Our personal injury team has handled thousands of cases covering the full spectrum of injuries. We use our many decades of legal experience to help those unfortunate people who have sustained life-altering injuries and losses.
We cover all forms of personal injury, including accidents on the road, pedestrian accidents, injuries at work, wrongful death, construction accidents, motorcycle accidents, falls, and liability. We also have a lengthy history with all types of negligence claims along with many successful jury verdicts.
We use our experience and determination to guide us through the challenging process of obtaining the just compensation our clients are entitled to. Our lawyers have several multimillion-dollar cases to their names, including a $3.6 million dollar settlement for a man crushed in a construction accident a $2.6 million verdict of medical malpractice (failure to diagnose prostate cancer), and a $1.9 million settlement for a pedestrian/motor vehicle accident.
We should be involved in a personal injury claim early so as to conduct a full and thorough investigation. Too often, insurance companies begin investigating and minimizing their exposure immediately on notice of a claim. We want to become involved quickly to counteract the insurance company’s efforts and make sure all our client’s rights are protected and they get the maximum recovery they deserve.
We make certain that our clients have the ability to collect fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries.
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
CAR ACCIDENT
We represent plaintiffs in personal injury litigation matters. Accident injuries can leave a negative impact on your life well after a car crash. In fact, car crashes are among the top causes of life-altering injuries and deaths in the New York City metropolitan area. If you suffered an injury in an auto accident, speak to an attorney at Lerner, Arnold & Winston LLP.
Our firm has offices conveniently located in the heart of Manhattan, Long Island, and New Jersey. Contact us to schedule a free case evaluation with a car accident attorney today. You will not pay any attorneys’ fees if you do not recover money damages in a settlement or jury award.
TRUCK ACCIDENTS
Truck accidents are one of the leading causes of some of the most catastrophic injuries. In New York City, there are thousands of large trucks, semi-trucks, commercial vans, and buses involved in crashes every year. Due to the size and weight of these vehicles, they can put other drivers on the road at risk of suffering life-altering injuries in the event of an accident.
DRUNK/DRUGGED TRUCK DRIVERS, TRUCK DEFECT/MALFUNCTION, TRUCK DRIVER FATIGUE,
TRAILER FAILURE, UNSAFE LOAD, TRUCKING COMPANY NEGLIGENCE, GARBAGE TRUCK ACCIDENTS
It is possible that the truck driver, the owner of the truck, or the company that the truck driver works for could all be potentially liable for your injuries. If you sustained injuries or lost a loved one in an accident involving a large truck, semi-truck, commercial van, or bus in New York, you should have an experienced lawyer representing you. Call us at (212) 686-4655 for a free case evaluation.
BICYCLE ACCIDENTS
Bicycles are a common means of transportation, recreation, and exercise in New York City. Delivery drivers, messengers, and others are put at risk by the hazards they are exposed to on New York roadways. Bicyclists must ride with a certain level of trust in motor vehicle operators and for the professionals responsible for road maintenance. Each day, bicyclists are left with catastrophic injuries as a result of roadway defects and reckless drivers.
LET US HELP YOU
Individuals injured in bicycle accidents face peculiar legal challenges under New York laws, which ultimately require specific legal knowledge and experience. Lerner, Arnold & Winston LLP have years of experience handling bicycle accident claims across all 5 boroughs of New York City and beyond. Call our office for your free consultation. You can also fill out our email contact form to request a return phone call about your case.
MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS
New York regulations can certainly complicate the process of recovering compensation for injured motorcyclists, especially since insurance carriers are aware that the general population has a position that bikers assume risk each time they ride. It is therefore important for injured riders, or loved ones acting on their behalf, to retain a lawyer with experience handling these types of claims. We make certain that our clients have the ability to collect fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries. Contact us early on so as to conduct a full and thorough investigation.
PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS
Each year, there are thousands of pedestrians injured or killed in car accidents in New York City and throughout the State. Reckless, negligent, and distracted drivers operating trucks, cars, taxis, and buses pose serious dangers to even the most alert pedestrian observing traffic rules. Pedestrian accidents include:
– Failure to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
– Failure to yield at a stoplight or stop sign
– Backing vehicle in parking lot or out of driveway
– Driving while drunk
– Driving while exhausted
– Driving while distracted & texting
– Left Hand Turns
– Driving in a hurry
Attorney Charles Martin Arnold aggressively represents plaintiffs suffering injuries or the loss of a loved one involved in a pedestrian accident throughout New York City and the rest of the State. Contact us to schedule a free case evaluation now.
