Cimasi Law Blog

Suffering injuries in an automobile accident can take a toll on your life in several ways. If involved in a car accident, the state of New York allows you to seek compensation for your losses. How you go about doing that and how long it will take depend on many things.

Every accident case is unique. There are times when people can reach settlement terms quickly, without having to go to court. There are also times when litigation is the only way to achieve maximum relief. No matter which way your case goes, seeking compensation all starts by reporting the issue with insurance.

Even being pulled over in a traffic stop is enough to make many Amherst residents nervous. They may feel as though they are obligated to answer any questions posed to them by police, and officers will not usually correct them. The fact is that the right to remain silent applies even before a person is placed under arrest, including during a "stop and frisk," during which officers have the right to briefly detain individuals when they reasonably suspect a crime was or is about to be committed.

Most everyone knows that, once under arrest, one has the right to remain silent and to talk to an attorney. However, there remains a gray area when it comes to exercising this right before an arrest. As far as the United States Supreme Court is concerned, there is no gray area, but when it comes to lower courts and appellate courts, some confusion continues to occur. Correcting this problem will more than likely take more people coming forward to complain about arrests resulting from the refusal to answer police questions prior to an arrest.

As is the case anywhere else, Amherst police often begin their investigations into motor vehicle accidents by questioning whether a driver involved was impaired at the time. If there is enough evidence to make police believe their suspicions are substantiated, then a driver could end up under arrest and facing DWI charges. Thereafter, police will conduct the remainder of their investigation into the crash, which could mean more charges for the alleged impaired driver.

For instance, a 33-year-old man was driving when his vehicle crashed. During the accident, the vehicle rolled and caused fatal injuries to a 38-year-old passenger. The other two passengers suffered serious injuries for which they were taken to a hospital in the area. When police arrived, they suspected the driver of intoxication and arrested him on that charge.

It is football season, and many people in New York take the sport seriously. They attend tailgating parties and games regularly, and sometimes, they get a bit out of control. When that happens, they could end up facing charges for disorderly conduct.

Like many other states, New York's disorderly conduct law encompasses a variety of behaviors. It serves much as a "catch all" when no other charge really fits the situation. For instance, an individual could face such a charge if he or she gets into a fight, threatens someone or is otherwise engages violent behavior that does not quite fit any other charge. It could also serve as an additional charge in those cases if the police accuse the individual of assault and/or battery.