New York Personal Injury Laws

Personal Injury Lawsuit Timeline

I’m Ira Maurer with a public service law tip. If you’re a personal injury victim, one of the questions you probably have is if I commence a lawsuit to recover my damages, how long is it going to take? There are numerous factors that will govern exactly how long a lawsuit will take. Where you bring the lawsuit is one important factor. You can bring it in New York State Supreme Court or you can bring it in the Federal District Court if you meet the criteria.

 Recovery Process Is Important

Second of all, where you are in your medical treatment is a very important part of the equation. If you recover quickly from an injury, it’s possible to settle a case before even starting a lawsuit. Insurance companies may be interested if they’re clearly responsible for your injury in settling out a case without having to spend a lot of money for a law firm to defend them.

So what happens if your injury takes a long time to be treated? Well I always recommend that you take your time. The last thing you ever want to do is settle a case prematurely before you know the full extent of your injuries. Are you going to be left with a disability? Are you going to have some problems with your earning capacity? Are you going to earn less money? Are you going to need further treatment that will cost money? All these things take time to answer. So the more serious the injury, an injury that may require surgery or multiple operations, these are things that all can impact on how long it takes for a lawsuit to come to conclusion. The best thing you can do is ask these questions when you go in to see a personal injury lawyer.

For more information, contact the Maurer Law Firm at maurerlaw.net.

Car Accident Injury Claim

I handle serious personal injuries involving car accidents for cars and trucks. Those types of claims can be pursued in the courts but only if it’s a serious injury, because the No-Fault Law in New York requires that you have to have a fracture, you have to have a lost limb, you have to have a scar – something that’s permanent. If you don’t have a serious injury under New York No-Fault Law, you can’t pursue the claim.

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.

Manhattan Workers Vulnerable to Asbestos

You’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you worked in Manhattan, in New York City, New York. And you’re wondering, where did you get this disease from? Hi. I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney, and I am in New York City, New York.

I have some information for you about asbestos exposure sites in Manhattan. Now, every discussion about asbestos exposure in Manhattan starts with a discussion about building and construction. Here in New York City, the skyscrapers and the Manhattan skyline that we all know so well, were built primarily throughout the course of the last century.

Where The Exposure Came From

The World Trade Center was built in the late ’60s and into the 1970s, and at the time was the largest construction project in the world, creating the tallest buildings in the world at the time. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is just a stone’s throw away across the East River to Brooklyn.

Where ships were constructed and built using all manner of asbestos products. Other famous buildings like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, as well as lesser known high-rises, multi multi story buildings were constructed during the course of the last century with union tradesmen’s hands, which exposed those workers to asbestos dust.

Large hospitals, perhaps even hospitals that you are being treated at such as Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell, NYU, Columbia Presbyterian. These hospitals are large medical facilities which were built during the course of the past century.

The subway and transit system, has been built and worked on during the course of the last century by union hands. All of this work exposed workers to asbestos. Now you have mesothelioma, and if you worked in New York City, you could have been exposed at these job sites.

We have information about these job sites and about asbestos exposure. I’m Joe Williams, and at our firm we handle cases for mesothelioma victims and their families every day. If you have questions, we can answer those questions. I invite you to look at the number on the screen below, and give us a call. We’ll answer your questions. Thank you.

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.

Maurer Law Firm

I’m Ira Maurer, founder of the Maurer Law Firm. Welcome to our website.

I’ve been practicing serious personal injury law in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and throughout New England for over 30 years now. When I decided to open the Maurer Law Firm, there were a few principles that were important to me. I wanted every client of this firm to know that they would be treated like family, because that’s how I would want to be treated. I restrict the number of cases that I handle so that I can devote my attention to each and every client and their personal needs. Working as a lawyer isn’t just a profession for me. It’s my life.

For more specific information about the types of cases we handle here at the Maurer Law Firm and the process that’s involved in each type of case, please click on the link below.

Iron Workers at the World Trade Center

Did you know that iron workers that worked at the World Trade Center during its construction were exposed to asbestos? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney based in New York City and I could give you information about how iron workers were exposed to asbestos at the World Trade Center site during its construction.

 How Did They Get Exposed to Asbestos

Iron workers installed the steel eye beams that formed the metal framework of the buildings that composed the World Trade Center site. Those same steel beams were sprayed with asbestos-containing fireproofing spray. This fireproofing came in dry powder form. It was mixed with water and put into a gun and sprayed on the metal beams. The iron workers were nearby when that was happening – when the fireproofing was being sprayed into the air. That same fireproofing dried onto those beams. And iron workers, it would also be part of their duty to come back and with the overhead beams to install metal hangers onto them so that a drop ceiling could later be installed. Well, to install those metal hangers they had to scrape off that dry fireproofing causing asbestos dust which they breathe again.

Also iron workers, sometimes ornamental iron workers, did what’s called finishing work – things like railings throughout the World Trade Center – when other trades were doing their work. Work such as putting up sheetrock walls, or putting in floor tiles. These building materials contained asbestos. Now while the iron workers were doing their work the work of the other trades were exposing them to asbestos. Iron workers were exposed to asbestos dust in great quantities at the World Trade Center site during its construction.

Now you have mesothelioma and you have questions about asbestos exposure and about the World Trade Center site. I’m Joe Williams and at our firm we handle cases from mesothelioma victims and their families every day. I invite you to give us a call and we will answer your questions. Thank you.

Mesothelioma Trust Fund

Asbestos companies that have filed for bankruptcy protection have been required by the courts to put in excess of $30 billion in trust for future mesothelioma victims, but how can you make a claim? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney in New York City and I can give you some information about the process of making a claim to these asbestos bankruptcy trusts.

 Making A Claim on the Trust Fund

The first thing that we need to know is that each of the trusts has a plan, a system of rules and regulations, that have to be filed in order to make the claim, but all trusts require proof of asbestos exposure. Proof of exposure to that particular product that that particular company made before they filed for bankruptcy protection. And that proof can come in a few forms. It can come in the form of a deposition of our client, or a deposition transcript of a co-worker. It can come from work records. Records of the client’s work at a particular site or location where that product was used. It can come from military records. Perhaps our client served on a specific military ship and that product was used on that ship. It can also come in the form of signed affidavits.

 Proof of Mesothelioma

The next thing we have to prove to the trust in order to make a claim is proof of a specific asbestos disease. We have to prove to the trust that our client has mesothelioma. And how do we do that? Through medical records, through a pathology report, perhaps through CT scans or PET scans that show the level and extent of disease.

And another thing that we have to prove is what’s called causation – a link between the asbestos exposure to that particular product and the disease, in this circumstance mesothelioma. And we do that through a report from an expert – from a doctor – who looks at the medical records and gives an opinion as to whether the exposure evidence regarding a particular product caused this particular disease. It’s important to know that these claims are usually made electronically and all this information is uploaded to different trusts electronically.

Now, you have questions about the claims process as it relates to mesothelioma victims and the asbestos bankruptcy trusts. Well, I’m Joe Williams, at our firm we handle these claims every day and I invite you to give us a call. We can answer your questions. Thank you.