Brooklyn Legal Blog

New York: Tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

Schools in New York are required to have policies in place that cover bullying and what to do if there are bullying concerns in their school system. New York strictly defines bullying as harassment or actions that create a hostile environment through the use of threats or negative conduct. Some kinds of poor conduct that would qualify as harassment or bullying include abuse, intimidation and cyberbullying.

New York is special in that it recognizes cyberbullying as a type of harassment and bullying, specifically naming it in school policies. Cyberbullying is not limited to the internet. Instead, it can occur through any form of electronic communication including videos, phone calls and other services.

Don’t make these post-car accident mistakes

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.

Imagine driving through Brooklyn, minding your own business and simply trying to make it to work with enough time to grab an extra coffee from the vendor across the street before you clock in. Unfortunately, things literally go sideways when another driver runs a red light and plows into the side of your car.

Now, you will have to miss work, deal with car repairs and visit the nearest emergency room to take care of your injuries. If this has not actually happened to you yet, it could occur today, tomorrow or in a month. The best thing you can do is to be prepared.

"Never events" put patients at risk everywhere in the U.S.

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Friday, March 22, 2019.

Medical malpractice is a problem in the hospitals and clinics around the United States. It can be serious enough to cause fatalities or complications that leave patients in pain and struggling with their conditions. While some errors are not intentional, the reality is that mistakes and negligence can seriously harm patients, so providers have to be held accountable.

The majority of medical malpractice cases discuss the occurrence of never events. Never events include mistakes such as:

Wrong-site surgeries
Wrong-patient surgeries
Unintended retention of a foreign body
Wrong-procedure incidents

Getting workers' compensation as an undocumented immigrant

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Thursday, February 21, 2019.

If you are an immigrant living in New York and working in construction, you may be worried about your ability to exert your legal rights. It is common for undocumented immigrants to worry about getting involved with legal issues because they fear deportation. However, it is important to know that if you are injured as an undocumented worker, you may still have the right to claim workers' compensation under the law.

If you are an undocumented immigrant in the United States, you are not legally allowed to gain employment. However, in New York there is no statute that categorically denies illegal immigrant workers the ability to gain workers' compensation when they are working without authorization. If you want to gain workers' compensation to help you cope financially with the costs associated with your injury, it is important that you take action to understand more about the law.

Cyber-punks: When kids harass your child online

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

Bullying is something most children go through at one time or another. Children have to learn how to work together and get along despite differences, so there are bound to be conflicts along the way.

Bullying can have detrimental effects, though, especially on children who face several bullies or long-term bullying. Psychologically, and sometimes physically, bullying takes a toll.

Know the difference between fair and false imprisonment or arrest

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Monday, December 24, 2018.

A false arrest is a situation in which you allege that you were arrested without probable cause or without a court order. In a situation involving false arrest, you may be able to sue the police or the private security agents who held you without the right to do so.

With a false arrest, there is also the likelihood of false imprisonment. This is when someone detains you willfully without consent and without being in accordance with the law. For example, if you are stopped by the police for a tail light being out, the likelihood is that they cannot arrest you and detain you for that offense. There would need to be a more significant issue at hand to be arrested and detained.

3 types of bullying that you have to be aware of in America

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Monday, November 26, 2018.

Whether you're a citizen or you hail from another country, the reality is that everyone can be bullied. Children, in particular, are prone to being bullied. Schools do take steps to prevent bullying, but, often, they're not enough to stop the physical and emotional harm that comes to the victims.

It's important to know that children have rights, and they can take steps to protect themselves if they're being bullied. To address those cases, you first have to know what kind of bullying is taking place.

Knowledge of truck accidents can help keep you safe

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Tuesday, October 23, 2018.

No matter how hard you try to avoid commercial trucks, you'll always find yourself driving in close proximity to these large vehicles. As you know, this holds true both on city streets and highways.

Even if you attempt to share the road with commercial trucks and keep your distance, you could still be part of an accident at some point. Here are five tips you can follow to enhance your safety:

Don't drive in a trucker's blind spot
Never pass a truck in the right lane
Leave enough space when changing lanes in front of a truck
Be extra careful when merging into highway traffic
Don't drive between two commercial trucks

4 common construction site dangers to watch for

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Thursday, September 27, 2018.

As a construction worker, you are probably quite familiar with the dangers that you face at every work site. Working with scaffolding increases the risk of a fall. You have to worry about cave-ins when excavating or falling objects when your co-workers are doing work on a floor above you. And, of course, there are the dangers that come with working around cranes and the risk of falling loads or the crane itself toppling over.

However, after many years on the job, it is easy to become complacent and overlook the small but extremely dangerous hazards that lurk around every corner on a construction site. Here are a few reminders about common dangers that could cause a work-site accident.

How to help a child who is being bullied at school

On behalf of Friedman Sanchez, LLP on Monday, August 27, 2018.

When children and teenagers are young and innocent, the sting of a bully's words and fists cut deep. Adults know how damaging and scarring these instances are because they can remember them for their entire lives. This is why it can be terrifying to learn that your child is being victimized by bullies, too.

If your child getting bullied, here's what you can do: