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LEGAL BRIEF NOVEMBER 2025 FriedmanSimon.com 516-800-8000
The Crash I Never Saw Coming
Lessons From the Driver’s Seat
Although my car accident was years ago, my memories of the incident and its aftermath are still vivid. I lived in Glen Cove and was on my way to our office in Jericho, heading south on Route 107. It was a beautiful, sunny day in October. When I reached the intersection with Northern Boulevard, the traffic signal was red, and I stopped behind the one car ahead of me. As I waited for the light to turn green, I was thinking of the day ahead, the work waiting for me at our office, and how I would tackle it when I got in, probably in about 10 minutes. The traffic light turned green, and the car in front of me proceeded through the intersection. I noticed that the multiple lanes of westbound traffic to my left had stopped, as the light was now red for them. I began to move through the intersection myself, and as I was about halfway through, I felt a tremendous impact from my left. A car coming from the east and heading west at high speed slammed into my driver's side door. Over the years, I’ve heard clients say, “He came out of nowhere,” many times. An attorney friend once joked, “Nowhere must be incredibly crowded! So many people want to come out of there.” Jokes aside, the pre-impact movement of the vehicles in my accident brought home the meaning of “out of nowhere” because I never saw him coming.
Even though traffic to my left had stopped, I didn’t realize the car that hit me had made a reckless choice. Instead of waiting, he passed the stopped cars on their left, crossing double yellow lines into oncoming traffic. He then sped through a red light with a volunteer firefighter’s blue light on, not for an emergency but because he was late to a class at CW Post College, just a mile up the road. The impact occurred as he made a semicircular movement back toward the correct side of the road.
“I can still hear the sound of the impact, the violent twisting of metal, and the shattering glass.”
When clients call our office about intersection accidents, the cases often present as a “question of lights.” It’s common for both drivers to claim they had the green light and that the other driver “ate,” “blew,” or passed through the red light. In those situations, independent eyewitnesses, dashcams, and surveillance video can make the difference in deciding who was at fault. In my accident, the reckless driver who overslept and was late for his college class admitted everything described above. I was told by a police officer of the other driver’s mea culpa moments before the EMTs put me on a gurney and into an ambulance. They took me to Glen Cove Hospital so I could be examined and treated for trauma to my neck, hip, and knee. My car was totaled. I was fortunate that no bones were broken and no surgery was needed, but many months of therapy followed. I can still hear the sound of the impact, the violent twisting of metal, and the shattering glass. It took a long time for my anxiety about driving through intersections to quiet down and my neck, hip and
knee still remind me of that day. Ultimately, though, the experience gave me a gift. As I've listened to thousands of accident victims describe their accident, I can truthfully tell them, from my heart, "I get it."
Please drive safely, friends!
–Eddie Friedman
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It is no secret that the cost of living in New York, especially on Long Island and in the metro area, is too #@%! high! A trip to the supermarket or gas pump and various housing costs can really put a dent in your wallet. Auto insurance is another bill that stings, but we may be caught in a bind. On Long Island, many of us need a car to work, shop, and get around, and the law requires insurance. I wish I had a magic wand to make life more affordable, but I don't. What I do have is one important piece of advice: Don't rate evade to save money! THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU CHEAT INSURANCE RATE EVASION IS A RISKY GAME
The hum of a busy coffee shop, traffic outside, your favorite song through your headphones as you work — we live in a noisy world with constant background noise. But is that ambient buzz boosting your brainpower or creating static in the system? While some swear a little noise helps them focus, for others, every passing siren or side conversation is a distraction. Let’s tune in and find out if that background noise could be a productivity playlist or sound sabotage. BRAIN BEATS Your brain is always busy trying to filter out distractions, and how background noise impacts your noggin depends on what it is. Steady or low-level sounds, like raindrops or white noise, can help hide other intrusive interruptions, making it easier to focus on the task you're working on. Irregular, sudden, surprise, or meaningful sounds, like a direct conversation, notifications on your phone, or lyrics to a beloved song, activate your brain, pulling you out of the concentration zone. SOUND SUPPORT If you are working on something that requires light focus, like answering emails, then the right kind of background noise, something like instrumental music, can help you stay on track. Other beneficial times for background noise include working in a loud environment or letting low-level sounds shift your brain into creative or problem-solving mode. The key is choosing something that won’t distract your mind from what you’re trying to focus on. CUE THE QUIET Noise most often gets in the way of more complex or challenging work, such as reading, writing, meetings, learning new skills, or finding solutions to issues. Deeper tasks require more brainpower, like using memory or vocabulary skills. When your brain engages in more concentrated tasks, it is more sensitive to interruptions, so a song lyric or burst of action on the TV can win out against the quieter goal you’re trying to accomplish. Background noise can be a sound decision or just more racket. The trick is tuning into what helps your mind focus without being carried away by the clatter. SOUND ADVICE Is Your Work Playlist Helping or Hurting Your Focus?
What is rate evasion? It's when someone provides inaccurate information on an insurance application
for a lower premium. Common examples include providing an incorrect residence address, failing to disclose additional drivers in a household, or wrongly stating where a vehicle is
kept. These all can be considered insurance fraud and can void coverage.