RIDESHARING ACCIDENTS
For-hire-rideshare services have become some of the most widely used methods of transportation in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and beyond. If you have sustained injuries in an Uber or Lyft accident, our firm is prepared to negotiate with the insurance companies on your behalf and take your matter to court if necessary. Ride-share drivers tend not to have sufficient training or insurance coverage should an accident occur, so it is important you have a skilled lawyer to navigate through the process.
Ride-share accidents can fall into numerous scenarios:
– You were driving your own vehicle and were struck by a rides hare driver.
– You were a pedestrian struck by a rideshare vehicle.
– You were a bicyclist struck by a rideshare vehicle.
– You were a passenger in a rideshare vehicle and you were involved in a collision
NEW YORK BUS ACCIDENTS
Thousands of people are killed or seriously injured in accidents involving buses. Unfortunately, a large number of these accidents are the result of negligent bus drivers and their employers. In bus accident cases, it is important to be fully knowledgeable as to the type of bus involved in the accident and the equipment installed into it. In order for a bus accident case to be successfully litigated, it needs an experienced attorney with intimate knowledge of the laws and rules affecting buses.
FREE CONSULTATION - NO FEE UNLESS WE WIN
We can provide you with a thorough assessment of your claim and guide you through the next steps in the legal process. We are proactive and hands-on in managing all aspects of bus accident cases. We want you to focus on your health while we focus on the legalities.
Motor Vehicle Accident
$140,000
$100,000
$50,000
$237,500
$350,000
$250,000
$330,000
$250,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
Taxi accident in New York County
$600,000
Success Stories
LAW partner Charles Arnold successfully represented an individual that was nearly crushed to death by falling construction equipment. The injuries included compartment syndrome, crush injuries, surgery, and traumatic brain injury. The case was incredibly complex and led to several years of litigation in the State Supreme Court before it was successfully settled.
LAW Partner Charles M. Arnold represented a 23-year-old pedestrian who suffered multiple broken bones, surgeries, and permanent neurological injury. The case involved an intersection collision involving an NYPD vehicle and a private van. The victim, a pedestrian, was completely innocent walking to the subway with the traffic lights. The case was nevertheless quite challenging due to the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law provisions granting police vehicles special privileges and requiring injured plaintiffs to show recklessness. However, due to Mr. Arnold’s extensive knowledge of NY Vehicle and Traffic Law and tireless investigation of every detail of the accident, the defendants were still forced to settle the case before trial.
LAW partner Charles M. Arnold represented a federal law enforcement officer who sustained career-ending injuries in a motor vehicle accident at JFK airport. LAW attorney, Charles M. Arnold, successfully represented this client after another firm initially handling the claim recommended acceptance of an unfair, inadequate settlement offer in the amount of $100,000. Mr. Arnold thereafter commenced suit in federal court. He litigated the entire case and negotiated a substantially higher settlement in lieu of a federal court trial.
LAW successfully represented a deli and bakery manager for a major NYC food chain who was seriously injured when an NYC sanitation truck hit the car she was riding in from behind. The client was left unable to return to the job she loved and faced significant future limitations due to her injuries. Liability was established before trial, necessitating only a trial to determine the extent of her damages. LAW attorneys, Charles M. Arnold and James M O’Connor successfully negotiated a fair and reasonable settlement just prior to trial with the City of New York in the amount of $1.5 million dollars.
A young, autistic adult was struck by an automobile while crossing the road to get to work one morning. He suffered serious head injuries and required extensive surgery and treatment. Despite the fact that the client had no memory of the accident LAW attorneys Charles M. Arnold and James O’Connor were able to build a strong case of negligence on the part of the driver of the automobile. The case settled for a fair and reasonable amount only after all investigations and discovery was complete and the case was set to go to trial in Nassau County a venue notoriously difficult for personal injury plaintiffs.
LAW partner Charles M. Arnold successfully tried a case in Manhattan against the City of New York, ConEdison, and American Transit Insurance Company (NYC Taxi insurance carrier). The case involved a New York City taxicab, carrying two passengers, that crashed into concrete “jersey barriers” placed in the roadway outside of a ConEdison facility on W66th Street. Despite the fact that both innocent passengers sustained serious injuries, the defendants fought the case through trial. LAW attorney Charles M. Arnold successfully obtained a judicial finding of liability against all three defendants in the appellate court. He thereafter tried the case to verdict in Manhattan obtaining a jury verdict just shy of $1 million.
In New York County Supreme Court, after an inquest trial, Plaintiff was awarded the amount of $853,177 arising from a trip and fall accident in the vestibule of her apartment building where she suffered a left ankle injury with impingement, a left foot Hallux valgus deformity, and a post-traumatic right knee chondral injury. The defendants attempted to avoid the claim through default and LAW partner Frank P. Winston collected the entire judgment for the client.
