New York Personal Injury Laws

Upfront Attorney Fees

When a mesothelioma victim and their family come into my office, one of the first questions they ask me is are there any upfront costs or fees for me to handle their case? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney in New York City. I can tell you that the answer to this question is absolutely not.

 Paying to Prosecute Your Case

In a mesothelioma case, the lawyers for the victim lay out the money to prosecute the case. So things like court filing fees– to file the case, to start the case, there’s a fee in the courthouse to do that. The lawyers lay out that money. Fees associated with continuing the case, the lawyers lay out that money. Fees associated with hiring expert witnesses– a mesothelioma case requires the hiring and retaining of some very important expert witnesses in order to support the medical and exposure claims that are made in the case. All of those fees are disbursements which are laid out by the attorneys in the case. I can tell you at our firm, we never ask a client to set forth any payments, any money, until the case is concluded.

 Post-Settlement Money

What happens is the case is prosecuted until it’s completed. At that point, the money that is obtained in the form of a settlement or a judgement or verdict at trial, the lawyer takes the disbursements and pays them back, then takes the lawyer’s fee. All the remainder of the money, whether it be in the form of a settlement or a verdict at trial, all of that is the client’s proceeds from the result obtained in that case.

Contact Us With Questions or Concerns

Now you may have many more questions related to this topic and others. I’m Joe Williams. My office number is listed below. I encourage you to give a call to our office. We will answer your questions. We’re here to help you and to answer your questions. Thank you.

Tylenol Health Risks

Previously on You Be the Judge, 37-year-old Antonio Benedi felt a case of the flu coming on. After taking the recommended dosage of Tylenol for three consecutive days he ended up in coma, near death, and was in desperate need of a liver transplant. One culprit and each year 450 deaths, 26,000 hospitalizations, 56,000 emergency room visits, 100,000 calls to Poison Control Centers. The suspect? A very common, everyday drug.

Acetaminophen Dosages

When people hear about the dangers of Tylenol or acetaminophen they often assume that Tylenol only harms people who abuse the medication or who don’t follow the directions. Is this true? And is the recommended dosage safe? It is widely asserted that a daily intake of 7,000 milligrams can severely damage an adult’s liver, but the level at which such damage begins to occur is predicted to be much lower. Levels as small as 2,000 to 4,000 milligrams have been implicated in approximately 10% of deaths related to acetaminophen, proving that the medication does not have to be abused to cause harm.

Considering that a single capsule of extra strength versions of acetaminophen is 500 milligrams, as few as four capsules might damage the liver. This is particularly concerning when you realize that bottles containing 500 milligram capsules of acetaminophen say that the maximum daily dosage is eight pills. 8 times 500 milligrams a total of 4,000 milligrams.

To add to the confusion around this medication, prescription drugs containing acetaminophen often have warnings about liver failure and even death, but the over-the-counter versions do not.  In 2009 the FDA recommended that the adult daily dosage for acetaminophen be reduced from the current maximum of 4,000 milligrams to no more than 3,250 milligrams.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary and the manufacturer of Tylenol, responded that they feared the recommendations could have the effect of steering consumers away from their drugs. To this day the company has not reduced the recommended dosage.

Selling Tylenol & Acetaminophen Over-The-Counter

Consider the following facts:

One, hundreds of the drug users die annually and tens of thousands are hospitalized. Two, over-the-counter forms do not warn of liver failure or death while prescription forms often do. Three, acetaminophen is the number one cause of acute liver failure. Four, the maximum dosage and the manufacturer’s recommended safe dosage leave no room for human error. Five, warnings on the label about alcohol are not very clear. Six, there are no warnings on the label about taking the medication while fasting. See the previous episode for details about taking acetaminophen with alcohol or while fasting. Seven, alternative medications are available that yield the same benefits and far fewer risks. Eight, many experts believe if Tylenol were introduced as a new drug today it would not be approved.

The damaging effects of acetaminophen are linked to over 100,000 Poison Control Center calls, 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and more than 450 deaths each year.   One final thought, if the side effects and risks linked with acetaminophen were associated with a dietary supplement, it would be pulled from the market immediately.

By: Edward Lake

Railroad Companies Already Making Their Case

It’s very important if you’re an injured railroad worker, that you hire an experienced law firm as soon as possible. The reason is, the railroad has a whole system that goes into effect right away. They have all sorts of departments that collect evidence, they take witness statements, they reenact your injury. And before you know it, they’ve tied up the defense of the case before you’ve gotten out of your hospital bed.

