Practice Areas
News
- $9 Million Awarded For Failing To Diagnose Spotted Fever
- Jury awards $16 Million for False Sex Abuse Claim
- Jury awards Cornwall crash victim's family $29.4M
- Wall Street Journal Reports Unacceptable Hospital Infections
- Stuff of nightmares: Criminal prosecution for medical malpractice
- Google the words "New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer" to see which attorney website comes up #1 on the 1st Page of Google
- Wal-Mart ordered to pay $1 Million to Florida Woman For Injuries
- $5 Million Awarded in Upstate Barge Accident
- Queens Jury Awards $19.6 Million For Traumatic Delivery
- Kings County Hospital Psych Patient Ignored To Death
Library
Medical Malpractice
- New York Medical Malpractice- Failure To Supervise Leads To Re-Breaking Bone
- Top 20 Reasons Not to Bring a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in New York
- NY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE- Improperly Placed Suture Causes Permanent Nerve Damage
- NY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE-Are Injured Victims Money Hungry?
- NY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE-Fetal Distress, Hypoxia & Anoxia- A case report
Wrongful Death Cases
- Kings County Hospital-Death in Psych ER
- NY Bus & Truck Accidents- Crushed in Chinatown
- Dead Man's Family Calls NY Malpractice Lawyer First Before Burying Him
- In Case of Death...Part 1
- In Case of Death...Part 2
Bicycle Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents In New York- Bicycle V. Car, Who Wins?
- My Bicycle Accident
- The 10 Most Common Car-Bike Collisions & How to Avoid Them
- Read about Gerry's recent bicycle accident
- My Bicycle Accident - A Detailed Account Of a Woman Who Didn't Care
Negligence Cases
- NY Accidents- Who is watching my kid at the pool?
- How To Get Compensated For Your Injuries Without Hiring a NY Lawyer
- Frivolous Lawsuits- Are They Fair Topics When Picking a Jury?
- Accidents: Slip & Fall on Snow & Ice- Can you get $$ for your injuries?
- Accidents: 10 Most Important Things You Need To Know If You Slip & Fall in New York
Car Accidents
- New York Car Accident Victim Loses Settlement Money After Government Steps In
- NY Car Accidents- "Can I Still Sue If I Didn't File A No-Fault Claim?"
- NY Accidents- "Is there a maximum amount of money I can recover for my injuries?"
- NY Car Accidents- "If I sue the driver of the car that hit me, will he lose his license?"
- NY Accidents- "If I'm a teenager in NY, can I bring a lawsuit on my own?"
Legal Advice for New Yorkers
- Gerry's 2007 Updated Law Guide for New Yorkers
- 10 Things Your New York Medical Malpractice And Personal Injury Lawyer May Not Tell You
- How New Yorkers should decide on an Injury Attorney
- 10 Things You Absolutely Need to Know to Start a Lawsuit
Actual Deposition Testimony of Doctors in Malpractice Cases
- Orthopedist Fails to Properly Set Fracture
- Surgeon Tied Off Ulnar Nerve While Repairing Laceration
- Orthopedist Fails To Diagnose Hip Infection Leading to Hip Replacement
- Podiatrist Improperly Performed Foot Surgery
- Foot doctor tries to explain away child's burn injuries from a cast cutter
New York Injury Times- our new newsletter
- June-July 08'-The True Cost Of Permanent Injuries/ Bike Accidents/ Trivia Game/ A Contest/ Bonus Story You Don't Want To Miss!
- March April May 08' Newsletter
- February 2008 NY INJURY TIMES NEWSLETTER
- 2007-2008 HOLIDAY EDITION OF NY INJURY TIMES!
- FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS- ARE THEY FAIR GAME DURING JURY SELECTION?
General
How To Get Compensated For Your Injuries Without Hiring a NY Lawyer
1. Know the law.How do you do that? Go to law school for three years. Then take a rigorous written examination that consists of essays and multiple choice questions over two days. Once you complete that, sit before a "Character & Fitness Committee" to see if you have the moral fiber and characteristics to be a good lawyer. Then take ongoing continuing legal education classes each year to confirm that you are 'up-to-date' in your current legal knowledge.
2. Become an expert in personal injury law.
How do you become such an expert? Practice personal injury law for ten to twenty years. You need to find an experienced lawyer who has done this kind of law for twenty to thirty years and learn everything you can from him. Volunteer to work for free if he can't afford to pay you. Do court appearances for him and other attorneys in order to pay your rent. Learn to do depositions, which are question and answer sessions where you try to learn everything you can about the people your clients have sued. Help the experienced lawyer with his trials. Do legal research, interview witnesses, sit in on jury selection, carry his bags and listen in as he prepares his client for trial. Importantly, listen in as he negotiates with claims examiners and other lawyers. Take those best traits and adopt them as your own. Use your own personality to bring out those good lawyerly traits. Learn what the values are for similar injuries in similar venues. Read legal publications and contact the leaders in that field.
3. Learn how to be your own boss.
Don't rely on anyone else. Learn how to do legal research and see what the legal issues are in your accident case. Speak to law school professors for some free legal advice- if they're willing to give you their time. Learn how to handle trials involving personal injury cases. Learn how to say "No" to a claims adjuster if the offer to settle is less than what you feel the case is worth.
What's the moral of the story?
You can certainly handle your injury claim on your own. You can also give a sworn statement to the insurance adjuster and give up any rights you have to the insurance company. You can also agree to some meager settlement offer that the insurance company throws at you to make your claim go away. You don't need to hire an attorney to represent you to do that. You can destroy your rights and your case all by yourself. You can walk away from that situation feeling confident that you've saved a ton of money since you didn't have to give some lawyer 1/3 of your compensation.
On the other hand, think about what an experienced New York personal injury attorney does for a living. He does everything he can to achieve the best result for you. His fee is tied directly to how well he does for you. This is called a 'contingency fee'. That means his fee is based only on what he gets for you. It's in his best interests to get the most money possible for you. The more he is able to obtain for you, the more money he receives as a fee. The less he gets for you, the less the lawyer gets. In the State of New York, if you get nothing, your lawyer gets nothing.
So, do you need an attorney to handle your accident claim? No. But before leaping to the first or second offer that the insurance company offers, think about whether an experienced New York injury lawyer could get you substantially more money and justify his fee with that extra money he might be able to obtain for you.
As a final thought...if your loved one needs surgery, are you going to go to the library and learn all about the anatomy and read all the books on how to perform surgery, or are you going to go to an experienced surgeon who has done this operation thousands of times?
The choice in law, as always, is up to you. Choose wisely.
Quick Contact
The Law Office Of Gerald Oginski, LLC
25 Great Neck Road
Suite 4
Great Neck, New York 11021
Phone: (516) 487-8207
Videos
Medical Malpractice:
- New York Medical Malpractice: 5 Reasons Why Your Case Won't Be Accepted By a Malpractice Lawyer
- In Case of Death...Part 2
- New Medicare Rules-What Every NY Malpractice Victim Needs To Know
Wrongful Death Cases:
- In Case of Death-Part 1
- In Case of Death-Part 2
- Wrongful Death - Questions Never To Answer At A Deposition in NY
Bicycle Accidents:
Negligence Cases:
Car Accidents:
- Can You Get Away With A Little White Lie At Trial?
- NY Car Accidents- Driver Distractions Cause Accidents
- NY Car Accidents- Speed, Time & Distance- Why they're important
