If you are hurt in an accident, you likely need expensive medical care, to take time away from work to recover, and to deal with costly property damage. You should not have to shoulder this burden on your own. An attorney can help you file a personal injury case against the person who caused your injuries and make them cover your damages.
While many claims end up in court, others might be resolved through insurance claims or private settlements. The best choice depends on your situation, and your lawyer can help you decide what to do. You might file a claim against the person who hurt you and possibly their employer if they were working when the accident happened. To prove your claims, we need evidence and records about the accident, your damages, and the defendant.
Start your case with a free claim evaluation by calling The Carrion Law Firm at (631) 910-7493 and talking to our personal injury attorneys.
How You Can Start a Personal Injury Case
Perhaps the most difficult step in beginning legal action is the first step. Starting a claim is not easy and requires extensive preparation and legal knowledge.
Step number one should be to hire an experienced lawyer and explore your options. Your attorney may walk you through various options for getting fair compensation, and you may decide which one serves your needs the best.
We cannot start your case until we have thoroughly assessed your damages and found evidence to back up your claims. Our personal injury attorneys need to know what evidence we have so they can develop an effective legal strategy.
Once we have all the information we need, we can draft a formal legal complaint to file with the court. The complaint will officially kick off the case, and it is arguably one of the most important legal documents in your case. The complaint must contain very specific and extensive details about how you were injured, your damages, evidence, and more.
Who is Responsible for Your Personal Injuries in North Haven?
For some, the person responsible for their injuries is obvious, but for others, the identity of the defendant is less clear. Below are a few common examples of how fault may be determined and whom you can sue for damages.
Suing an Individual
Many types of personal injury claims involve cases against individual people. You might sue the other driver in a car accident or the owner of the property where you slipped and fell and became badly injured.
Sometimes, multiple individuals may be included in a personal injury lawsuit. This is more common in cases like multi-vehicle accidents, where more than one driver might have contributed to the accident. In such cases, you should be sure to include everyone responsible, or you might not recover all the compensation you deserve.
Suing an Employer
You might be able to sue the person who caused your accident and possibly their employer, but only under specific conditions. Under the legal doctrine known as respondeat superior, if a person negligently causes an accident and injuries while performing their normal job duties, their employer may be held vicariously liable.
This rule may only apply in certain circumstances. If the person who caused the accident is an independent contractor or doing something outside their normal work duties, their employer might not be held vicariously liable.
Comparative Fault
The defendant might try to argue that you somehow contributed to the accident and your injuries. If the court believes their arguments have merit, they may apply rules of comparative fault.
According to C.V.P. Law § 1411, New York follows a pure comparative negligence law. If the court determines that you are partly to blame for the accident, it may reduce your damages according to your degree of fault. If you are found to be 15% responsible, your damages may be reduced by 15%.
Obtaining Important Records After an Accident
Accidents can be hard to prove without proper documentation and records. Obtaining the right records is key to your success, and your attorney can help you.
Records of the Accident
If you contacted the police after the accident, they may have come to the accident scene and performed an investigation. In that case, there is likely a police report about your accident containing details uncovered by the authorities. While police reports are normally considered inadmissible hearsay, they may be useful in guiding us to other evidence.
Photos and videos may also serve as valuable documentation of the accident. You or someone else at the scene might have taken photos for insurance purposes. In addition, nearby security cameras might have recorded what happened.
Medical Records
You should have gotten emergency medical care after being injured, and your medical records may shed light on the extent of your injuries and medical costs. If your injuries are complex, expected to last long-term, or are especially severe, your records may be very important in helping the jury to understand your injuries.
Income Records
Injuries often make it very hard to work. If you cannot work, you cannot earn money to support yourself. As such, we should gather records of your work and income to prove how much income you have lost because of the accident. Pay stubs, hiring contracts, and invoices may all be important.
Do I Have to Have a Trial for a Personal Injury Claim in North Haven?
Trials can be intimidating, and not everyone wants to go through one. While a trial is an option, you might have others worth exploring.
If you file a lawsuit, you should expect to have a trial date scheduled. However, this does not mean you have to have a trial. You might instead opt to resolve the case by negotiating a settlement with the defendant.
Trials can be helpful, but they are not always necessary to get fair compensation. How you move your case forward is entirely up to you. Consider how a trial or other legal options fit your needs.
Reach Out to Our North Haven Personal Injury Attorneys for Assistance
Start your case with a free claim evaluation by calling The Carrion Law Firm at (631) 910-7493 and talking to our personal injury attorneys.