Queens Law Blog

Children Bullied at School – There IS Something You Can Do About it! CHILDREN BULLIED AT SCHOOL HAVE RIGHTS When I was a child, bullying at school was rampant, and there wasn’t much that could be done about it.  When parents complained that their child was being bullied at school, there were told things like “boys will be boys,” and that they should teach their child to be more assertive to deal with bullies.  We know now that bullying can lead to depression and even suicide, and there are now laws that protect children from this fate.  In other words, children bullied at school now have rights.  The U.S. Department of Health and human services defines bullying as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children,” and it must involve “a real or perceived power imbalance.”  It must be a recurring problem, not something that just happens once.  It can be physical, verbal or online (cyberbullying.) If your child has an unexplained change in behavior such as:

If you are the victim of a hit and run driver, you need advice from a Personal Injury Lawyer right away.  There may need to be an investigation into what insurance coverage applies and deadlines are tight.  For more information, see our article on HIT AND RUNS .

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About No-Fault The “New York Comprehensive Automobile Insurance Act,” which most people call the “no-fault statute,” was enacted in 1973 and went into effect the following year.  The purpose of the law was to limit the amount of personal injuries claims for car accidents, as many politicians had this agenda on their platforms. The no-fault statute was groundbreaking in that it provided for immediate payment for medical care, lost earnings and other reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of injuries from a motor vehicle accident.  The law provides that these expenses must be paid up to $50,000 per person. These payments are what’s known as “first party benefits” or “basic economic loss.” The reason it’s called no-fault, is that these payments are made regardless of fault.  If you lose control of your car and drive into a tree, you still get these payments. If your medical bills, lost earnings and/or out-of-pocket expenses t