Long Beach, NY Personal Injury Lawyer

Accidents can happen anywhere, and injuries lurk around every corner, including in Long Beach, NY. If you are hurt, get to a doctor as soon as possible and then talk to a lawyer. You might have a valid personal injury claim, and the person responsible might be ordered to pay you fair compensation.

A personal injury claim requires that you have a bodily injury of some kind. While other claims related to the accident may also be filed, physical harm is necessary for a personal injury case. Car accidents are a very common cause of personal injury cases. How your accident occurred, insurance coverage, and your injuries may affect how your car accident plays out in court. Other possible personal injuries might stem from defective products, slip-and-fall accidents, work accidents, and so much more. Your time to file a personal injury might be coming to a close, and it is best to speak to a lawyer right away.

Call The Carrion Law Firm at (631) 910-7493 and get a free, confidential review of your claim from our personal injury lawyers to start your case.

How to Tell if You Have a Personal Injury Claim on Your Hands in Long Beach, NY

The thing about personal injury cases is that they can encompass a vast assortment of injuries, accidents, and claims. This is a very broad legal field, and your specific case might fall into any number of subcategories of personal injuries. The common thread running through all these cases is physical harm. A personal injury claim must involve a plaintiff who experiences physical bodily harm because of the defendant.

Generally, personal injury claims are based on negligence. Defendants usually do not intend to cause harm. Still, their careless actions lead to accidents that injure others, and those injured victims may take legal action to get the costs of the accident reimbursed. You may also file claims that are related to the accident but do not involve physical harm. For example, if your personal property was destroyed in the accident, you may claim the value of the property in a personal injury case. However, the element of physical harm must be present.

What is even more confusing is that not all personal injuries are caused by negligent people, not directly anyway. Some people are injured by unsafe conditions on another’s property. The property owner might not have even been present when the victim became injured. Others might be injured because a recently bought item malfunctioned and injured them, and manufacturers may be held responsible even though they were not directly involved in the accident.

Personal Injury Cases and Car Accidents in Long Beach, NY

While personal injury cases may involve a wide array of accidents and injuries, car accidents are arguably among the most common. People spend time behind the wheel of a car almost every day, and most of us have been involved in an accident at some point, or we at least know someone who has. Our personal injury attorneys know how to assess damages and find evidence for car accident cases, and you should contact a lawyer for help right away.

How Car Accidents Often Occur in Long Beach, NY

No two car accidents are exactly alike, and you must discuss the details of your accident with your lawyer. Knowing where and how the collision occurred sheds light on who should be held responsible, where we can find evidence, and what legal strategies are the most helpful.

Distractions on the road are an increasingly dangerous problem on our roads and highways. With cell phones, tablets, GPS devices, and all sorts of other technology readily available and designed to sync with your vehicle, it is no wonder that drivers today are distracted. While most of us are contending with distractions behind the wheel, we must remain focused on the road. Tell your lawyer if you believe the other driver in your accident was texting or otherwise not paying attention.

Intoxication is another common problem, especially around areas of Long Beach, NY where people like to have fun and enjoy the nightlife. Bars are everywhere, and lots of people come to Long Beach for a fun night out. Bars are especially prevalent along West Beech Street. Even if drivers are not intoxicated, pedestrians might be, and they might try to cross the street without checking for traffic, causing drivers to crash to avoid hitting them.

Bad road conditions are another concern. Roads might be wet and slick after a storm, and drivers must be careful when road conditions are less than ideal. Visibility should also be considered. Long Beach, NY is a coastal city, and like many coastal areas, it gets its fair share of foggy weather. Driving through fog is not a good idea, and careless drivers may easily cause an accident.

Should I File an Insurance Claim or a Lawsuit in a Long Beach, NY Car Accident Case?

When it comes to car accidents, most people immediately turn to insurance for help. This is a perfectly reasonable reaction to a car crash, as we are all legally required to carry auto insurance if we plan on driving a car. While some drivers get the help they need from insurance, others are not so fortunate, and you should speak to an attorney about your situation to see what other legal options you might have.

New York applies no-fault insurance laws, and drivers may be covered by their own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance policies without having to prove fault. However, your claim may not exceed the value set by the policy limit, and your injuries might far exceed these limits. You may file a personal injury lawsuit to recover your damages, but there are some hoops to jump through first.

