Babylon Personal Injury Lawyer

Car accidents are, unfortunately, a frequent occurrence, sometimes causing serious injuries. If another driver’s negligence has caused you harm, pursuing a lawsuit might be your best option to secure the compensation you deserve.

If you are injured in a car accident, there are several actions you can take to bolster your chances of recovering damages later. One of the most crucial steps is to partner with our firm. We have well-established strategies aimed at overcoming the challenges your case might face. Our team will conduct a thorough investigation, including gathering evidence and speaking to witnesses, laying the groundwork for the strongest possible claim right from the start. However, if the other party is unwilling to provide the compensation you rightfully deserve, we are fully prepared to take your case to trial.

Get a private, free case evaluation from our personal injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm by calling us at (631) 910-7493.

Practice Areas Our Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You with in Babylon, NY

When someone suffers personal injuries, there is often a reason behind it, like another person’s negligence. This negligence is clear in some cases, such as when someone runs a stop sign and crashes into you. However, in other situations, it is not so obvious who should be held liable, especially if multiple parties are at fault or if the negligence goes unnoticed, as in some medical malpractice cases. Regardless of how your injuries occurred, our personal injury lawyers possess the skills and experience necessary to identify the responsible parties and fight for the compensation you deserve. It is essential to have a legal team that can handle a vast range of practice areas, like the ones below:

Vehicle Accidents

Babylon sees a high number of accidents caused by careless drivers. Some motorists speed, which limits their ability to react promptly in emergencies. Others find themselves distracted by their phones, causing them to lose sight of the road. Even more dangerous is when individuals decide to engage in reckless actions behind the wheel, such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which can lead to severe injuries or even fatalities. If you have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another driver, we can assist you in filing a wrongful death claim against the responsible party.

However, New York is one of a few states that use no-fault insurance, which limits car accident victims from suing in certain cases. According to I.S.C. § 5104(a), vehicle accident victims have no right to recover non-economic losses through a lawsuit unless they either suffered “serious” injuries or basic economic loss. If at least one of these exceptions is not met, victims can only recover compensation for their medical expenses and 80% of their lost wages through their own insurance.

Basic economic loss includes the economic damages you incur up to $50,000, according to § 5102(a). Once your medical care, surgeries, testing, and other necessary expenses exceed $50,000, you are permitted to file a lawsuit.

You can also sue if you overcome the serious injury threshold. § 5102(d) includes several categories of serious injuries, including death, significant disfigurement, fractures, miscarriage, and dismemberment. The permanent loss or consequential limitation in using a body member, organ, function, or system also qualifies as serious under the law. Your injuries are also considered serious if they, although not permanent, still prevent you from performing substantially all of the material acts that constitute your typical and customary daily activities for at least 90 days during the 180 days immediately following the occurrence of your impairment or injury.

Commercial Vehicle Accidents

We will also look into whether the driver was working at the time of the accident. If they were, we could likely include them in your lawsuit along with their employer, as employers can be held responsible for the negligent actions of their employees while they are performing their job duties. This principle, known as respondeat superior, means that employers can face legal repercussions for their employees’ negligence. For instance, if a truck driver ignores driving hours regulations, both the driver and the trucking company could be liable. In such cases, you might be eligible for punitive damages if the violation was intentional and reckless.

In other cases, the negligent driver is an independent contractor, like those working for Amazon, Uber, and Lyft. Independent contractors do not typically work directly for the company, so the above rule will usually not apply. Still, we can file your claim against the driver and explore potential insurance options offered by the company they work for.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents

Many people walk and bike around Babylon for their daily commute and leisure. Unfortunately, not every driver gives pedestrians and bicyclists the right of way or is even aware they are there until causing an accident.

Our team can walk you through the steps on how to recover compensation when a negligent driver hits you on your bike or walking about. The no-fault rules discussed above apply to all types of vehicle accidents, including those involving bicyclists and pedestrians. We can gather medical records to meet the necessary requirements to get your lawsuit filed. If you do not have car insurance, a family member must be used if you live with them. However, we will not have to overcome any barriers and proceed immediately to file a lawsuit if no vehicle insurance options are available.

Product Liability

Dangerous products often serve as a major reason for pursuing a personal injury lawsuit. Numerous items we use every day may be poorly designed or manufactured, resulting in serious accidents and even fatalities. For instance, some cars might come equipped with hazardous components that should have been recalled, while certain medications are produced with dangerous ingredients.

Certain products are dangerous from the outset, and every model shares the same underlying issue. This typically occurs when the product is poorly designed, featuring hazardous components or built-in flaws. In such cases, we will pursue your claim against the product’s designer.

