Michaels & Smolak, P.C.

We are dedicated almost exclusively to personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice and legal malpractice cases in all of Upstate New York, with most of our cases being in Central New York, the Finger Lakes Region and Western New York. We also accept general civil litigation cases, and we do take some select cases from all areas of New York State.

Website: https://www.michaels-smolak.com/
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Michaels & Smolak, P.C. Blogs

Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

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Michael Bersani

Latest from Michaels & Smolak, P.C.

Ok, the headline of this blog was over the top.  Just trying to grab your attention!  If you have read this far, it worked! But we really are damn good at what we do.  I don’t usually blog about our firm (too modest!).  We like our results to speak for themselves.  (And do they ever:  Check them out here). If you look back at my past blog posts,  you will see they are about…
My law firm is one of the few – if not the only – law firm in the Syracuse area whose case load includes a significant amount of legal malpractice cases. Unlike some firms, we are not afraid to sue our colleagues when they “mess up”. Here I am going to talk about an important legal malpractice statute-of-limitations issue that we have been arguing. Two times recently, in two different courts, our clients’ legal malpractice…
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This has been a snowy February in Upstate, New York, especially in contrast to our January, which was green. More snow is predicted in the Finger Lakes and Syracuse area this week. So it seems like a good time for this New York car accident lawyer to review some safe driving tips for winter weather. In fact, the New York Times just published an article on this very subject. But what do they know?  They’re…
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One thing I love about my job as a New York personal injury lawyer is that I am always learning new things. A novel personal injury case walks in my door and I say, “wow, I didn’t know that could happen”!  But then I research it and find out that not only does it happen, it happens repeatedly. And it happens because someone, and not the poor injured guy, but rather a big, fat, rich…
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Holy Kamoli!  The weather gods sure dumped a lot of that white fluffy stuff on us last night here in Geneva NY!  I measured almost a foot and a half in my backyard this morning. But it’s not just Geneva – the whole State is blanketed, including New York City.  Nearby Syracuse, which is in the “snow belt”, got even more than us. Are you a homeowner?  If you are, you may be wondering whether…
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Decades ago, when I was just a baby NY personal injury lawyer, most of my personal injury clients came from lawyer referrals.  Those other lawyers knew that my firm concentrated  in the field of personal injury law.  Those lawyers had discovered from past referrals to us that we got top results even with difficult cases.  Those lawyers in turn would tell other lawyers about us, and our referral base grew and grew in Syracuse, the…
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Attorney Mike Bersani This is Dave Kalabanka, Mike Bersani’s partner, high-jacking his blog (again) to write about yet another award Mike has received for his outstanding work representing personal injury victims. Recently, I blogged about Mike being named “Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year” for 2021 by the publication Best Lawyers in America, which deemed him the “number one” ranked personal injury lawyer in all of the Syracuse metropolitan lawyer based on peer…
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Congratulations to my partner, attorney Jan Smolak, who recently settled a wrongful death case for $5,500,000!  Although I am not at liberty to discuss the details of the settlement, nor any of the specifics regarding the injury (we signed a non-disclosure agreement with the insurance company), I can say that Jan, once again, did an outstanding job. Such a large settlement for a motor vehicle accident case is unusual.  There are two reasons why: First,…
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The author in “virtual court” arguing an appeal As I write this blog post, I just got an appointment for my first COVID vaccine shot for February 6.  I am 65, just barely, which qualifies me for this early round of vaccines.  Lucky me! With the vaccine soon to be widely available, the pandemic lockdowns and distancing may (we hope!) soon end. This got me thinking about the post-COVID world.  In my little corner of…
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So, your New York personal injury lawyer is on the verge of settling your case.  Finally, many months or even years after your accident, you are going to get some compensation for your injuries, your lost income, your permanent disabilities, etc., etc., etc.  You know what I mean.  This has been the worst thing to ever happen to you. Now you see the light at the end of the tunnel. But wait.  Your personal injury…