Negligence laws are designed to protect individuals who have been harmed because of another person’s carelessness. In general, every person in New York has a duty of care to everyone else. That duty requires you to not cause others harm, whether purposefully or because of a failure to behave in a way that keeps others’ safety in mind. Not every accident can be prevented, but most can. If a person causes you harm, even unintentionally, you may be able to file a claim against that person. Let’s say, for example, that a driver knows it’s unsafe to text and drive but does so anyway. That driver can be held liable if that behavior caused your accident. Just because the driver didn’t intend for someone to get hurt, it doesn’t mean that he or she can’t be held liable. The driver should have reasonably been able to foresee that someone could be hurt and should not have engaged in a dangerous driving behavior. If that behavior is the proven cause of your accident, that driver will owe you damages.

No-fault insurance is the type of insurance that the state of New York uses for car wrecks. Only a handful of states use this system, with most states using the fault system to govern car insurance claims. “No-fault” basically means that your insurance is designed to cover your damages in the event of a crash, regardless of who is “at fault.” In theory, this is a good thing, because you won’t have to worry about proving that the other party was at-fault in order to get paid for damages. In practice, however, this system can be difficult for those who find themselves injured in car accidents. The first reason no-fault insurance can be difficult to deal with is because even your own insurance company doesn’t want to pay you what you’re rightfully owed for your accident. The second issue with no-fault insurance is that the at-fault party isn’t really held responsible for his or her actions. When you are seriously injured, you’re allowed to take your car crash claim into the tort system to file a claim for greater losses. No-fault insurance typically will not provide enough compensation to cover all the losses of a serious injury accident, and at that time you can pursue the party who was to blame for the wreck.

Personal injury protection (PIP) benefits are provided by your insurance company to cover your major losses after a car accident, but these benefits do have limits. PIP benefits will cover some of your lost wages while you’re recovering from auto wreck injuries. They will also cover the costs of medical expenses and household services. While personal injury protection can be enough to pay for minor car crashes, they usually won’t provide enough monetary compensation to pay for the more serious losses caused by a major collision. In addition, filing a PIP claim without the assistance of an NYC car accident lawyer may mean a lower payout than you actually deserve.

As mentioned, it is possible to file an injury claim for a serious injury in NYC and the rest of New York, but how do you know if your injury is serious? New York law defines a serious injury as the following:

• A permanent injury
• Loss of a fetus
• Significant disfigurement
• Fracture
• An injury that significantly alters an organ’s or body part’s functioning
• A non-permanent injury that significantly reduces a person’s abilities to function for at least ninety of the 180 days immediately following the accident

Comparative negligence (also known as contributory negligence or comparative fault) refers to the idea that all parties’ involvement in an accident shall be compared to determine which parties are financially liable. This can be a complicated process as multiple parties can hold liability in an accident, including the person filing a personal injury claim. In that way, if you file a claim for an NYC auto accident and you are found partially to blame for the collision, your compensatory damages will be reduced by the amount of fault assigned to you. It’s important to note that even if some blame does rest with you, that doesn’t bar you from recovering damages.

As with all personal injury claims in New York, there is a time limit on how long you have to file your claim. This timeframe is called the statute of limitations, and in New York, you have three years to file your case, starting on the date of your injury. This is not a very long period of time, and many people let it slip by before they realize they are running out of time to file. Also, filing a car accident case as soon as possible after a serious wreck is important to a successful outcome. Keep in mind that in order to win your case, you need witness statements, medical documentation, and other evidence that will become more difficult to secure the longer you wait. Get help filing your claim as soon as you’re able by contacting an NYC car accident attorney from our law firm.

Your auto wreck claim isn’t likely to be a simple matter of pointing a finger at someone and getting a settlement check. A lot goes into investigating what caused the crash and proving who was responsible. First, the cause must be discovered. For example, was it a faulty car part, or was the other driver texting while driving? The accident scene will need to be analyzed, photo and video evidence gathered, police and crash reports collected, and witnesses will need to be identified. Once the cause is determined, the person who was responsible will become clearer, but evidence must also be gathered indicating which party is to blame. You want as much evidence as possible because proof is what makes your claim stronger. In addition, it will be necessary to gather the medical evidence of your injury. In some cases, this can actually be the most time-consuming aspect of evidence collection. Some injuries are very complicated and will require multiple visits to the doctor’s office, and your injury may take a very long time to heal. You may not want to settle your case until you’re sure that you’re being paid for all your current medical expenses and your future costs as well. Your accident attorney will need to interview your doctor and might even need to hire medical experts to prove your injuries and the damages owed to you. Additionally, identifying all the ways that this accident has affected your overall quality of life will be important in calculating your non-economic losses.

To figure out who is to blame (and must therefore pay your damages), you must determine the cause or your NYC auto wreck. There could be many different causes, or one specific cause, of an accident. For instance, your crash could be a simple matter of distracted driving, or it could be a complicated situation in which a faulty auto part caused a driver to lose control of an automobile that ultimately crashed into you. Also, many different parties could be held liable for a vehicle crash. Let’s say that a commercial truck collided with you; then you may be able to pursue the trucker and the negligent trucking company. Here’s a short list of common parties that could be liable for your auto collision:

• Other drivers, including reckless, distracted, and drunk drivers
• Manufacturing companies
• Mechanics and body shops
• Government agencies responsible for road maintenance
• Truckers and other commercial vehicle drivers and their companies
• Rideshare companies
• Construction companies

When you imagine the most basic auto accident possible, you will likely conjure images of a two-car collision in your mind in which one party is to blame. This does occur, but most accidents are not so simple. Many different parties could be liable in a car accident, even those involving only two vehicles. For instance, if the driver that crashed into you was driving for work, the company he or she works for may also be liable for your damages. Sometimes you can even pursue multiple parties in a single-car accident. For instance, if you experience a vehicle malfunction that was caused by a mechanic’s poor service work, you may be able to sue the mechanic and the auto shop that he or she works for.