Some products are poorly made despite having a decent design. In these cases, manufacturers often use low-quality materials or make other errors during the production process. If you find yourself in this situation, we are ready to take legal action against the manufacturer on your behalf.

You can also file a product liability claim if a product does not provide adequate warnings or instructions. Some items are inherently unsafe due to their intended use. For example, lawnmowers are dangerous simply because they cut grass. If proper warning labels are not attached to the mower or if the instructions are missing or unclear, leading to the owner’s injury, the designer, manufacturer, or possibly both could be liable.

Premises Liability

We can also assist you in holding negligent individuals or businesses accountable in a lawsuit if you have been injured on their property. Property owners and others responsible for maintaining a safe environment can be sued if they neglect to take reasonable steps to ensure safety or fail to identify potential hazards.

For instance, if you slip and fall due to a spill in a store, you may not know who caused it, but if the spill was left unattended for too long, the store could ultimately be liable for the unsafe condition. Generally, property owners have an obligation to check for dangers when it is reasonable to do so under the circumstances.

If you sustain an injury on someone else’s property, it is crucial to report the incident to the property owner or the manager on duty as soon as your injuries permit. In the case of an accident occurring at a business, the manager will typically prepare an accident report, which might include vital details that you might not remember or realize later when pursuing your case.

They are also likely to discuss the incident with their superiors, leading to internal communications that could be relevant to your situation. Once you have started your case, our team can obtain these reports and records, which could be instrumental in establishing liability.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is a serious issue for our team. Establishing the duty of care is usually clear, as healthcare professionals must provide a standard of care consistent with their peers. They must be held accountable when they deviate from this standard due to negligence or improper treatment.

Determining which providers failed in their duty can be complex, especially when multiple errors occur. For example, if a surgeon leaves an instrument inside a patient and another physician fails to notice it during a tool count, multiple parties can be liable. Additionally, if nursing staff neglect signs of a patient’s declining condition, their inattention adds to the damage. It is essential to have a team experienced in holding doctors and hospitals accountable for the complexities of medical malpractice claims so that your case is handled correctly.

Elements that Must Be Proven in a Babylon, NY Personal Injury Lawsuit

Personal injury lawsuits can be boiled down to a few particular elements. These include the duty of care the defendant owed you and how they breached it. We must also show that the defendant’s breach caused your damages, not any other incident or injuries. The real damages we establish will be the compensation that you are entitled to.

Duty

Duty refers to the legal obligation one party has towards another. In this scenario, every driver is responsible for operating their vehicle safely and responsibly to minimize the risk of harm to others on the road. This duty encompasses a range of behaviors, including adhering to all traffic laws, being fully attentive to road conditions, and adjusting one’s driving behavior in response to changing circumstances, such as weather, traffic, and visibility.

Breach of Duty

A breach of this duty occurs when a driver fails to meet the standard of care expected in a given situation. Examples of such breaches are varied and can include actions like exceeding the speed limit, texting, ignoring traffic signals, and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Our team can get the evidence to establish that a breach occurred. We commonly gather eyewitness accounts and police reports documenting the incident to prove our claims.

Causation

Once a breach is established, the next step is to demonstrate causation. This typically consists of two key components: “actual” cause and “proximate” cause. Actual cause, often referred to as “cause in fact,” involves proving that the defendant’s violation of their duty directly resulted in the accident and subsequent injuries. For instance, if a driver disregards a red light and collides with another vehicle, this action is the actual cause of those injuries. In legal terms, this means that the accident would not have occurred if not for the negligent actions of the driver in question.

Proximate cause, in contrast, pertains to the concept of foreseeability. To establish proximate cause, we must demonstrate that your injuries were a predictable outcome of the defendant’s actions. In the previously mentioned example, it is reasonable to argue that running a red light creates a foreseeable risk of collision, which could naturally result in injuries to other drivers.

Damages

Finally, we must illustrate that the damages were indeed a direct result of the accident. Damages refer to the losses incurred because of the incident, which typically include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage, among other things. To substantiate your claim, providing supporting evidence, such as medical records, financial documents, and detailed accounts of how the accident has impacted your life, is crucial.

In some cases, the court might award punitive damages. This is rare because they are reserved to punish defendants for behavior beyond ordinary negligence. However, if you were injured by a drunk driver or a commercial driver purposefully ignoring regulations, we will argue for these damages to be awarded.

Call Our Today for the Support You Need to Recover the Damages You Deserve

Get a free, private case evaluation from our personal injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm by calling us today at (631) 910-7493.