Personal Injury

Can Creditors Take Away Your Personal Injury Settlement?

Published on: August 3, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

Debt-Collection-300x100 After an accident, the settlement amount you obtain can help you pay for hospital bills and other related expenses. Clients, who owe debts, often wonder if their compensation can be subject to garnishment actions at the hands of creditors. Fortunately, under New York State law, personal injury settlements are partially exempt from the reach of most creditors. In other words, creditors are typically prohibited from seizing settlements to satisfy existing debts.

Protecting Your Compensation

If you declare a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, all non-exempt assets are eligible to be distributed for the payment of creditors in return for discharging unpaid debts. Individuals filing for bankruptcy can choose to apply for either New York State or federal bankruptcy exemptions. Typically, federal exemptions provide more generous guidelines than those within the state. Some important exemptions include:

Implications Of A Defendant’s Bankruptcy On A Personal Injury Judgment

Published on: July 27, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

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Victims of serious accidents can be incapacitated at hospitals for weeks or even months. Even with medical insurance, hospital bills, prescription medications, surgeries, and rehabilitation costs can quickly add up. This often makes life extraordinarily burdensome for victims. Unfortunately, winning a large personal injury verdict does not always guarantee that a victim will collect a payout from the liable party. In some cases, a defendant may lack adequate financial resources to pay the judgment and file for protection under bankruptcy.

What Happens If The Defendant Files For Bankruptcy?

Defendants, such as municipalities and large corporations, tend to have deep enough pockets to satisfy large judgments and settlements. However, some defendants who cannot afford to pay millions of dollars may decide to file for bankruptcy. While most personal injury lawsuits are tried under state law, bankruptcy is a federal matter.

Paraquat Multidistrict Litigation

Published on: July 20, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

Paraquat1-300x200 As the number of claims filed continues to multiply, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ordered all paraquat lawsuits to be consolidated. The paraquat multidistrict litigation, MDL No. 3004, will be administered by the Honorable Nancy J. Rosenstengel at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation’s decision indicates that paraquat lawsuits are rapidly building momentum and could soon develop into a mass tort.

How Is Multidistrict Litigation Beneficial?

When personal injury or product liability cases affect large numbers of plaintiffs, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation can implement special pretrial proceedings known as multidistrict litigation. In which multiple claims sharing common legal issues are provisionally combined and moved to a district court. The chosen district court supervises the discovery and pretrial litigation for the group of cases. Multidistrict litigation helps conserve resources while supporting consistent court rulings for different claims involving similar matters of law. By eliminating duplicate discovery demands, depositions, and other pretrial procedures, they help streamline cases. Upon completion of pretrial proceedings, several lawsuits may be designated to serve as bellwether trials. The judgments from the bellwether trials often serve as a basis for possible settlement amounts in the remaining claims. Unsettled lawsuits are transferred back to be tried at the courts of original jurisdiction. While the issues surrounding the plaintiffs’ injuries are similar, the injuries can vary in severity. Thus, multidistrict litigations provide victims with an opportunity to address the nature of their damages independently.

Civil Trials Have Resumed After COVID-19

Published on: July 13, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

COVID-COURT-300x200 After being halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, civil jury trials resumed throughout the state on March 22, 2021. For over fifteen months, courts were forced to drastically minimize their operations and transform legal proceedings into video-linked virtual conferences. All 16,000 members of New York State’s Judiciary have returned to their respective courthouses and other judicial facilities. However, courtrooms were forced to adopt a much different look than before COVID.

How To Expect Courtrooms To Look Under The ‘New Normal’

The return to full staffing does not mean reverting to densely crowded courtrooms and trials. Through advanced remote technology, the number of people physically present in court is substantially limited. Virtual appearances using Microsoft Teams and telephone conferencing have been implemented to hear all matters that do not require the physical presence of attorneys and litigants. Court appearance notifications and meeting invitations are used to inform litigants of their appearance schedules.

Is Raiser LLC The Actual Defendant In Car Accidents Involving Uber Or Lyft?

Published on: July 6, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

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Car accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers happen more often than you would think, and there are some important details that you should know. Given the complicated organizational structures of some ride-hailing services, it may be challenging to determine what parties to name in the lawsuit.