Economic damages are essentially the financial losses that your auto accident and subsequent injuries have caused you. Any monetary loss counts, but the most common economic damages are as follows:

• Medical expenses, such as hospital visits, doctor visits, medications, surgeries, mobility aids, physical therapy costs, loss of work wages, cost of mental health services, and the expense of hiring someone to complete household chores while you’re unable to complete them because of your injuries.

Non-economic damages are the losses you’ve faced of an intangible nature: effects that can’t really be given a price tag. Depending on your auto collision, you could be dealing with permanent injuries, lifelong mental issues, or the loss of certain abilities that brought you happiness. For instance, when you’ve lost a limb in a car accident, you may be dealing with more than medical bills and lost wages; you will be dealing with physical pain, emotional and psychological issues, the loss of activities you once enjoyed, and much more. There is no limit to the suffering an accident can cause you, and you can be compensated for all the non-monetary consequences of an auto wreck. The most common non-economic losses that are requested in injury claims are pain and suffering, mental trauma, and lost enjoyment of life.

Punitive damages are not as common as economic and non-economic damages, but they can be awarded in certain circumstances. When your car crash case involves egregious negligence or intentional wrongdoing, the court may see fit to punish the party responsible for the accident. That’s what punitive damages are: a punishment for the liable party. The court sees it as a way to, hopefully, prevent the behavior from occurring again—and as a way to show the at-fault party that reckless negligence will not be tolerated. Punitive damages show up often in cases where a manufacturing company, or some other company in the automotive world, is to blame for the crash.

No, there are no caps, or limits, in the state of New York on the amount of damages you can recover if the government is responsible for your accident. However, there are much stricter rules for filing civil claims against a government agency. For instance, you must file a “Notice of Claim” within ninety days of the claim arising or your claim may be dismissed. There is a specific way of filing suit against the government in New York, but your NYC car accident lawyer will help you follow all the mandatory rules.

Not really. It doesn’t much matter whether you were rear-ended or were in a head-on collision. What matters is whether you were seriously hurt and whether you caused the crash. It’s really the seriousness of your injuries that will determine whether you can file a personal injury claim for an auto wreck. With that said, the type of car crash you’re involved in may make a difference with investigation and proving fault, and all of these details work together to make up your claim. For example, if you were injured in a head-on collision on a motorcycle, this type of crash will be investigated differently than if you were injured in a single-car crash. Each car crash is unique, and proving your claim will require your lawyer to gather evidence, prove your case, and negotiate the compensation you need to pay for your losses.

After the long and stressful back-and-forth of settlement negotiations, you just want it all to be over. You need your money now so that you can pay all the bills that have been piling up during this process. You likely have medical bills; you may be behind on other bills; plus, you need to set up your financial future. Essentially, you just need to know when you’re getting your check. You can expect a check within a few weeks to two months following a settlement agreement. It really shouldn’t take longer than two months to receive a payout.

Most likely your case will not need to go to court to reach a satisfactory conclusion. In most cases, your New York City auto wreck lawyer will be able to gather the necessary evidence to convince the involved insurance companies that you deserve the damages you’re requesting. However, insurance companies aren’t easy to negotiate with, and they will likely fight your claim. That’s why it’s vital to have an experienced attorney on your side battling for you. In the rare event that your car crash claim does need to be taken into the courtroom, your accident lawyer will be ready to present your case and get you the money you need to pay for all your car crash damages.

The idea of going to court for a personal injury claim is enough to turn people off from filing a personal injury claim at all. No matter how valid a claim is, many people have a fear of being in the courtroom. It’s scary and overwhelming, but you don’t have to be afraid. Your attorney will be there every step of the way. When you go to court for a personal injury claim, the process is very much like any other court proceeding that you could imagine. There are opening arguments, the presentation of evidence, arguments will be made, witnesses will testify, and a jury or judge will decide the outcome of the case and award you damages, if applicable.

Insurance companies are often the reason that getting a settlement for your injuries is such a difficult process. This is because the insurers are trying to make a profit and your settlement payout is getting in the way of that goal. The more payouts they have to pay, the less money they make. While that is their job, they don’t like losing money. Yes, the very purpose of paying your insurance premiums each month is so that you will have a lump-sum payment to handle great losses when they arise. Still, your company, and any other insurers involved, will try to get out of making a payout, or at least reduce the amount of what they must pay you. They have a variety of tactics they will use to reduce your claim’s value:

• Place blame on you so that your claim’s value is decreased with the percentage of fault assigned to you.
• Attempt to record your phone conversations so that they can use your statements against you in some way down the road.
• Offer you a low settlement very quickly knowing that many people don’t want to go through an extended and stressful claims process.
• Threaten you with litigation if you don’t agree to the settlement they want to pay you.

Many people injured in a vehicle crash believe that they can file their claims on their own, and while it is possible, it isn’t recommended. Even if you are successful in getting a settlement from an insurance company, you won’t likely get the fair amount you should be getting. Additionally, you may not realize all the parties that may be liable for your injuries, and you will therefore be limiting yourself to receiving damages from only one party’s insurance company. Also, your lawyer will help you in so many ways, leaving you to focus on recovering from your injuries. Your lawyer will investigate your crash, help you file claim paperwork, gather evidence, document your injuries, put together a case, negotiate with insurance companies, and take your claim to court if that becomes necessary.