Category Archives: Firm News

Legally Speaking – Afraid To File A Claim?

As a 25-year attorney in the field of Workers’ Compensation, I have represented thousands of injured workers and heard all kinds of stories — many involving workers who didn’t file a Workers’ Comp claim for one reason or another. Some of the most frequent reasons I’ve heard from workers who get injured on the job and don’t file a claim include fear of getting fired, or intimidation by a system that seems cumbersome and hard to navigate.

First of all, it is against the law for an employer to fire you in retaliation for filing a Workers’ Compensation claim.  You should know that Workers’ Compensation is a no fault system. In exchange for timely payment of medical and indemnity benefits, workers gave up the right to sue their employer.   These laws went into effect in the early 20th Century as a result of social reform and tragedy.  While every state in the nation has some form of Workers’ Compensation laws, they all vary in scope and date of inception.  In New York, the pivotal event that culminated in the passage of Workers’ Compensation legislation occurred in 1911 after the horror of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, where 146 individuals perished — some burned to death while others leapt to their deaths when they tried to escape the fire and found the emergency exits locked.  This was a preventable tragedy caused by unsafe work conditions and was a catalyst for…

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Why The Republicans Should Not Cut Food Stamps

Facts about food stamps. Click on this image to see it full size.

Today’s post comes from guest author Paul J. McAndrew, Jr., from Paul McAndrew Law Firm.

I write about a debate now occurring in Congress in which the GOP is threatening millions of American families, including 200,000 Iowa households.  The debate is over food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”).

To understand the problem, we need only review the survey-report issued by the Department of Agriculture on September 4.  (Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Mark Nord, Anita Singh, “Household Food Security in the United States in 2012”).  The report shows that nearly 49 million Americans lived in “food insecure” households last year.  This means family members lack consistent access to adequate food throughout the year.  In short, 49 million Americans (over 16 times the Iowa population) went hungry for long periods in 2012.  Worse, children were found to be hungry in 10% of all U.S. families with children.  The agency found that hunger rates since the 2007 recession are much higher than before. 

Many people have a misunderstanding of this hunger; many think the hungry are the same persons who are homeless.  In fact, in most cases the hungry are persons who work at low-paying jobs or are disabled from work.

The GOP (mostly the House GOP) wants to cut food stamps.  Yet, food stamps have been the centerpiece of our country’s safety net for the poor.  Benefits are adjusted for income.  Recipients can use SNAP benefits only for food, notwithstanding Rep. Steve King’s assertion that he knows food stamps are used for bail and tattoos.  Nearly 48 million Americans now receive food stamps (about 15% of the approximately 314 million Americans), at an annual cost to us of about $80 billion.

No matter what Congress decides, food stamps expenditures will be reduced in November, when a provision in the 2009 stimulus bill expires.  House Republicans, however, propose Continue reading →

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We Support Brandworkers

Attending the 2013 Brandworkers Awards Dinner

On Wednesday October 16, several members of our firm attended the Annual Brandworkers’ Dinner held at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in NYC. Brandworkers was founded in 2007 by retail and food employees who identified a need for an organization dedicated to protecting and advancing their rights. The organization was launched based on a simple principle: that working people themselves, equipped with powerful social change tools, were uniquely positioned to make positive change on the job and in society.

By empowering retail and food employees with social change tools, Brandworkers’ Focus on the Food Chain and Legal Defense-Plus programs have recovered close to $1 million in unpaid wages and compensation for discrimination; improved working conditions for hundreds of workers; and have helped workers develop as powerful social change leaders.

We look forward to continuing our  support of their mission!

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Partner Matthew Funk To Be On The New York State Trial Lawyers Association Board Of Directors

Partner Matthew Funk

We congratulate Partner Matthew Funk on his selection as a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA). He will be installed to the board at a ceremony on Wednesday, June 26th. Matt has been practicing law since 1999 and became a partner at the firm in 2007. He is currently a member of the NYSTLA’s Legislative Committee, writes for the NYSTLA Decisions program and has lectured on numerous occasions focusing on workers compensation law.

Click here for more information on the installation ceremony and reception and to register to attend.

 
About The New York State Trial Lawyers Association
 
The NYSTLA was founded in 1953 by a group of trial lawyers who were concerned that New York had no forum for plaintiffs’ lawyers. Today, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association is a 4,000-member trade association.
 
