What are the DWI laws in New York?
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Nov 2, 2020 | Firm News |
New York law establishes three levels of driving under the influence. Driving while ability impaired charges result from blood alcohol content of 0.05% to 0.07%. BAC of 0.08% or higher carries the more serious charge of driving under the influence. BAC of 0.18% or higher constitutes an aggravated DUI.
Before going to court for a DWAI or DWI in New York, review the possible penalties for a conviction.
Maximum DWAI penalties
Drivers with no prior convictions could receive up to a 90-day license suspension, up to 15 days in jail and a $500 fine after a DWAI arrest. The second conviction in five years carries double the possible jail time, a fine of up to $750 and license suspension for up to six months. For a third DWAI in a decade, the driver could receive double fines, a driver’s license suspension for up to six months and up to 180 days in jail.
DWI penalties
A first-time DWI carries a minimum six-month license revocation, up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The second DWI conviction in a decade results in license revocation for at least a year, up to four years in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. For a third DWI, the driver could get up to seven years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine along with a 12-month license revocation.
Aggravated DWI penalties
An aggravated DWI carries license revocation for at least a year, up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. For the second such offense in 10 years, the person will receive doubled fines, license revocation for at least 18 months and up to four years in jail. A third aggravated DUI carries a doubled fine compared to the second offense, the same license revocation period and up to seven years in jail.
In addition to these charges, drivers who refuse a breath test are subject to additional penalties.
What can living trusts do?
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Oct 20, 2020 | Firm News |
Most Americans are aware that a will is one way of ensuring your assets go to the desired recipients after your death. However, fewer people are aware of what living trusts do and how powerful they can be in estate planning if used properly.
Almost every estate plan includes a will as a centerpiece, but many estate plans also benefit from the power of living trusts. According to Experian, living trusts can potentially help your assets avoid probate and estate tax.
How can a living trust help me avoid probate?
The first major variety of living trust is the revocable trust. With a revocable trust, anything that you put in the trust still remains your property, even though it is in the trust. You can also make as many changes to the trust as you like while you are alive. Upon your death, anything that you put in the trust will skip probate. Instead, your executor will be able to parcel out your assets according to your wishes with no interference from the courts.
How can a living trust help me avoid estate taxes?
The second variety of living trust is the irrevocable trust. With an irrevocable trust, anything that you put in the trust becomes the property of the trust. In this way, when you die the government will not be able to apply estate taxes to the assets in the trust. This is because the assets in the trust did not legally belong to you at the time of your death.
Depending on your specific needs, revocable and irrevocable living trusts can play a major role in your estate planning process.
Types of fall accidents and how they happen
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Sep 30, 2020 | Firm News |
Fall accidents can happen anywhere: In businesses that you frequent, at work and in homes, whether your own or others’. A fall accident can result in serious injuries such as bone fractures and traumatic brain injuries even if you only fall from a standing height.
There are different types of fall injuries, and the actions or inactions of the property owner can contribute to them. Occupational Health and Safety Magazine describes different types of falls that can occur anywhere, not just in the workplace. Here are a couple of the most common and the circumstances that can give rise to each.
Slip and fall
This is the most common type of fall. It can occur when your foot encounters a slippery surface and loses traction. This can happen due to a puddle on the floor from a spill or people tracking in moisture from outside. The property owner should make an effort to mitigate puddles from people’s shoes, clean up spills as soon as possible and alert patrons to the presence of slippery floors with warning signs
A slip and fall can also occur outside due to the accumulation of ice and snow. This can occur due when property owners fail to clear parking lots or walkways adequately.
Step and fall
This type of accident occurs when you are walking on a surface that changes height unexpectedly and you lose your balance as a result. This can happen due to an unrepaired pothole in the parking lot or an uneven sidewalk. It can also happen on staircases that are not up to code or have sustained damage.
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Sep 25, 2020 | Firm News |
As a New York construction worker, no one need tell you that you face many risks of injury or death every workday. But did you know that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration lists electrocutions as number three on their Fatal Four list?
It’s true. Electrocutions account for 8.3% of the nation’s construction deaths each year and 61% of the annual construction injuries. Perhaps these shocking numbers become more easily understood when you realize that, as Construct Connect points out, it takes only 50-100 milliamperes of electricity to kill you. Most common electrical tools, however, carry 15-20 amperes of electricity.
