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August 2020

Aug 26
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Show your local representatives why injured workers are so important and shouldn’t be forgotten about.

By Workers Compensation, Workplace Safety

                                                                                                                      

 

 

 

 

            Losi & Gangi wants to take the time to tell our clients, affiliates and friends how happy we are that you allow us to work for you. We appreciate everyone who lets us fight on their behalf when it comes to their legal matters. Whether you were hurt at work, hurt in a motor-vehicle accident, or slipped and fell, you shouldn’t be punished.

             The Injured Workers’ Bar Association on behalf of claimant attorneys, and injured workers across the State of New York has been fighting to correct the broken legal system we find ourselves in.

              Please read the information from https://www.protectinjurednewyorkers.org.  Next please go to the website and voice your opinion by submitting your electronic letter to the local representatives in your area. This will show the amount of people being effected by the below information, but most importantly shine a spot light on how injured New Yorker’s are being treated as a whole.

            Workers’ compensation payments, meant to serve as income protection for workers injured on the job, have been declining in New York since the 1990s. Legislative and administrative changes in 2007 and 2017 decreased workers’ compensation benefits and minimized employer costs, leading to its steady decline.

            New York was the first state in the nation to adopt an effective and efficient workers’ compensation system. Today, New York ranks 29th in workers’ compensation.

           While injured workers have been receiving low workers’ compensation benefits, if any at all, insurance companies have been making billions. A recent report by James Parrott at The New School found that insurance companies profited $1.6 billion from New York workers’ compensation in 2018 alone.

           We need a workers’ compensation system that works for Hard Working New Yorkers.

Legislative Bills currently being proposed are to help fix the protections that are supposed to be in place for injured workers.

  •   Bill A9900/S7850 would provide a hearing for every workers compensation case to allow injured workers to be heard
  • Bill A9955/S7954 would define temporary total disability as the inability to perform the job, in which injured, or a job offered by the employer that has been modified to meet the abilities of the injured worker
  • Bill A10472/8396 would enact the COVID-19 injured workers’ protection act to offer protections to workers who contracted the virus on the job
  • Bill A9920/S7726 would amend Section 35 (Safety Net) to define extreme hardship and apply it to cases with 50% LWEC
  • Bill A9924/S7751 would include a presumption of permanent total for those on social security disability insurance as a result of an injury or inability to perform sedentary work
  • Bill A10067/S7843 would provide a live verbatim stenographic record, make decisions issued in the native language of the injured worker, and make a hearing or stipulation required at the closing of the case

               These bills will make New York the leader it once was in protecting injured workers. With your support, we can ensure that all working New Yorkers have the protections they deserve.

                If you have questions about this article, please visit the website above. Contact our office at (716)-854-1446, if you want clarification on these issues and submit your letter to show your approval to take back your injured worker protections.

 

Aug 10
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What is Willful Negligence?

By Uncategorized

Negligence is caused by the failure to behave with the level of reasonable care that someone of ordinary prudence under the same circumstances.  This behavior usually consists of actions but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act.  Proving negligence is required in most claims from car accidents to slip and fall cases.  Negligence claims must prove four things in court: duty, breach, causation and damages/harm.

In order to win a negligence case, the plaintiff must prove these four elements to show that the defendant acted negligent:

  1. Duty – The defendant owed a legal duty to the plaintiff under the circumstances
  2. Breach – The defendant breached that legal duty by acting or failing to act in a certain way
  3. Causation – It was the defendant’s actions (or inactions) that actually caused the plaintiff’s injury
  4. Damages – The plaintiff was harmed or injured as a result of the defendant’s actions

Ordinary Negligence

A reasonable person requires individuals to act in the same manner as a reasonably mindful person would under similar situations.  Ordinary negligence is when an individual acts in a way that a reasonably mindful person wouldn’t. Under negligence law, it is required that individuals take a reasonable measure to protect themselves and others from danger.  Negligence law establishes a responsibility for reasonable care.  Any person who doesn’t follow this responsibility and harms another individual may be financially liable for any damages that occur.

Ordinary negligence applies to:

  • Ordinary claims
  • Catastrophic accidental injury
  • Defective products

Gross Negligence

Gross negligence is a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, which is likely to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm to persons, property, or both.  It is more difficult to claim or prove gross negligence because it involves:

  • Conduct that is a significant leap from the guidance by which a competent and reasonable person would act
  • A serious or high degree of negligence
  • Behavior which was taken out of line from a normal, reasonable person
        • Typical care is not taken
        • An absence of any kind of diligence
        • No care is taken whatsoever

Courts have characterized gross negligence as a reckless and unmistakable abuse of duty to the legal rights of others.  Under a wrongful death statue, proving gross negligence is mandatory in order to qualify for punitive damages.

Willful, Wanton, Reckless Conduct

Willful misconduct is considered further along the misconduct charts since willful misconduct is:

  • Intentionally or voluntarily committed
  • Reckless or intentional

When trying to prove willful, wanton, reckless behavior, a prosecutor will try to provide evidence that a significant harm was the result of the defendant’s actions. The two main differences between negligence and willful, wanton, reckless conduct are:

  1. The defendant intentionally or knowingly disregarded all risk
  2. The risk would most likely result in substantial harm

Plaintiffs looking to seek punitive damages from injuries must prove that the defendant engaged in willful, wanton, or reckless behavior.

Willful misconduct and gross negligence insurance policies vary by state, but the general terms say that acts of:

  • Negligence are covered
  • Gross negligence are not covered
  • Willful misconduct are not covered

If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, contact a lawyer, especially if you have missed work and have accruing medical bills.  Call our experienced team at Losi & Gangi today for a free consultation at 716-854-1446.

Article adapted from: https://www.upcounsel.com/willful-negligence

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