New York Personal Injury Laws

Injured in a Motor Accident

Sometimes even a minor car or biking accident can result in severe long term injuries that can be costly. If you’ve been injured through no fault of your own, don’t go it alone. The legal team at Wilson Law has successfully resolved claims for severely injured individuals, by either negotiating with the insurance company or going to court. Don’t get overwhelmed. See the attorneys at Wilson Law for a free consultation. We’ll even come to you.

At Wilson Law we’re standing up to them and standing up for you.

The Dangers of Tylenol

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.

On a weekend in February of 1993, 37-year-old Antonio Benedi felt a case of the flu coming on. As many people have done, he reached for a common over-the-counter pain medication. “I was taking Tylenol like I was supposed to by the label,” Benedi said. Within a few days, he was in a comma and desperately needed a liver transplant.

Benedi said that while he did take the medicine on a mostly empty stomach, he did not take the drug irresponsibly, which is what many people think must happen in order to be harmed by Tylenol. “I never misused anything,” he said, “I took Tylenol as recommended for three days. By Monday night, my liver was failing. By the time I reached the hospital, I was near death.”

Usage & Dosage Amounts

Not everyone is harmed by Tylenol. The issue here is that so many are, and that the manufacturer’s warnings seem inadequate. Tylenol was originally approved by the FDA in 1955 and has enjoyed the public’s and medical communities’ trust for decades. Many have touted Tylenol as the safest drug on the market. The medication world assumes that consumers tend to exceed the recommended dosage of over-the-counter drugs for various reasons.

For example, they may not realize they are taking other medications that also contain the same ingredients. Others may not remember exactly when they last took a dosage. Also, many people view over-the-counter drugs as extremely safe and think that taking one or two extra pills won’t cause any harm. A typical over-the-counter drug has a maximum safe dosage of roughly ten times the recommended dosage on the bottle. However, Tylenol’s manufacturer recommends a dosage that is equal to the maximum safe dosage, leaving no room for error. Acetaminophen, that is Tylenol, bears a warning about liver damage, but no warning about liver failure or death. In fact, acetaminophen is the number one cause of acute liver failure in the United States.

Alcohol Effects

Let’s take a look at two groups of pain sufferers who may have a strong probability of being harmed by the drug. Users who have ingested alcohol and users who are fasting. Small print on the labels do warn against taking the drug if you’re having three drinks of alcohol daily. This is not the clearest explanation of how much is too much if for example, you had several drinks last night and none today. Headaches are common during fasting and during hangovers. Acetaminophen is often used for relief at these times. The human liver is normally capable of neutralizing the chemicals in Tylenol’s manufacturer’s recommended dosage. However, for people with alcohol in their bloodstream or who are fasting, their liver is already functioning at a higher capacity and is therefore unable to process the toxins found in acetaminophen.

Hunger Effects

People fast for many reasons and for different lengths of time. Even breakfast follows a fast. It is breaking a fast if you refrain from eating between supper and breakfast. Low-income children and adults may skip one or two meals. Many other people fast to lose weight and for religious purposes.

Do you think that Tylenol and other acetaminophen manufacturers should warn of the dangers such as liver failure and death when taken at the recommended dosage? Next time on You Be The Judge. Does evidence show that dosages equal to or less than Tylenol’s recommendation are deadly?

By: Edward Lake

Signature Disease

Mesothelioma has been called a signature disease, a signature of asbestos exposure. So, what does that mean? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney in New York City, and I’m going to answer this question for you by explaining to you what a signature disease is. So, a doctor, or a scientist, the physician, whenever they see a patient with mesothelioma, they immediately think asbestos exposure. And why is that? That’s because mesothelioma is a signature disease. The disease bears the signature of the exposure to asbestos. So, every physician who is evaluating a patient’s mesothelioma case, will immediately be looking for asbestos exposures. The known and widely accepted cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. That means that all the physicians know to a certainly that that particular patient who’s been diagnosed with mesothelioma was exposed to asbestos. Now, sometimes patients think mesothelioma is a form of cancer. What kind of things have I done in my life that could have caused me to get cancer? They start thinking about things like smoking cigarettes. Well, I can tell you that there’s no doctor in the world that would say that smoking cigarettes caused mesothelioma, because it doesn’t. They think, “Well, I was exposed to a lot of chemicals,” or “I was out in the sun.” We tend to think about all the things that we know are known carcinogens, but mesothelioma is a very unique cancer, only 2,000 cases diagnosed per year in the United States, and the widely accepted cause of mesothelioma is asbestos, not these other things that sometimes we think of. So, persons exposed to asbestos fibers, it takes years and years for the asbestos fibers to cause malignant mesothelioma, and in this position of years later tracing back what your possible exposure to asbestos could have been. I encourage you to call my office. I’m Joe Williams, and we answer questions from mesothelioma victims every day. We represent mesothelioma victims and their families in court every day, and we can answer your questions. I hope you found this video informative, and thank you very much for watching.

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.

World War Two Workers Exposed to Asbestos

70,000 workers worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War 2, and they were all exposed to asbestos. Hi. I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney here in New York City. I want to talk to you a little bit about the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Asbestos Exposure From Building Navy Ship

At the Brooklyn Navy Yard they were building ships since the time of the American Revolution. The site was 200 acres in size. Battleships like the USS Iowa and the Missouri were built there. The USS Antietam, an aircraft carrier was built and worked on there.

And I have a particular affinity for that ship because my father served on it during World War 2. In order to accomplish all of this work in the building and repair of US naval ships, there were foundries at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with high heat and steam pipes insulated with asbestos.