What is Raiser LLC?

Uber drivers are frequently misguided about what company hired them, whom they drive for, and who pays them. Due to numerous legal issues, such as class action lawsuits, Uber formed a separate company called Raiser LLC to handle its drivers. Raiser is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber and a key component of Uber’s corporate structure. Uber drivers are technically independent contractors for Raiser. As such, Raiser manages all of the official payments to Uber drivers. Having a subsidiary deal with all driver-related matters was designed to shield Uber from direct litigation. If you, or a loved one, were critically injured in an accident caused by an Uber driver, this organizational structure could play an essential role in your claim. When accident victims want to pursue litigation against Uber, they should always name Raiser as a party to the lawsuit.

Changes To The Uniform Rules And Their Impact On Attorneys’ Practices

Published on: June 29, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

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Chief Administrative Judge Larry Marks issued Administrative Order 270/2020, which implemented considerable modifications to general civil practice in New York Supreme Court. Overall, there are nearly 30 rules that have been adopted into the Uniform Rules. Many of these new rules or variations were derived from the existing rules and procedures of the Commercial Division.

Highlights of the Recent Changes to the Uniform Rules

Some of the most noteworthy changes to the Uniform Rules include the following:

The Most Common Violations Of Vehicle And Traffic Laws

Published on: June 22, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

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At a minimum, all drivers are expected to obey New York State’s Vehicle and Traffic Laws and exercise reasonable care to avoid any accidents. While getting a ticket can be frustrating, traffic violations can lead to severe accidents and resulting injuries. When drivers violate the law and collisions result, they can be found negligent per se. Although there is no foolproof way to avoid every accident, driving cautiously and obeying traffic regulations is the best way to keep you and others safe.

Avoiding Five Highly Prevalent Traffic Violations

Speeding: Traveling over the speed limit is the most common traffic violation. Speed limits exist to prevent accidents and save lives. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were nearly 9,400 victims who suffered speeding-related fatalities in a single recent year. It is important to remember that speed limits are the maximum rate you can travel by law. It is also imperative not to drive too fast for the given road conditions.

The Use Of Technology In Personal Injury Trials

Published on: June 15, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

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You have probably heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” This saying could not be any more accurate, especially at trial. The evidence at court and how it is presented could mean the difference between winning and losing. The rise of technology has undeniably made it easier to demonstrate how an accident occurred. Consequently, lawyers have increasingly relied on technology to help substantiate evidence in front of juries.

Tools for Presenting A Strong Case

Some types of cutting-edge technology that personal injury attorneys use to present compelling cases at trial include:

Impact Of A Personal Injury Settlement On SSDI And SSI Benefits

Published on: June 9, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

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Personal injury lawsuits allow victims to seek vital monetary compensation for economic damages, such as hospital bills, lost income, and property damage, as well as non-economic damages, such as diminished quality of life, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. Depending on the severity of the victim’s injuries, these types of cases can result in substantial settlement amounts. However, accident victims are often concerned about whether obtaining settlements will impact their disability benefits.

Will a Personal Injury Settlement Trigger the Loss of SSDI Benefits?

Fortunately, Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are usually not affected by personal injury settlements. These benefits are determined based on the claimant’s employment history. Those that have qualifying disabilities can become eligible for SSDI benefits by accruing enough work credits. An individual earns work credits throughout the course of their employment. A personal injury settlement cannot alter said credits. Therefore, personal injury compensation should not have any direct consequences on your SSDI benefits.

Car Accidents Involving Elderly Drivers

Published on: June 1, 2021 | By Dietrich Law Firm P.C.

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In a single recent year, over 45 million licensed drivers were at least 65 years old in the United States. While driving helps provide elderly drivers with freedom and independence, the dangers of being seriously injured or worse in a car accident dramatically increase with age.

Older Drivers Face an Increased Risk of Suffering Deadly Crashes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 20 elderly adults suffer fatalities every day, and nearly 700 are injured in crashes. Drivers who are 75 and older have considerably higher crash fatality rates than middle-aged drivers. This can be primarily attributed to the heightened vulnerability of suffering serious injuries. As we reach advanced ages, various health conditions and disorders that can make driving problematic. Some health problems that might negatively impact seniors’ driving abilities include: