New York law prohibits in-person or telephone contact unless the recipient is a close friend, relative, former client or existing client. The law also prohibits any form of communication relating to an incident involving potential claims for personal injury or wrongful death that are disseminated before the 30th day after the date of the incident, unless a filing must be made within 30 days of the incident, in which case no unsolicited communication shall be made before the 15th day after the date of the incident.

These ethics rules were put in place to protect you when you are most vulnerable and may not be able to make the best decisions. If a lawyer calls you after you have had an accident, don’t engage them. It is your right to report that lawyer to the local ethics committee for violation of the anti-solicitation rules and to help put an end to this practice. Personal injury attorneys are not well-known for the help that they provide to injured victims and attorneys that solicit injured people only adds to that reputation.

There are many qualified lawyers that can successfully handle your case, especially on Staten Island. Speak to a few different attorneys. Most offer a free consultation and you are under no obligation to sign anything. Ask them if they are familiar with your type of case, the attorneys qualifications and testimonials from past clients, and who will handle your case in the office. You should feel comfortable with your attorney as they will represent you through some difficult times, all the while advising you on the proper course of action.

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In New York, the law allows police to speed, run red lights and stop signs and even drive on the opposite side of the street as long as they are responding to a call with their lights and siren’s on. If they did not have their lights and sirens on and an accident happened, they would be negligent, just like you or I would be if we ran a stopsign. But the law allows police officers to be negligent, just not reckless.

Section 1104 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law relieves the driver of a police car from the duty to obey the otherwise-applicable rules and regulations governing the movement of vehicles, but does not relieve the driver from “the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others.” In a personal injury suit against the City of New York, you would need to prove that the police officer was reckless – meaning that the police officer would have to commit an act knowing that harm would follow and not care about the outcome. You would think that would be easy.

Unfortunately, the courts favor to the police officer. In a recent case, a police officer responding to an emergency failed to stop at a stop sign and entered an intersection with a four-lane highway. His view of the traffic was obstructed and he failed to see an oncoming vehicle, resulting in a collision. The courts said that the police officer “enjoyed a qualified privilege pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1104 which permitted him to disregard the ordinary rules of prudent and responsible driving.” Even though he couldn’t see other cars, the court said that the officer’s conduct did not amount to reckless disregard for the safety of others.

On Staten Island, we see too frequently police cars going through stops signs and red lights, not because they are responding to an emergency but simply because they feel they don’t have to wait like you or I. With the courts in their favor, and no one to police them, its just another danger that Staten Island residents have to be on the lookout for.

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