Electrocution statistics
Statistics for construction electrocution deaths reveal the following:
- Men between the ages of 35 and 44 account for 30% of them
- Construction laborers account for 25% of them
- Construction site electricians account for 19% of them
Electrocution causes
Keep in mind that not all electrocutions result in death. You can sustain serious electrical injuries and burns from any of the following:
- Frayed or damaged electrical cords
- Ungrounded electrical cords
- Malfunctioning electrical tools
- Improperly maintained electrical tools
- Improperly attached extension cords
Electrocution aftermath
Burns are the most common injuries suffered in electrocution accidents. Many of these result in your spending significant time in your hospital’s burn unit undergoing extremely painful debridement treatments and skin grafts. Your medical costs likely will skyrocket at exactly the same time when you must take a lengthy leave of absence from your job in order to recuperate to the greatest extent possible.
Electrical burns represent catastrophic injuries. Unfortunately, despite the highest quality of medical care available, disfiguring scars may well cover a large part of your body for the rest of your life.
Avoiding car-bicycle collisions
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Sep 7, 2020 | Firm News |
Commuters of all kinds share New York’s roads, from large tractor-trailers to bicycles. On the road, you need to consider the safety of those around you, especially when bikes are present.
When cars and bikes collide, cyclists typically receive the worst of the damage, according to information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Serious cycling injuries may be difficult and expensive to treat. Recovery can take weeks, months or years. The cyclist may be unable to work during rehabilitation and permanent injuries may necessitate seeking a new line of work.
Solutions for auto drivers
There are three main danger zones when it comes to car-bike collisions. The first is the intersection, where you may not see a bike heading into your path before making a turn. Signal your intentions when approaching intersections and double check for cyclists before turning. Do the same for parking lots and driveways.
A second danger zone is beside a bike lane. Give cyclists at least three feet of clearance when you pass them.
A third danger zone involves parallel parking. Opening the door of a parked vehicle while a cyclist is passing can strike the cyclist or force the bike into oncoming traffic. Check carefully before exiting your vehicle and open your door slowly.
Solutions for cyclists
As a cyclist, you need to wear a helmet and follow traffic laws. Your main defenses are visibility and space.
Wear bright, reflective clothing and install a headlight on your bike. Signal your turns twice as long as you think necessary. Before reaching an intersection, make eye contact with drivers or wave to increase your visibility.
Slow down to give yourself extra space even if you have the right of way. When passing parked cars, ride more than a door length away from vehicles.
How to complete your estate plan
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Sep 4, 2020 | Firm News |
If you are like man people in New York, you understand the importance of having an estate plan. However, even if you have a will or trust in place, it may not be enough to adequately meet your needs. It may also fail to address issues that your loved ones may face in the event of an emergency.
Review your beneficiary designations
In most cases, your IRA, 401(k) or life insurance death benefit will be transferred according to instructions listed on a beneficiary designation form. It is important to review this form periodically to ensure that it still reflects your true wishes. If you have a trust, it may be possible to add or remove beneficiaries as events warrant.
Make your preferences known
A financial power of attorney form appoints an agent who can manage assets on your behalf if you are unable to do so. Appointing an agent before you become incapacitated eliminates the chance that a judge will do so for you if you are involved in an accident or experience a cognitive decline.
You can also appoint an agent to help oversee the medical treatment that you receive while in a coma or if you are otherwise unable to make decisions on your own. If you have any special funeral or burial requests, including them in your estate plan may increase the chances that they are respected.
Taking time to go through the estate planning process may be beneficial for anyone regardless of their financial or social status. An estate plan may ensure that assets get to their intended beneficiaries or that there is money available to help pay for a child’s education. An experienced attorney may be able to help you create or review estate plan documents.
Why are construction workers plagued by falls?
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Sep 3, 2020 | Firm News |
New York workers like you deserve a safe place for employment. Unfortunately, some industries are more risky than others by default. And even worse, there are some instances where risks already present in an industry are not addressed.
This seems to be the case for falls in the construction industry. The actions of others can keep you from being as safe as possible.
Fall injuries in construction
The National Safety Council keeps track of slips, trips and falls in workplace industries. Of these individual industries, the field of construction has the most injuries and deaths. 24,700 of the 48,060 injuries happened in construction. Likewise, 384 of the 697 deaths took place within the industry, too.
This cannot just get written off as a result of the heights at which you work, either. Many workers fall and suffer from injury or even death while working on ground level. So why do you face such an elevated risk?