 Asbestos Exposure In The Machine Shops

There was machine shops, where equipment was repaired and worked on for use in these giant US navy ships. There were warehouses where parts and equipment, including all manner of asbestos components were stored at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for use by the workers at the yard.

 Long Days of Exposure

During it’s height at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, ships were built and repaired around the clock, 24 hours a day. And that work using all kinds of asbestos insulation and asbestos containing products at the yard, exposed all of the workers to asbestos. These exposures to asbestos are especially important, because mesothelioma can be diagnosed up to 50 or 60 years after the time of exposure. So we have victims today who present with a diagnoses of mesothelioma. That happen because of exposures to asbestos decades and decades ago at the Brooklyn Navy Yard when those navy ships were being built. You have questions about mesothelioma, and exposures to asbestos. I’m Joe Williams, at our firm we answer questions for mesothelioma victims and their families every day. I invite you to call our office, we’ll answer your questions. Thank you.

Plumbers Exposed to Asbestos

Did you know that plumbers were exposed to asbestos during the construction of the World Trade Center? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney here in New York City, and I can give you some information about the types of exposures to asbestos that plumbers faced during the construction of the World Trade Center site.

Large Quantities of Exposure

The World Trade Center site, composed of seven different buildings, was a massive construction project, and the plumbers union had a very large presence during the building of the seven buildings. The buildings at this site required massive quantities of water, hot water and cold water piping running throughout the site. The plumbers’ work at the World Trade Center site exposed them to asbestos in the form of asbestos pipe covering, asbestos gaskets, asbestos insulation that covered the equipment that the plumbers worked with on a daily basis at the World Trade Center site. In addition to their own work, the plumbers who worked at the World Trade Center site could have also been exposed to the work of other trades – trades who are working with asbestos-containing floor tile, or asbestos-containing joint compound, or asbestos-containing fireproofing – exposed as bystanders to the work of others.

You have questions about mesothelioma and exposures to asbestos at the World Trade Center. I’m Joe Williams, and at our firm we handle cases everyday for mesothelioma victims and their families. I invite you to give our office a call. We can answer your questions. Thank you.

Types of Injuries

At the Maurer Law Firm, I’ve had clients who’ve come to me as a result of many different types of injuries. They may have been injured in a car accident. They may have fallen at work. They may have been a victim of medical malpractice. Whatever the cause, they all have something in common – their lives have been turned upside down. They don’t know what’s going to happen next. They don’t know if they’ll ever return to work, or if they’ll be able to make their mortgage payments. These are serious issues that are taken very seriously here at the Maurer Law Firm.

The litigation process can be complex and overwhelming. My experience and dedication to your case will help educate you on the process

Insulators Exposed to Asbestos

You’re an insulator. You’ve been working with asbestos products your entire career, but you had no idea that asbestos caused cancer, and now you have mesothelioma. Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney in New York City. I want to talk to you a little bit about the types of exposures that insulators had to asbestos. Now, obviously insulators are the trade that handled insulation products. Now, I want to tell you about a client of mine who is a member of Local 12 which is the insulator’s union here in New York City.

 Past Client, Insulator

He worked with every type of asbestos insulation you could imagine. He used insulation at huge power houses here in New York to insulate large high temperature steam pipes. He worked with insulation that was applied in block form to boilers. He worked with refractory that was used in boilers. He worked with insulating cement that was used to insulate all types of equipment in power houses here in New York. He also handled asbestos containing blankets, and applied them to equipment such as turbines. He used these types of blankets and asbestos cement on other equipment like pumps. We also know that insulators used spray on insulation on the steel I-beams in large commercial structures. That asbestos was a dry product that was mixed with water through the use of a spray gun, and the asbestos insulation was sprayed onto the steel I-beams of large structures.

Contact Us with Questions or Concerns

Now these are just some of the exposures to asbestos that insulators would have had during the course of their working career. There are many more, and I’m sure you have many questions about how insulators were exposed to asbestos. I’m Joe Williams, and at our office we handle cases from mesothelioma victims every day, and we’ve represented many, many insulators. I invite you to look at the number below on your screen. Call our office, and we’ll answer your questions. Thank you.

Railroad Workers Exposed to Asbestos

How were railroad workers exposed to asbestos, and what can they do about it if they get mesothelioma? Hi, I’m Joe Williams, I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney and I want to talk to you about the types of exposures that workers on the railroad would have confronted during the course of their working career.

Protection With FELA statute

The first thing you need to know is that railroad employees are protected under the FELA statute. It’s a federal statute, the Federal Employers Liability Act, which requires the railroad to provide a safe working environment for their railroad employees. So if the railroad was negligent and not providing a safe working atmosphere, and if the employee gets sick and gets mesothelioma as a result, the railroad can be held legally responsible for that.

 A Former Client

Let me illustrate this by talking to you about a former client of my office who was a railroad worker. Now, this railroad worker worked on locomotives and trains as well as the cars themselves and he was exposed to asbestos from the insulation on the exhaust system of the locomotives, to asbestos from the controls and switches in the electrical components of the cars themselves, and he was exposed to asbestos from the work that others did around him with asbestos containing brakes that existed on the cars. There was also iron brakes, but some of them were made of asbestos. All of these exposures contributed during the course of a working lifetime to, unfortunately, give this client mesothelioma, and when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma he wanted to know what he could do about it. After an understanding that the FELA statute was designed to protect him, he was able to bring a claim against the railroad under the FELA statute.

Now why am I telling you this? It’s because you have questions about mesothelioma and the types of exposures that railroad workers would confront on the job. I’m Joe Williams, at my law firm we represent mesothelioma victims each and every day, and we deal with issues like this every day. If you have questions I invite you to contact our office. We are here to answer your questions. Thank you for listening.