Attorney Michael Leizerman is an authority on truck accident litigation, with experience in trying cases in courtrooms across the country. Whether as lead counsel, or while assisting local attorneys, Michael has years of experience in representing truck accident victims and their families against negligent truck drivers, carriers and brokers.
Outside of court, Michael has bolstered his reputation as being an advocate for truck accident victims by lecturing members of the legal community on trial strategies and other nuances of truck accident litigation. And, he authored a three-volume treatise, "AAJ's Truck Accident Litigation," a commonly used resource for attorneys preparing for an upcoming truck accident trial.
Or contact me online. All information is kept confidential. I will not accept a case in a state where I'm not ethically permitted under the circumstances.
Last month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released safety data from 2011, including the following: One-third of truck occupant fatalities occurred when occupant was not wearing a seatbelt; 64% of large truck fatal crashes occurred on rural roads; … [Read more]
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I am honored that West Thompson—the world’s largest publisher of legal books—asked me to write this multi-volume book on truck accident law in 2004. I had already begun the project for my own reference. My book includes the federal regulations that are the same in each state for interstate tractor-trailer crashes, as well as state law that differs in areas, like whether there are monetary limits or “caps” in the lawsuit, whether you can receive punitive damages, and the varying technical requirements for filing a lawsuit.
I have handled cases across the country. I am licensed in several states, and have local counsel in many states who I trust and work with closely. Select your state to learn more:
In a country where fatal and non-fatal truck accidents occur daily, New York holds one of the highest incident rates of any state. Whether on the busy freeways that serve as major arteries into and out of New York City, on the high-traffic roads within the city, or on the miles of highways that carry traffic to destinations in Upstate New York and to the western border with Pennsylvania, truck accidents continue to be deadly for motorists in New York. Every year, more than 3,300 accidents occur on New York roads. Have you been injured in a truck accident? Has a family member been injured or killed in a collision with a commercial vehicle? If so, Contact MIchael today to ensure that your rights are protected against a negligent trucking company or truck driver.
I regularly engage in continuing legal education presentations around the country, including the following events in or near New York:
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (Title 49, Parts 350-399) govern all vehicles engaged in interstate traffic.
There are some situations where a tractor-trailer or other commercial motor vehicle is involved in only intrastate travel. For example, an appliance store in Ithaca may own a truck that only makes in-state deliveries.
The New York Department of Public Safety has adopted Title 49, Parts 382, 383, 384, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, and 399 of the federal regulations.
For an overview of laws that affect trucks operating only in New York, visit our New York Trucking Laws page.
Your truck accident case may be larger than you think. My experience often enables me to maximize awards, well beyond what the co-counsel originally expected. My book Litigating Truck Accident Cases, published by West Publishing, is considered the definitive work on handling truck accident cases. Contact me if you are seeking co-counsel on your case.
Fatal Truck Accidents: 150 per year
Non-Fatal Truck Accidents: 3,300 per year
Accident Locales: 40%(Rural), 60%(Urban)
Carrier Fact: 45% of New York's truck accidents involve carriers whose principle place of business is not New York.
In 80% of New York's truck accidents, weather conditions were NOT a factor.
Interstate 88: Contained entirely within the state of New York, I-88 runs from its western terminus at I-81 in Binghampton to its eastern one at I-90 in Schenectady and serves as a major link between Albany and Binghampton.
Interstate 87: Like I-88 (see above), I-87 is contained entirely within the state of New York. Its 333 miles run from The Bronx in the south to Champlain in the north at the Canadian border.
Interstate 90: Most of I-90's 385 miles are part of the New York State Thruway and run parallel to the former Erie Canal route. I-90 runs from the Pennsylvania border to Massachusetts border.
Interstate 495: This 71-mile stretch of highway is better known to New Yorkers as the Long Island Expressway or L.I.E. and connects Manhattan (through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel) to Long Island.
Interstate 81: Spanning 183 miles from the border with Pennsylvania to the border with Canada, I-81 links the towns of Binghampton, Syracuse, and Watertown along its way.
New York Thruway: Officially the Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, this highway is the longest toll road in America. Its 496 miles extend from the Pennsylvania border in the west, to Albany in the east, and New York City to the south.