You need an experienced attorney who knows how the railroad industry works, understand the law, what the proof is that’s required to win your case. We can help you at the Maurer Law–

Lab Workers Exposed to Asbestos

Did you know that asbestos was used in various types of lab equipment? And that asbestos could cause lab workers – lab technicians – to develop mesothelioma later in life? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney, and I want to talk to you about some these asbestos exposures. Now, in a lab setting, lab workers, lab technicians, work with gloves. Back years ago, those gloves when picking up a heated beaker or a hot surface– those gloves could have been asbestos gloves – gloves actually made with asbestos components. They worked with aprons for their safety protection. Ironically, these gloves were used as a safety precaution, yet they contained asbestos. Additionally, aprons that the lab technicians would wear, often times contained asbestos, to protect from heated objects, or perhaps ovens that they were working with during their lab experiments.

Asbestos pads and asbestos mats were used in lab settings. Wire mesh screens were used in lab settings. All of these things decades ago, could have contained asbestos, which exposed the worker – the lab technician – to asbestos dust during the course of their work each day, every day, over a course of a career. These exposures could cause a lab technician to develop mesothelioma years later. I’m telling you all this because you have questions about mesothelioma, and how mesothelioma is caused.

I’m Joe Williams. At my office, we deal with these issues each and every day. We represent victims of mesothelioma and their families. If you have questions, I invite you to call us, and we’ll answer your questions. Thank you very much.

Laborers Exposed to Asbestos

You worked as a laborer and you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma and you are wondering, how did you get this disease? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney and I’d like to talk to you a little bit about the types of exposure to asbestos that laborers faced. Laborers helped all of the trades. Laborers could have been exposed to any asbestos product on a construction site. We know that laborers cleaned up after various individual trades during the course of a workday and at the end of a workday. Laborers also assisted various trades. Perhaps a laborer could assist a plumber, or assist a carpenter, or a laborer could clean up after a plumber’s work or after a carpenter’s work. Now why is that important? It’s because all of the trades at various job sites back in the ’40s, the ’50s, the ’60s, the ’70s, they worked with asbestos products. The plumbers worked with asbestos gaskets and packing. The insulators worked with asbestos insulation on pipes and equipment. The carpenters worked with asbestos. Maybe the put up a Sheetrock. Maybe drywall installers put up Sheetrock and used joint compound in between the seams that contained asbestos. Floor tile was put in by tradesmen that contained asbestos. All of this work would have been cleaned up by laborers. Sweeping of the dust that contained asbestos, exposing themselves to asbestos dust on the job site perhaps everyday. Now it’s not asbestos exposure that a laborer would have on a construction job that could cause them to get mesothelioma. It’s this mesothelioma diagnosis made many decades after the exposure that we see today in clients as we deal with the litigation of mesothelioma cases in court. Why am I telling you all this? It’s because you have questions about mesothelioma, and the type of exposures that laborers would face and different construction workers would face on job sites. I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney, and we deal with these issues every day. We represent mesothelioma victims and their families everyday. If you have questions call our office, we’ll answer you questions. Thank you

Brick Layer Exposed to Asbestos

You’re a bricklayer. You’ve now been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you’re wondering how did you get this disease?

 Mesothelioma Trial Attorney

Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I am a mesothelioma trial attorney, and I want to talk to you a bit about the types of exposures to asbestos that bricklayers faced from their work on the job. In order to do that, I want to talk to you about a prior client I had, and his work is a good example of how bricklayers are exposed to asbestos.

How Do Brick Layers Become Exposed

He worked at very large commercial sites, sites like the World Trade Center, and he also worked at smaller commercial sites. He was a union bricklayer, so he did all commercial work. And the smaller sites for him were six-story apartment buildings, and whether it was a big building or a small building, his work was kind of always the same. He did brick and masonry work, Brick and masonry walls, and from time to time, especially back in the 1950s, some of the actual brick that he used contained asbestos.

But mostly, most of his exposures to asbestos came from the work of other tradesmen. Now when he was doing his work, other tradesmen could be shoulder to shoulder with him or maybe within ten feet working with products that contained asbestos. If he was building walls in a boiler room, plumbers or steamfitters could be working on the boiler systems working with steam pipes and working with the equipment in the boiler room, all of which was insulated with asbestos.