Here's how it plays out. Say someone on Long Island registers their
car at a relative's out-of-state address for cheaper rates. If that person is later injured in a car accident here, their insurance carrier may refuse no-fault benefits and other important coverages as well. In New York, no-fault typically covers the first $50,000 of medical expenses from an accident, plus a portion of lost earnings and other costs. Insurance carriers swiftly deny these benefits once they discover the car involved has not been “principally garaged” where the policy says it was. That creates problems for getting timely medical treatment and documenting the injury portion of the case. Insurance might be expensive, but it protects you when life takes a bad turn. Rate evasion puts that protection at risk and is a terrible idea.It might save a few dollars up front, but it can cost far more if you ever need to use your coverage. Having a quick conversation with your agent about discounts or coverage levels is a much better way to reduce costs.
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Whisking Up New Traditions This Thanksgiving
FILL YOUR HOLIDAY WITH GRATITUDE AND GAMES
The holidays are a magical time that brings together loved ones and a little chaos. Between the pie-making and travel plans, it can be easy to forget what we’re gathering to celebrate. This Thanksgiving, let’s not just carve the turkey, but also carve out some time for mindful traditions the whole family can enjoy. From sharing what you're thankful for to hosting a family Thanksgiving talent show, this year is the perfect chance to create new traditions that deepen connections and spark laughter. Get ready to gobble up the fun together. GATHER FOR GRATITUDE Thanksgiving is all about honoring what we are grateful for in life, and it can be a fun activity for you and your children to share. You can gamify gratitude in several ways, like creating a thankfulness jar where everybody adds slips of paper describing what they most appreciate. You can take turns
reading them after dinner and even make a guessing game out of who wrote what. It could be as simple as gathering around the table for breakfast and everyone saying one thing they're grateful for. TURKEY DAY TRIVIA There’s no better way to digest after the big Thanksgiving feast than having
can join in. Keep it focused on connection, not just winning. If you want to go all out, challenge all your guests to be ready with their best skills for a family talent show. A SOUNDTRACK TO THE STUFFING Create a perfect soundtrack you can play while everyone helps with the cooking or winds down after dessert. Before the big
fun. Pick out some of your favorite board games or a deck of cards for a post-
day, ask everyone in the family to add one or two songs to a
Thanksgiving playlist. Prompt them to pick tunes that remind them of the season, happy memories, the joys of being together, or even their favorite dishes. You can
meal game night. You could test everyone’s
knowledge with a holiday- themed trivia competition or create a scavenger hunt around the house.
keep adding to this list in subsequent years, turning the songs into a playable family history. SUDOKU
No matter the game, ensure everyone from grandparents to kids
Apple-Cranberry Salad
Ingredients • 6 slices of bacon • 1/3 cup balsamic vinaigrette • 1/3 cup olive oil • 2 tbsp raw honey • 8 oz fresh baby spinach, rinsed and dried
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries • 1 Honeycrisp apple, peeled and thinly sliced • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced • 1/2 cup feta cheese
Directions
1. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove it from the pan and set on a paper towel-lined plate to cool. 2. In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinaigrette, olive oil, and honey. Set aside. 3. In a large bowl, add spinach, cranberries, apple slices, red onion, and feta. Crumble bacon pieces over the top. Use salad forks to toss ingredients thoroughly. 4. Add dressing to the salad and toss again until well-coated.
Inspired by WanderlustAndWellness.org
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A Collision With Lasting Impact INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2 How Background Noise Shapes Your Workflow
A Small Lie With Big Consequences
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From Thankful Jars to Turkey Trivia
Apple-Cranberry Salad
Sit Down, Mom and Dad, Class Is in Session
They must answer questions and clarify areas of uncertainty. Educators say this makes them more likely to retain the information.
Many children will relish taking the lead and playing an instructor role. A good way to start is to ask your child to explain a skill or concept they are learning in class and then ask questions. If your student gets stuck, instill good research and study skills by suggesting they refer to their notes or search through other class materials. Many kids love making videos, so consider channeling that medium for learning. Have your child create a concept map for a subject that interests them. Start with the big idea and then create a step- by-step explanation, showing connections among the ideas and including examples to illustrate main points. Then encourage them to convert the concepts to a video tutorial and view it together. While this technique lacks some of the verve of face-to-face interaction, the intellectual exercise is still valuable. Ask your child’s teacher for suggestions on concepts to practice at home or for learning tools that might facilitate learning by teaching. The teacher may offer questions or suggest activities to give your child new opportunities to play teacher. Also, don’t hesitate to encourage your child to perform skills they have learned, play guessing games about school topics, or listen to them describing new knowledge. Remember that genuine, non- judgmental parental interest in a child’s learning is a high-octane fuel for lifelong growth!
Many parents hit mental roadblocks trying to help their children with homework. Perhaps you’re trying to teach your child long division or Spanish grammar rules, but the knowledge doesn’t stick. Have you ever considered having your child teach the material to you? The science of how children learn shows that “learning by teaching,” also known as “the protégé effect,” is an effective way for children to build a deeper, longer-lasting understanding of new information. By digging into new concepts and figuring out how to communicate them to others, children must engage more deeply with the material. Flip the Script Supercharge Your Child’s Learning by Letting Them Teach You!
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