According to insurance laws under I.S.C. Law § 5104(a), a driver injured in a car accident may not file a personal injury claim unless they can show they experienced a “serious injury” as defined by law. Generally, insurance is the sole legal remedy unless a serious injury is present. A serious injury is defined under § 5102(d) and includes dismemberment, serious disfigurement, death, broken bones, loss or limitations of body parts, organs, or systems, or some other medically diagnosed non-permanent injury that inhibits your ability to accomplish normal daily chores for no less than 90 days out of the 180 days right after the accident.

Damages Specific to Car Accident Cases in Long Beach, NY

Damages in car accident cases may be quite substantial, especially if the accident and your injuries were severe. First, we should assess the extent of your vehicle damage. Even minor repairs can be expensive. Multiple repairs can quickly add up to enormous costs. If your car was totaled, you might need to claim the cost of a replacement vehicle.

We should also think about how you were injured. Certain injuries are common in car accidents and may be worth significant compensation. For example, minor injuries often include whiplash, which is a neck injury that can be very painful. You might also suffer painful cuts and lacerations from broken windows and windshields. In more severe cases, drivers and passengers experience debilitating spinal injuries or traumatic brain injuries from the sheer force of the impact.

Other Possible Personal Injury Claims in Long Beach, NY

As said before, personal injury claims encompass a vast array of accidents and injuries, not just car accidents. If you were physically injured and believe someone else is responsible, you should talk to a lawyer about your legal options. Remember, your injuries do not need to be severe or life-altering to warrant legal action. Even minor injuries that fully heal deserve fair compensation, and you deserve justice and closure.

Injuries From Defective Goods

Not all injuries are the direct result of a negligent person. Instead, you might be hurt by a good or product that did not work as intended. Product liability cases involve personal injuries caused by damaged or defective goods, and the manufacturers of these goods may be held liable.

For example, a construction worker might buy a brand new nail gun to use at work, only for it to misfire and shoot a nail into the worker’s hand. If the nail gun misfired because it had been damaged before the worker purchased it or because it was poorly designed, the manufacturer and possibly others within the chain of sale may be held responsible.

While throwing away a broken or defective item might make sense, especially after it caused a serious injury, you should refrain from doing so. We need to examine the defective item to determine what went wrong and who is to blame. In short, the defective product may be our key piece of evidence in your personal injury case.

Slip-and-Falls

Most of us have likely taken a bad fall at some point or another. While some of us can get back up and dust ourselves off, others are badly hurt. Slip-and-fall accidents tend to get an unfair reputation for being frivolous, and plaintiffs are often labeled as overly litigious or just looking to make a quick buck using the legal system against some poor, unsuspecting property owner. This stereotype could not be further from the truth.

Even a seemingly minor slip could lead to disaster. People often outstretch their arms in an attempt to break their fall, only to severely injure their arms and hands. If people cannot break their fall, they might hit their head and experience a brain injury. Back and neck injuries are also common, especially if the victim falls down the stairs or from a high ledge.

People usually fall because someone in charge of the property or premises does not keep it safe. Spills, wet floors, icy walkways, or uneven floorboards are enough to cause a bad slip-and-fall accident.

Injuries at Work

Some people are hurt while on the job, and their employers might be held responsible for the accident. A workplace does not need to be inherently dangerous for an accident to occur. We often think of workplace accidents as happening in factories, construction sites, or places where people expect a bit more danger and risk. While this is certainly possible, you might be just as easily injured in an office or while working from a desk.

Maybe you were hurt in your office building because you fell down the stairs because there was no safety railing. Maybe you were in the elevator going to your office when it fell, causing you and possibly others severe injuries. Maybe a ceiling tile came loose and hit you on the head. Anything is possible, and you should get medical attention and then seek out an experienced personal injury lawyer for help.

Your Time to File a Personal Injury Case in Long Beach, NY

If you have experienced a personal injury and want justice, you must move quickly, as time is not unlimited. The statute of limitation, under C.V.P. Law § 214, imposes a strict 3-year limitation period. This means you have only years to file your case before the cause of action is no longer valid, and your time begins on the day you are injured.

Having 3 years to file a case might sound like more than enough time, but do not be fooled. It is common for plaintiffs to spend months working with lawyers to plan and prepare their cases, collect evidence, and evaluate their damages. The longer you wait to speak to an attorney, the less time they might have to help you. Even if you are hesitant to take any sort of legal action, talk to a lawyer about it anyway. They can help you review your legal options so you can make a more informed decision about what to do next.

Speak to our Long Beach, NY Personal Injury Attorneys About Your Case Today

Call The Carrion Law Firm at (631) 910-7493 and get a free, private review of your claim from our personal injury attorneys to begin your case.