Areas of Practice
Dog Bite / Attack
Owning a dog is a rewarding experience. With owning a dog you carry responsibility for its actions. It is not uncommon for a dog bite to cause serious injury. If you are a victim of a dog bite due to a negligent owner, you might you have the right to compensation for your injuries, medical costs, and damages. (I wrote this with inspiration from sites in other States. We may want to reword it to include a dog bite law specific to New York.)
School Accidents
Educational institutions are duty-bound to ensure the safety of their students, a responsibility that is both crucial and legally binding. Unfortunately, hazards within schools can sometimes lead to severe injuries or even tragic fatalities. In cases where a school's failure to implement necessary safety measures leads to harm or death of a child, the affected child is entitled to seek legal compensation. It's a common belief that schools are safe spaces for learning and development, but the reality of potential dangers cannot be ignored.
Products Liability
People can be injured by products they use in their normal daily activity or by tools they use at work. This is a very complex area of law. Some of the legal theories that may be used to obtain compensation for injuries due to a defective product are negligence, "tortious misrepresentation", and breach of warranty. Product Liability Amusement Park Accidents Automobile Defects Bridge Collapses Child Day Care Injuries Dangerous Toys & Playpens Elevator Accidents Negligent Security Premises Liability Slip-and-Fall Injuries Sports & Recreation Stairwell/Stairway/Uneven Steps Falls Stryker Hip Implants Drowning Accidents Unsafe Household Products
Railway and Airline Injuries
There are special laws that apply to those who are injured by trains, by airliners, and while on ships. Often these accidents are covered by federal laws rather than local state laws. Injuries range from food poisoning to wrongful death. If you or a loved one has sustained serious injury or wrongful death due to a train, an airliner or a ship, Schmelkin Associates, P.C. can assist you.
Medical Malpractice
When a doctor, hospital or other medical provider fails to provide a patient with treatment within the proper standard of care, that provider may be found liable for medical malpractice if the failure causes injury to the patient. Medical malpractice may take many forms, such as failure to diagnose a condition, a surgical error, birth injuries or improper doses of medication. If these departures from good and accepted medical practice cause injury to the patient, they are actionable.
Faulty Medical Devices & Drugs
Great advances are being made in drug treatment, medical devices, and implants. However, in some cases these things may cause injury to the patient. On a regular basis we hear in the media that medical devices and implants have not been properly functioning and have caused injuries to patients. The Food and Drug Administration, which supervises this area, frequently issues warnings or recalls of drugs and medical devices.
Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing homes are charged with providing proper care to their patients. Unfortunately, they sometimes put profit above care. Patients suffer as a result. Improper staffing levels and overworked attendants are often the cause of injuries to our loved ones in a nursing home. Some of the serious injuries that can occur are fractures resulting from falls, bedsores leading to ulcers and possibly fatal infection, injuries caused by dehydration or malnutrition, and injuries caused by physical and sexual abuse.
Workers Compensation
Many people who are injured on the job can obtain benefits under the Worker’s Compensation Laws. These benefits are obtained directly through the worker's employer. However, the worker who is seriously injured on the job may file a separate lawsuit against a third party who caused the injury. This may be, for example, an injury caused by a ramp improperly placed by a delivery company, an injury sustained due to a defective machine, or an injury sustained due to defects in a building caused by negligence.
Premises Liability/Building Accidents
People can be injured in slip-and-fall accidents and trip-and-fall accidents when they're inside a building. People can be attacked by assailants in a building due to a negligent lack of security. Tenants can be injured due to the landlord failing to repair and maintain the building properly. Children can sustain lead poisoning from old paint in a building.
Civil Rights Violated by the Police
Individuals are protected by certain sections of the U.S. Constitution as well as by other laws against improper actions by police officers and other people charged with enforcing the law. Encounters with police officers lead to false arrest, the use of excessive force, the negligent use of firearms or tasers, harassment, physical assault, stop-and-frisk and even death while in police custody. People involved in such altercations can sustain very severe mental and physical injuries - such as injuries to the eye from Mace or OC spray, neck and back injuries from the use of excessive force, fractures etc....
Motor Vehicle accidents
Accidents involving automobiles, buses, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and certain other vehicles are covered under laws that apply to motor vehicle accidents. Of course, sometimes pedestrians are involved in these accidents. In certain cases, medical benefits and a certain portion of other lost benefits are paid to them regardless of who is at fault.
Construction Accidents
In New York State there is a complex set of laws, rules and regulations applying to injuries on construction sites. The way in which the accident occurs determines which part of the law applies. The compensation provided to the injured person under these statutes is in addition to the compensation benefits that usually apply to people who are injured on the job.