We represent owners of homes, businesses, and commercial property who have suffered significant property damage and seek compensation from either their insurance carrier or the party responsible for the loss. We will hold your insurance carrier responsible if they wrongfully denied all or part of your claim. We will take action against your insurance broker if they did not write you the coverage you requested or failed to provide you with the most comprehensive coverage available. We will also pursue those individuals or parties whose wrongful actions caused your loss.
We will use our vast experience and our wide network of consultants to ensure your property damage is carefully quantified to maximize your recovery. We work closely with building consultants who will fully evaluate the entirety of what it will cost to restore or replace your damaged property. We also work with engineers who can help determine what caused your loss and whether another party’s wrongful conduct was responsible. If your business has lost income as a result, we will help you quantify those damages and present that claim. We will work closely with you to help you fully quantify all damage you sustained as a result of your loss.
We accept referrals from public adjusters who represent insureds whose claims have been denied or delayed. We are proud associate members of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) and the Professional Public Adjusters Association of New Jersey (PPAANJ). We will always protect the public adjuster’s fee upon referral.
Success Stories
LAW partner Frank P. Winston represented a Bronx property developer in an action involving property damage, caused by adjacent construction, to two (2) residential apartment buildings. The Plaintiff received a total of $2.18 million in the resolution of its claims. The award included $528,952 paid by the insurance company during LAW’s representation of the Plaintiff prior to suit and $1.66 million paid arising from successful mediation. The award represented compensation not only for the damages sustained to the subject buildings, caused by adjacent property construction at 630 Concord Avenue, but also for tenant relocation costs, lost rent, interest on construction loans, and lost tax credits.
LAW partner Johnathan Lerner recovered $2.1 million in damages on behalf of his client whose property sustained significant water damage when frozen pipes burst as a result of inadequate winterization of the plumbing system. Mr. Lerner successfully argued that the alleged “run down” condition of the property did not constitute sufficient evidence of a pre-existing condition that warranted exclusion from insurance coverage.
LAW partner Johnathan Lerner represented the owner of a two-family home destroyed by fire. The homeowner’s insurance policy had been transferred to a new carrier who initially took the position that, as a “life tenant”, the property owner was not entitled to homeowners policy coverage. However, during depositions Mr. Lerner proved that not only did the acquiring carrier have a full understanding of the “life tenant” status of the homeowner; they had in fact purchased an “entire book” of similar policies. Mr. Lerner also proved that the carrier’s underwriting guidelines specifically allowed the issuance of homeowner policies for life tenants.
In a case that took two years to satisfactorily settle, LAW partner Johnathan Lerner recovered $1 million on behalf of a packaging company client for flooding damage to the “property of others”. Under the commercial package provisions of the policyholder’s insurance coverage, the policyholder is entitled to recoup losses incurred to the “property of others” that is in the possession of the insured at the time of the sustained damage.
LAW partner Johnathan Lerner recovered nearly $1 million on behalf of a Long Island client whose home was destroyed during SuperStorm Sandy. Mr. Lerner successfully argued that damages sustained during the storm, and therefore “cause of loss”, were not simply the result of storm flooding but of resultant power outages in the area causing sewer backup and sump pump failure. Loss of power to a sewer plant in the area sent in excess of 100 million gallons of raw sewage into the bay and the channel where Plaintiff’s home was located.
LAW partner Johnathan Lerner recovered $750,000 in damages on behalf of his client whose business sustained significant business interruption losses as a result of a fire to one of its medical facilities. The case required the necessity to reach mutual agreement on calculating the amount of the business loss. The insurance carrier argued that the business would have incurred billing losses, regardless of the fire, since it had recently terminated one of its medical professionals and was unwilling to include said billing losses in the calculation of loss. Mr. Lerner successfully counter-argued that the business income would have increased as a result of the improved office environment and employee morale and therefore the fire impacted his client’s future business earnings potential.
A Monsey, NY homeowner suffered significant damage to his home as a result of the architect’s negligence in properly designing the 7,000 square foot residence. The “under-design” and inadequacy of the home’s support beams resulted in their movement causing damage to the home’s interior; necessitating replacement of several floors, walls, and ceilings. Steel support beams had to be installed in the basement of the home to prevent the entire first floor from collapsing into the basement. LAW partner, Johnathan Lerner proved liability and that the originally-installed support beams had been discontinued by the manufacturer. He successfully negotiated a $750,000 settlement for the Plaintiff.