Mixing asbestos, applying it as a insulation material to high heat and to steam equipment while my client, the bricklayer, is putting up a masonry wall not far away. They’re all breathing the same dust, and all of the tradesmen in the room are susceptible to getting mesothelioma. In addition, when he was doing his work in different parts of apartment buildings, other trades were putting up internal walls and putting in floors using building materials that contained asbestos.

These exposures to asbestos, caused by other trades working near my bricklayer client, caused him to get mesothelioma. Now why am I telling you all this? It’s because you have questions about mesothelioma, and about the types of exposures that bricklayers would have to asbestos.

I’m Joe Williams, and at our office we handle cases from mesothelioma victims every day, and we deal with these issues every single day. Call us at our office, we’ll answer your questions. Thanks.

Suing Your Employer

When you’re injured on the job, you’re not permitted to sue your employer unless you work for the railroad or maritime industries. However, if you’ve been injured as a result of the negligence of a third-party, you may have a basis for a lawsuit.

Workers’ compensation laws bar you from suing your employer or a co-worker. You need an experienced law firm who understands what’s involved and how to analyze the facts and circumstances of your own claim to know if you in fact have a basis for a lawsuit.

The New York Labor Law requires full protection and safety devices to prevent workers from sustaining injuries when working at heights. Failure to do so can impose 100% liability for your injuries.

Being injured on the job can leave you wondering, “What’s going to happen to my future?” If you’ve been injured on the job, contact me or visit my website to find out how I can help turn your life around.

Asbestos Exposure Claim

You’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you worked at the World Trade Center during it’s construction. The building no longer exists, so how could you possibly bring a claim for your mesothelioma diagnosis? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney here in New York City, and I can answer these questions that you might have about the World Trade Center. When the World Trade Center was constructed, it was one of the largest construction projects ever known to man, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the State of New York, entered into contracts with various contractors – general contractors and subcontractors – to do all of the work at this massive, massive project that involved thousands and thousands of workers. During the course of the last decade, we’ve seen many workers who have developed mesothelioma from their work at the World Trade Center, and through the litigation of those cases, we have acquired the contracts, the work records, the documents, which establish which contractors worked at the World Trade Center, what work they did, what work with asbestos was done at the World Trade Center. There’s also prior deposition testimony from other workers who’ve gone before you, who have already  testified to their exposure to asbestos at the World Trade Center. So, there’s a body of evidence and information about how workers were exposed to asbestos at the World Trade Center, and we can use that information, as well as any information that a worker who’s now been diagnosed with mesothelioma could have, to create a full picture of the types of exposures that occurred to workers at the World Trade Center. So, just because the building no longer exists, we are still able to go forward and prove a very strong case regarding exposure to asbestos at the World Trade Center, exposures that can cause mesothelioma to the workers that worked at the World Trade Center. You have questions about mesothelioma and exposure to asbestos. I’m Joe Williams. At our firm, we answer questions from mesothelioma victims and their families every day. Give us a call. We’ll be happy to answer your questions. Thank you.

Asbestos Exposure in Nassau County

You’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you worked in Nassau County, New York, and you’re wondering, “How did I get this disease?”. Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney here in New York, and I can give you some information about asbestos exposures in Nassau County. We know that in Nassau County, LILCO – now it’s known as National Grid – had a powerhouse in Roslyn. We know that at these types of powerhouses, asbestos components were used by the workers during the construction of the powerhouse, and also during the repair and renovation work that’s done on an ongoing basis at a powerhouse like the one that existed in Roslyn, New York. We also know that in Nassau County, the population moved eastward from the city and the boroughs into Nassau and Suffolk Counties. And as that happened, there was a housing boom, and homes – residential homes – apartment buildings were built by union tradesmen, by workers, building Nassau County with their hands. When they did that, they used all manner of building materials, many of which, contained asbestos. The joint compound and sheetrock used to build walls in houses, the floor tile on the floors, the roofs of these homes, and other components as well, exposed these workers to asbestos dust.

Now, you have questions about mesothelioma and asbestos exposure. I’m Joe Williams, and at our firm, we help mesothelioma victims and their families every day. I invite you to give us a call and we’ll answer your questions. Thanks.