can discuss any property transfers is appoint a person who will represent your mother’s estate. Typically it is a spouse or a grown child who becomes the administrator and our office can help you with all the necessary paperwork. Just to mention, when a person dies without a will and there is a spouse, the spouse will have priority to the property. But lets say there is no spouse and you have no other siblings. Once the Court appoints you as an Administrator, you can then deal with getting the house because as a child, with no other siblings you will get priority, if there is a sibling, the property will be owned by both of you, in equal shares, so half and half. Many siblings in this situation choose the sell the house and split the profits.

2. I fell on the boardwalk in Jones Beach and broke my finger, do you take cases not in New York?

   We handle cases in all counties of the City of New York, as well as Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Orange Counties of New York State. Jones Beach is owned by New York Office of Parks and Historic preservation and you will need to file a Notice of Claim, just like you would have to if you fell on the Boardwalk in Coney Island against the New York Office of Parks. You will have 90 days to file the claim, and they will have 30 days to respond as to whether they want to call you for an initial hearing to testify about how the accident happened and injuries your sustained.

3. I slipped and fell on soap in TJ Maxx but left without telling anyone, now I have a wrist fracture, can you help?

   TJ Maxx, Home Goods and Marshalls are all owned by one corporation, and I have dealt with them many times in the past, so yes, I can certainly help. Couple of things to know, your attorney needs to send a letter to TJ Maxx requesting a video, as soon as possible, so the accident is not erased once the video records over it after 2 weeks or so, because you left without telling anyone, or making an incident report, so this is the best way to prove you were actually there or were injured. Plus, all these companies have a cleaning contractor, some for example in Marshalls come in late afternoon, to clean the store, therefore, depending on the time you fell, your attorney should definitely request in his or her claim letter the identity of the company responsible for cleaning of the store. You may have two parties to sue instead of just TJ Maxx.

4. I went to look at a condo for sale, and the elevator dropped suddenly causing me to be thrown around inside it. I hurt my back, but who do I sue in this situation? Condo says its not their fault, I already spoke to them.

   You need to take a look inside the elevator for a Certificate of Inspection that would be hanging in the elevator in question and would state the name of the contractor who last inspected the elevator and the date. The claim should go to them first. There is also a website for the Department of Buildings where your attorney can see all the complaints against the building, any permits taken out, and any violations the building received. This is a good place to start and see how well or not the building is run. But the claim letter in general should go from an attorney to both the condo association and the elevator company.

5. I was in an accident and police came and refused to make a report, does that mean I cannot make a case? I have the plate number for the other car.?

   No it doesn’t mean that and essentially in many accidents today the police will not even respond to make a report, unless there are injuries and someone is being transported to the hospital or there is serious property damage. You can download a form mv104 from dmv website and make your own report w original going to Albany DMV in 10 days. If you have a plate your attorney can run it for you and find out the information on the other driver.

6. Can we sue a nursing home if my relative died there from covid?

   Senate recently voted to remove the immunity given last March by Cuomo to hospitals and nursing homes. Now the bill goes to governor for signature. I doubt that he will sign it, but we will see.