White Plains Personal Injury Lawyer

Car Accidents

Our attorneys have represented car accident victims injured in many types of collisions. Often, it is critical to act quickly in a car accident case. Insurers often perform investigations immediately after an accident occurs and begin developing a defense against an accident victim’s claim. In New York, you must apply to your own insurer for no-fault benefits within 30 days after an accident. You can go beyond the no-fault system only in certain situations, such as when there are serious injuries. Mr. McMillan has obtained large awards for clients in many kinds of car accident cases, including cases involving pedestrians injured by drunk drivers and cases in which teenagers were improperly texting while driving.

Truck Accidents

Truck accidents can be particularly devastating, due to the weight and size of trucks. Often, there are multiple victims with catastrophic or even fatal injuries. Our White Plains personal injury attorneys have more than 25 years of experience representing clients in commercial truck crashes. You may be able to hold a negligent truck driver accountable for causing a truck accident, and you may be able to hold other parties responsible as well. This is important because usually trucking companies have substantial insurance coverage and owe certain obligations to the public, including a responsibility to make sure that a driver is adequately trained, is free of drug or alcohol abuse, and operates a truck safely. You may be able to hold a trucking company vicariously liable if a truck driver is negligent in the course of employment, and you may be able to hold a company directly liable for its negligence as well.

Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists do not have significant protections against the force of a collision. Often, they suffer serious or fatal injuries. When there is no other vehicle involved, you may be entitled to automatic payment of your medical bills through no-fault insurance. However, there are many situations in which it is possible to sue the driver of a larger vehicle who was at fault for a motorcycle accident, due to his or her negligence. Our personal injury lawyers can help White Plains residents and other victims navigate interactions with insurers and make sure that they are treated fairly.

Premises Liability

It may be possible to recover damages through a premises liability lawsuit if you are injured due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property. A property owner or operator must use reasonable care to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition to protect people whose presence is reasonably foreseeable. It may be possible to hold a property owner accountable if it had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition that caused your injuries. Dangerous property conditions could include slippery surfaces, broken steps, broken rails, rotting beams, and collapsing balconies.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents may arise due to snow or ice, slippery surfaces, uneven or cracked sidewalks, holes in the ground, inadequate railings, inadequate lighting, or improper drain covers. If you fall, you may be able to hold a property owner liable if its negligent acts or failure to act caused the fall. To establish liability for a slip and fall, you will need to show that there was a dangerous condition on someone’s property, the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition before your fall, and the property owner had enough time to fix the defect that caused you to slip and fall before the accident but failed to do so. Our White Plains personal injury lawyers can assist you with gathering evidence to prove each of these elements.

Construction Accidents

Construction accidents can occur for many different reasons, including falls from ladders or scaffolds, being struck by a falling object, being hit by a construction vehicle, exposure to toxic substances, and encounters with dangerous equipment. There are special laws that govern certain types of construction accidents in New York. Generally, your remedy for on-the-job injuries with regard to your own employer is to file a workers’ compensation claim for benefits. However, under Labor Law 200, contractors and property owners must give employees a reasonably safe workplace. All areas of a worksite should be arranged, constructed, equipped, operated, and conducted in a manner that keeps the worksite as safe as possible for employees and visitors. Under Labor Law 241, most contractors, owners, and managers are supposed to follow certain safety provisions to protect employees.

Ladder Accidents

Ladder accidents can result in catastrophic or fatal injuries. Medical bills after a fall from a height can be substantial. The personal injury attorneys at our White Plains firm have handled ladder accident cases involving slips, improper ladder placement, bent ladders, debris falling from above a ladder, missing rungs or footings, and slippery ground. Under Labor Law 240, when a construction worker falls from a ladder because improper safety devices were provided, and the injury could have been prevented, it may be possible to hold an owner, contractor, or subcontractor strictly liable for the injuries.

Scaffold Accidents

Scaffold accidents can cause serious injuries as well, particularly if you fall off scaffolding from a significant height. Labor Law 240 specifically protects you if you were injured in a scaffold accident. For example, if you are a painter or a power washer who fell off scaffolding because it was defective or broken, you may have a claim under this law. You can hold an owner, contractor, or subcontractor absolutely liable for a broken scaffold or for defective equipment that resulted in your falling off scaffolding if the fall could have been prevented had the owner, contractor, or general contractor not been negligent.

Nursing Home Abuse

Millions of people live in nursing homes. Unfortunately, many nursing home residents are subject to abuse or neglect. Often, nursing homes are understaffed, or the staff may not be properly trained. It is crucial for family members to look out for signs of nursing home abuse or neglect and to bring them to the attention of a personal injury lawyer in the White Plains area. Some nursing home residents who have been subject to abuse or neglect are unable to speak up for themselves. Nursing home negligence may involve wandering injuries, falls, medication errors, bedsores, dehydration, malnutrition, inadequate medical care, or overmedication.

Wrongful Death

It can be tragic and life-altering if a loved one dies. You may be able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit if a loved one dies because of another party’s actions. A legal representative of a decedent’s estate can bring a wrongful death lawsuit when a death is a result of neglect, a wrongful act, or default. A wrongful death lawsuit seeks economic damages, such as the decedent’s lost wages and lost services. You have a limited time within which to bring a wrongful death lawsuit, compared to bringing a personal injury lawsuit.

Workers’ Compensation

The New York State Workers’ Compensation Law establishes that benefits may be available when an employee is injured in the course of a job. Medical expenses are not necessarily automatically covered. Insurers may look for reasons not to cover medical bills, such as arguing that the injuries were not incurred on the job. Our attorneys are experienced at handling workers’ compensation claims arising out of situations such as vehicle accidents, falling objects, falls at a jobsite, construction equipment malfunction or misuse, or falls from heights.

Consult an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney in the White Plains Area

If you were injured in an accident that was caused by someone else, you should consult an attorney at the Law Offices of Stewart McMillan. We represent victims in Westchester County, New York City, and Southern Connecticut. Call us at 914.358.4326 or use our online form to set up a free consultation.

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