NYSTLA assures that the wrongfully injured have full access to the civil justice system. The organization is dedicated to the preservation of the federal and state constitution rights to trial by jury. They fight to see that:
  • injured people are not barred from the civil justice system;
  • wrongdoers are not immunized from liability;
  • juries are free to determine the proper amount of compensation without arbitrary legislative interference; and
  • obstacles are not placed in the way of litigating all meritorious actions.

NYSTLA also supports proposals to increase available insurance. When needed, NYSTLA works at the federal level to assure that our clients’ rights are not limited by Congress. NYSTLA does not hesitate to use the courts to advocate on behalf of consumers. 

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6 Attorneys Named As 2013 SuperLawyers

Victor Pasternack, Barbara Doblin Tilker and Jordan Ziegler (top row). Catherine Stanton, Edgar Romano and Robert Saminsky (bottom row).

We are proud to congratulate each of Victor Pasternack, Barbara Doblin Tilker, Jordan Ziegler, Catherine Stanton, Edgar Romano and Robert Saminsky for being named to the New York Super Lawyers list as one of the top attorneys in New York for 2013. This is the 8th consecutive year Ziegler has been selected, the 7th consecutive selection for Tilker and Stanton, the 5th for Pasternack and Saminsky and the 4th for Romano. It is an honor to have so many or our attorneys on this prestigious list, as no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers.

Additionally, SuperLawyers has selected both Barbara Dolbin Tilker and Catherine Stanton as Top 50 Women Attorneys in New York.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.

The first Super Lawyers list was published in 1991.

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Catherine Stanton Interviewed About Medicare Set-aside requirements and the SMART Act

Our own Catherine Stanton was recently interviewed by host Alan Pierce for the May edition of Workers’ Comp Matters. The interview focused on proposed Federal legislation reforming the law regarding the Medicare Set-aside requirements as well as the recently enacted SMART Act.

You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

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Senior Partner Catherine Stanton To Be Honored At “Light Of Hope” Luncheon

Senior Partner Catherine Stanton

On Wednesday, April 10th at the Crest Hollow Clountry Club in Woodbury, New York, Senior Partner Catherine Stanton will be honored by The Education & Assistance Corporation (EAC) at their 13th Annual “Light of Hope” luncheon for being a steadfast supporter of EAC and their work with at-risk children, families and communities. If you would like to purchase tickets to the luncheon, you can do so here. If you cannot make it to the luncheon but would like to donate to EAC, you can do so here.

The keynote speaker at the luncheon will be Katie Beers, co-author of “Buried Memories: Katie Beers’ Story”. Twenty years ago Katie Beers was held captive in an underground bunker for 17 days. Her book, now on the NY Times best seller’s list, is the never–before-told true story of survival, memory and recovery after her abduction by a family friend in 1992 just before her 10th birthday. Because of Katie Beers’ case, EAC’s Suffolk County Child Advocacy Center at the Pat & Mary Bagnato Place for Kids was established, and continues to help hundreds of child abuse victims every year.

EAC’s 13th Annual “Light of Hope” Luncheon, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union, is considered one of Long Island’s premier business luncheons. Don’t miss this special opportunity to support EAC and to network with a diverse group of individuals from the business and private sector. Please join us April 10th, 2013 from 11:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. at the Crest Hollow Country Club to help make a difference in the lives of people in need.

The “Light of Hope” Luncheon will benefit EAC’s network of programs for people in need. Founded in 1969, EAC is a not-for-profit human service agency helping people throughout Long Island and the New York metro area. Last year our dedicated staff helped over 57,400 people.

Founded in 1969, The Education & Assistance Corporation (EAC) is a not-for-profit human service agency with a network of 70 programs throughout Long Island and New York City. Last year EAC helped over 57,400 people of all ages.

Among those we assisted were children who have been physically or sexually abused, senior citizens needing support, people struggling with substance abuse and/or mental illness, youth in the foster care system, persons on public assistance seeking financial independence, adults and youth who are under or unemployed, individuals needing help to mediate disputes and families in crisis.

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Senior Partner Edgar Romano Receives Highest Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™

Senior Partner Edgar Romano

Senior Partner Edgar Romano has received the highest Peer Review Rating™, AV Preeminent®, from Martindale-Hubbell®. This rating signifies that Romano’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

Keep reading below for additional information about the rating criteria.

 

WHAT ARE MARTINDALE-HUBBELL® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™?

The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada. The first review to establish a lawyer’s rating usually occurs three years after his/her first admission to the bar.
 
LexisNexis facilitates secure online Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings surveys of lawyers across multiple jurisdictions and geographic locations, in similar areas of practice as the lawyer being rated. Reviewers are asked to Continue reading →

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