The causes behind fall accidents
The unfortunate truth is that almost every fall incident is preventable. Most of the reasons for a fall could have gotten addressed long before the fall happened, and include:
- Workers not having access to updated safety training
- Heavily used or broken equipment not getting replaced
- Workers feeling pressure to put speed over safety
- A lack of emphasis on following safety protocol
- A lack of proper safety equipment
In many cases, higher-ups will try to force workers to churn out twice the work in half the time. While encouragement to buck safety standards is not always explicit, it is a feeling many construction workers pick up on. This and cutting costs by keeping old equipment are enormous factors in these potentially deadly incidents.
Exceptions to the Social Security disability rule
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Aug 25, 2020 | Firm News |
Social Security Disability payments are usually disbursed once a month to those who are unable to work because of an illness or an injury. The application process typically includes statements from a doctor that offer details about why a person is unable to work during the week. In New York and many other states, recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can work a certain number of hours each week or month as long as they don’t make over a certain amount of money.
After initially receiving Social Security Disability payments, recipients can go back to work to see if they are able to perform the duties that they did before. Payments are still made during this time until nine months have passed in order for the recipient to determine if the job can be performed with ease. If benefits are less than the amount set forth by the state, then the recipient can usually file for an extension to continue receiving payments. Recipients have five years to get their payments reinstated if they cease due to the individuals working during the trial period.
People who are on disability cannot make over $1,180 from working. There are a few deductions that can be made to offset this amount so that earnings are a bit lower, which could mean that the person can make more money each month. Transportation expenses, including cab services, can be deducted from monthly benefits as well as some utility payments that need to be made that are directly related to a disability.
After the application process is over, a recipient begins receiving Social Security Disability benefits but may not make enough to support his or her family. An attorney can review an individual’s income and his or her monthly expenses to determine if anything can be deducted. A lawyer can also examine the amount of the disability payments to see if any extensions can be applied for after working.
Distracted pedestrians run risk for injury
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Aug 24, 2020 | Motor Vehicle Accidents |
Drivers in New York are aware of the restrictions when it comes to using technology behind the wheel. The state bans all handheld phone use but not hands-free phone use, for example. In any event, distractions have become such a problem that there’s talk about banning texting even among pedestrians. Many pedestrians are dying because they walk while distracted.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that nearly 5,000 pedestrians were killed in traffic collisions in 2012, coming to an average of one death every two hours. An additional 76,000 pedestrians were injured that year: about one every seven minutes.
Common injuries among pedestrians
Distracted pedestrians may trip or veer off their path and suffer, for example, sprains or strains, fractures, bruises and cuts. Hitting their head, they may suffer a concussion or a more serious form of traumatic brain injury. Spinal cord injuries are not unknown either.
The risk of veering off the path is 60% greater among pedestrians who text while walking, according to a study from Stony Brook University. As everyone should know, multitasking will always lead to inattention.
Talking, email and games also pose a threat
All phone use distracts, including calling and sending emails. As for who runs the highest risk for injury while using a phone, that would be pedestrians under 25. Men are injured more than women.
When innocent pedestrians are injured
Not all pedestrian collisions are the fault of pedestrians, of course. If you were injured because a driver was distracted, drunk, drowsy or negligent in some other way, then you may be able to seek compensation from that driver’s auto insurer. This is where a lawyer would ideally come in. You may want to schedule a case assessment before proceeding.
The most frequent elevator and escalator injuries
On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Aug 22, 2020 | Personal Injury |
Many people use elevators and escalators on a daily basis. While these trips are generally safe, an average of 27 deaths and many injuries occur each year on elevators and escalators in New York and across the United States.
Closing elevator doors
Inspectors or maintenance staff will program elevator doors to shut slowly in order to not hurt anyone, but some of the most common injuries are from elevator doors closing on people. If the door shuts quickly and with a lot of force, someone could be injured. Regular close inspections of the elevator doors could prevent these injuries from happening.
Tripping
Elevators have a gap between the car sill and the landing sill, but these gaps are not always level. This can result in someone tripping and falling as they exit or enter the elevator. Over time, wear and tear on the elevator can cause these gaps to become larger and more hazardous.
Getting stuck inside
When people become trapped in elevators, they may attempt to get out and fall to their deaths. This is the most common cause of elevator injury that results in fatalities. To avoid this, building managers should be well-trained to handle stuck elevators and ensure that people follow appropriate evacuation procedures.
Escalator issues
It is very common for people to trip down escalators, fall over the rails, or get their toes or fingers caught. To prevent further injuries, the buttons on the escalators should be up to code so that the escalator will stop immediately during emergencies.
If you have been injured by an escalator or elevator, a personal injury attorney in New York may help you file a claim and potentially obtain compensation. An attorney may explain your legal options and identify the parties that are liable for your injuries.
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