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One of the most important things about practicing law and being an attorney is the fact that I get to continue a legacy that was started by my father.

I was very fortunate in that my father had a practice, and when I started out as an attorney, I worked for a big corporate firm in New York City for a year.

I learned everything in my life I did not want to do.

And I always share with young attorneys and young people in general that it’s equally as important to learn what you don’t want to do as what you do want to do.

And when I left that firm, I was going to get out of the law completely.

I loved working with kids. I thought I’d get into camping and working with children who go to camp.

My father was kind enough to sit down with me and say, “You know what? You’ve put in all of this time. Before you leave the law completely, why don’t we work together for a year?”

We were best, best friends. We didn’t want to jeopardize our relationship.

So we said if after a year we’re not happy, we’ll split and everything will be fine.

We were together for 17 amazing years, where he was kind enough to allow me to second chair him to sit in on his trials and learn.

And then he was kind enough to second chair me when I started my trial work.

And that situation and that scenario put me in a place where I got to not only learn things, but learn how to enjoy what I’m doing.

So I always tell people when they ask what I do, I say I’m a happy attorney because I actually still like representing people.

What still motivates me after all these years is still the ability to assist people who don’t have the knowledge or the capability of maximizing what they’re entitled to receive.

We represent many people where English is not their first language, or they are certainly not educated in the ways of the world when it comes to the law.

And to be able to ease their mind, to be able to sit down with them and for them to know that they’re talking to someone who cares, who listens, and oh, by the way, will also get them the most money that they’re entitled to get, that’s incredibly rewarding to this day.

What inspired me to focus my practice on injury victims was the idea of being able to help people.

I’m the daughter of immigrants, and I remember just the importance of having access to an attorney to guide you through a process, and it gave me great pleasure to be able to be that person for families in need.

Being bilingual shapes my work with clients in a way that I think it gives them a sense of ease in knowing that they can come and that I will understand their situation.

We’re not judging anyone, and it gives them great comfort to be able to speak in their native language and not have to rely on having to bring a family member to interpret for them.

The most rewarding thing in my career for me is being able to give people information when they are in a state of crisis.

Normally, people contact an attorney. It’s no one’s idea of a good time, and it gives me great pleasure to just ease their concerns, even if briefly, and just tell them everything is going to be okay and give them answers to basic questions that just give them a roadmap that they can follow, and that gives them a great deal of peace.

Every person who contacts our office speaks to an attorney directly.

Many firms, when you reach out, you get just a paralegal or just a receptionist, and while they may be very experienced, I think it gives a lot of assurance to the public that they know that when they call us, they will always get the attorney on the phone.

The most important thing I think people should know before they pick up the phone and call the office of Billy Cooper is that we take the time to listen and answer people’s questions.

One of the things that I get told most often, even if it’s a situation where we cannot take your case, is that we explain why.

We don’t just say, “No, you don’t have a case” and hang up.

We always give people an explanation.

We explain what the burden of proof is and the law that applies.

People are always most appreciative that we take the time to explain to them rather than just saying no.

A great outcome beyond the dollar amount is quite significant because after a case resolves, money only means so much.

In fact, I always have conversations with our clients indicating to them that money does a certain thing for you, but it can never make you feel completely whole.

What we try and do is we try and give our people the type of service where they know that even when the case is completed, we are here for them.

What makes our law firm different than other firms in New York is our attention to detail, and that we assist our clients with every aspect of their case.

We make phone calls to make sure that your medical bills are being paid.

We can assist you in finding medical care.

It’s beyond just a legal service. It is an all-around service that we provide.

If you have been injured in an accident or someone you know, whether it’s a family member or a friend, we ask that you reach out to us because we will speak with you and we will assist you.

People who are injured in car accidents in the state of New York are not always familiar with the law.

We have something in New York state that is called the no-fault insurance law, and interestingly, a lot of people think that that means that nobody can be at fault as the result of a collision.

