Irene Gabo on the Morning Show at Davidzon Radio – February 3, 2020

I had an accident, where another car ran a stop sign and hit my car but police refused to do a police report. How do I proceed now, can I have a case if I am hurt and in pain?

You should do your own report, called MV104, which you can download online or get from the police department. Once filled out, it must be sent to DMV in Albany, so there is a record of the accident. Also, if the other car hits someone again, your filed report will be on file in Albany and come up against that other car in the second accident. So the victim will know there was a prior car accident in which that car was involved.

I would again recommend dash cams, why because you can submit it to the other car’s insurance company to prove their fault and to get your property damage paid by them.

I heard about a company called “Big Apple Map” and that their maps is the only way to prove a case against the City of New York. Can you tell me why and give us more info about them?

Big Apple Map was a corporation that had employees walk around New York and note defects on sidewalks, curbs and pedestrian crosswalk, which they felt needed repair. If they saw a defect, they would mark it on a special map and the City of New York would get a copy of this map, that way the City knew a repair had to be made. And if the repair was not made timely, and a person fell because of the defect, City was considered to have known about the defect.

The last map to my knowledge was made about 15 years ago and are still used today, though the City has started claiming that the maps are too old and shouldn’t be used anymore, but it is still a good tool to see if the City knew about a defect and it can be ordered through a FOIL request with the DOT.

I fell off my bicycle on the path on Ocean Parkway, next to the roadway, because of a pothole and was hurt. Can there be a case and against who?

There may be a case against the City. First of all, were you in the bike path, as the path is only on one side of Ocean Parkway, not on both. You will need a notice of claim against the City of New York in 90 days post accident and to order Department of Parks records about the defects on the island. That takes about 3-6 months to receive so don’t wait to file notice of claim which can be done online.

I received a call from my American attorney that my medical exam requested by the insurance company was “positive” and I should continue to treat. What does it mean?

If your attorney said the exam was “positive” it means that the insurance doctor found that you are still experiencing pain and effects from the injury you sustained in the accident and need more treatment. Once the report from that doctor comes (usually in 14 days) you will see how long the doctor gave you to continue treating and how often. It may say for example continue treatment 3 times per week for the next 6 weeks. After 6 weeks you will be called for another exam, likely with the same doctor to see if the benefits should extend further or stop.

My dad fell on the sidewalk by a construction site and was hurt. There are no signs, its just an empty lot, how do we proceed?

You need to figure out either by yourself or with you attorney the address of the lot where the construction was going on. If for example the lot is between two buildings, one is 150 Ocean Parkway and one is 154, you will know that your lot is number 152. Then your attorney can find the owner of the lot based on the available address or he/she can search the department of buildings website to see who has permits to work on the site and who the general and/or subcontractors are.

I was in a taxi cab who got angry at another driver, started cursing and then chasing him at high speed for like 10 minutes. I was very scared, and asked him to stop but he didn’t. Finally, I got out all shaken but not hurt and took down his plate. Anything I can do?

If you can prove psychological injuries there may be a false imprisonment claim against the taxi driver. False imprisonment is you being held against your will with no possibility to leave, which sounds exactly like what happened to you. Be mindful that these actions must be started within a year, not 3 years like a regular car accident.

My son was with a group of kids at a museum and he slipped and fell down the large staircase, about 10 steps. Luckily its just bruises and sprain of wrist but can I sue the museum?

If there are no injuries, the recovery will be very minimal and you may be better off contacted the museum yourself and telling them what happened (better in writing) and demanding a resolution of the claim. There are rules about how wide the stairs must be on commercial premises without needing a handrail or a middle rail, so you may be able to collect some more for his trauma.