That’s completely untrue.

What it really means is that no matter whose fault the collision was, there is insurance coverage to pay for your medical bills.

That alleviates fears for many people because oftentimes people are involved in the collision, they’ve had serious injuries, and their first question is, who’s going to pay for my bills?

I don’t have health insurance, or my spouse is out of work, and we can assure them your medical bills are covered.

That’s the first thing that we share with every client who contacts us, who’s in any type of automobile collision.

When we have a client contact us and they’ve been involved in any type of automobile collision, the first thing they really need to do is to document what went on in that collision.

In other words, you’re going to have police at the scene. You may have EMS workers, but oftentimes people don’t take photographs of things such as the damage to their vehicle, the damage to the other car, what is the position of the vehicles?

Those things can prove very helpful later on when an insurance company tries to challenge us and state that your client was in a certain place. We then have photographs to document what actually happened.

While we always go out and investigate, and we have wonderful investigators who can establish the facts, if someone who’s injured has the thought process to take some photographs and document the occurrence, it can really help down the road.

The most important thing that we do when we help a client who’s been injured is to address the full person.

And by that I mean when someone is injured, it affects every aspect of their life.

It can affect their job. They may be out of work.

It can affect the relationships that they have with their spouse or their children, or other family members.

It can affect their future because what happens to you today may not resolve within a week or a month.

You may have this for the rest of your life.

So we make sure that when we’re interacting with our clients, that we address the full client.

We address every way that this can affect their life in the present and in the future.

Construction accident cases are very unique in the state of New York.

In New York, we have something that is called the Labor Law, and the Labor Law is designed to protect the interests of workers on construction sites.

As we all know, when you’re on a construction site, there is danger everywhere. People are working at elevated heights.

There are numerous contractors and subcontractors.

There is a lot going on, whether it’s for an individual house, a commercial property, or a large building.

When a worker is injured on a job site, you absolutely must notify your supervisor, notify the general contractor, notify your coworkers, make sure everything is documented.

Oftentimes, OSHA will come in and do an independent review of the job site as well.

But when you are hurt on a job site, don’t assume that someone will make note of it.

Construction accidents are something that our office has focused on for more than 60 years.

Reach out to our office. You will always speak directly with me about what happened, and we will protect your rights.

What causes the most ladder accidents is the failure to provide adequate safety equipment.

When you’re working on a ladder, by definition, it means you’re working at an elevated height. You need to do something that you can’t reach from standing on the ground.

Because of that, workers oftentimes fall off, the ladder is unstable, and when you’re falling from an elevated height, the injuries can be quite serious.

A contractor or owner is almost always responsible under the labor law in the state of New York.

The reason that Labor Law 240 and 241 exist, and that 200 exists, is to protect the injured worker and make the responsibility be that of the owner or the general contractor.

Proving that a ladder is unsafe often comes down to documented evidence and eyewitness testimony.

If there is video or photo evidence, that’s wonderful. Oftentimes, there’s not, but there’s almost always coworkers who are present who can provide statements if they are approached properly and timely, who can confirm what happened and why the ladder was the cause of the fall or the injury.

Ladders are used on almost every job site. We have seen people injured through the use of ladders at construction sites on a weekly basis for decades.

If this is you, if you have been injured as the result of a ladder accident, please call our office so we can assist you.

Scaffold accidents are so dangerous because by their very nature, scaffolding is put in place because you have to work at an elevated height.

And whenever a worker is at an elevated height, there are incredible risks of danger.

In fact, the Labor Law is often referred to in New York as the Scaffold Law because that’s how frequently people get injured using scaffolds.

The protection that workers have through the use of scaffold is the Labor Law, specifically Labor Law 240 and 241.

Those provisions within the Labor Law make sure that someone who is working on a scaffold is protected, because by definition, if you’re working at an elevated height, those Labor Law sections make sure that you are fully protected, whether it’s by the owner’s insurance company, the general contractor’s insurance, or one of the subcontractors, you are protected.

The liability or responsibility can be whomever created or built the scaffold if it was done improperly.

It can be one of the coworkers who isn’t properly doing the work they should be doing, and they drop a brick or something which falls on you.

It can be the owner or general contractor’s responsibility for not providing the safety equipment that you should be provided.

Any of these scenarios can result in injuries while on a scaffold, and unfortunately, the injuries from scaffolds end up being very, very significant.

There is probably nothing that has resulted in more significant and serious injuries in the course of my 35 years of representing injured people than those who have been injured on a job site through working on a scaffold.

If you or a friend or a loved one have been injured through the use of a scaffold, please call and reach out to our office.

No one will help you more than we will.

Public transportation injury cases are very different from other accidents.

When you are dealing with public transportation, the public transportation is owned by a municipality, meaning it’s owned by a city, a town, or a village, or a state.

The rules, the laws, and the time that you have as an injured person to bring a lawsuit is incredibly different.

You only have 90 days instead of three years.

90 days to file something called a notice of claim.

If you miss that 90-day window, even if you were unaware of it, then you are precluded, more often than not, from bringing a lawsuit or getting money damages in the state of New York.

If you are injured in public transit, one of the benefits of it being on public transit is that there are usually many people around who work for the municipality who can document what happened.

So if you’re injured on a train, for example, there are conductors and other workers.

What you need to do is, again, document everything.

Make sure there’s an incident or accident report made out.

Find out if there are any witnesses to the occurrence.

Make sure that there are photographs taken.

Find out if there’s any video available.

And the reason for this is that even though they’re a municipality, they are not going to want to help you.

They’re going to want to prove either why you did whatever you did, it was your own fault, or why you’re not entitled to money.

If you are injured in an accident on mass transit, time is incredibly important.

Contact our office.

Speak with me about the situation.

We will make sure that your rights are properly protected.

If you don’t do that and don’t contact someone immediately when it comes to a mass transit situation, you may be locked out forever.

Train-related injuries can take a couple of different forms.

We have represented many people through the years who have unfortunately been injured in the entry to a train. Either the gap is too large between the platform and the entrance to the train, or the train is pulling onto a track where there’s a large separation and a temporary bridge or walkway has to be built, and it’s not done properly.

In those cases, people who are trying to enter the train can be very, very seriously injured.

Train accident cases usually have liability on the city or the municipality that owns and maintains the train.

So on Metro North, in Westchester County, and throughout New York, it is the city of New York that owns and maintains the MTA, so they would have to be notified in order to bring a case against them.

Cases pertaining to trains can be very challenging and don’t necessarily unfold quickly.

The reason for that is you have to deal directly with whoever is owning and maintaining the train, so usually the city of New York or whatever municipality it is, and you have to make sure that you get all of the video evidence, all of the hard evidence, and then deal directly with that municipality.

If you were involved in anything having to do with a train accident, please reach out to our office, get the assistance that you deserve, and go with the experience where we know how we can help you.

Subway accidents are very similar to train accidents in that you can be injured on the platform, there can be leaky pipes that were supposed to have been fixed and are dripping, causing a slippery situation.

There can be spills that were not adequately cleaned up, or you can have gaps in the platform and in the subway car that result in serious injuries.

Immediately after being injured in a subway, make sure to document the circumstances.

Subways can be incredibly challenging because of the number of patrons, of people using the subway, and customers who are there.

It can be very confusing. It can be very difficult to see what happened.

So make sure to notify an officer, make sure to find out if there is video available, if there are any eyewitnesses.

Anything and everything that can document the truth of what happened is vitally important.

If you’ve been injured in a subway accident, whether you’ve slipped and fallen, whether you’ve fallen through the gap, anything that has resulted in an injury from being on a subway, please reach out to our office.

We have the experience and knowledge where we can help you.