Amherst, NY Personal Injury Lawyer
After sustaining a bodily injured due to another person’s negligence, you can recover compensation by filing a lawsuit in Amherst.
It is crucial that victims understand the general timeline of a personal injury claim so that they are prepared for what litigation entails. First, victims must report an incident, often to the police or, at the very least, to the other parties involved. Then, our attorneys will start gathering evidence, such as medical records, footage, photographs, and witness statements. After a claim is filed with the court, a defendant may wish to negotiate a settlement. In instances where negotiations are not successful, victims may go to court to recover compensation. Once the process is complete, you will be awarded damages through a lump sum payment or structured payments.
The Carrion Law Firm’s Amherst, NY personal injury lawyers can give you a free case review when you call (718) 841-0083.
Timeline of a Personal Injury Claim in Amherst, NY
Most personal injury cases in Amherst follow a similar timeline. All begin with an incident of some kind, which should be reported to the necessary authorities and parties. After being contacted about your case, our personal injury lawyers will begin collecting evidence that supports your claim. Then, you will file your complaint in court. Negotiations will likely follow, which could lead to a trial. Finally, victims can recover compensatory damages.
Reporting the Accident
Any time a person is injured because of another party’s negligent act, the incident should be documented. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, you may have to call the Amherst Police Department. This is required for any auto, bicycle, or pedestrian accident involving a car that results in injury. In other circumstances, victims may report their injuries to the party that harmed them. For example, if you were hurt in a retail shop, you should inform the owner. Companies typically have a reporting procedure for these situations. Regardless, you should create some form of documentation of the accident that injured you. This is crucial in establishing that an incident occurred and involved a negligent party. Reporting should be done immediately, as close to the time of the accident as possible.
Collecting Evidence
Then the process of collecting evidence begins. When seeking compensation, it is necessary that you have evidence that enables you to meet the burden of proof. Because the causes of personal injury claims vary, the evidence available in each case might differ. For example, while eyewitnesses might have seen a car accident occur, they might not have seen a slip and fall that happened in a stairwell of an apartment building. When eyewitness statements are unavailable, other evidence, such as security camera footage, might be. Other types of evidence often used in personal injury cases include expert statements, photographs, and medical records. Your medical records will be especially important if you have to prove that your injuries meet the serious injury threshold, which might be necessary if you were hurt in a motor vehicle accident in Amherst. The longer victims wait to contact our attorneys and begin collecting evidence, the more difficult it might be to find proof that supports their claims.
Filing Your Claim
The next step is filing a lawsuit against a defendant with the court. This process involves submitting various documents to the court, including an initial complaint that names the defendant and cites the damages you are seeking. If you wish to recover punitive damages because the defendant’s actions constituted gross negligence, that should be included in your initial filings. The defendant will then be served and notified of the civil litigation against them. In Amherst, victims have three years to sue for most personal injury claims. If you were injured because of medical malpractice, you will have two years and six months to sue. While there are some exceptions to the filing deadline for personal injury cases, it is not wise for victims to rely on them. When victims do not adhere to the filing deadline, they become barred from recovery entirely.
Entering into Negotiations
Negotiations typically follow the filing of a lawsuit. Defendants might be eager to settle a case out of court so that they can avoid being financially responsible for all of a victim’s damages. In some situations, it may be prudent to entertain negotiations to a certain degree. That said, it is important to be able to identify when negotiations are not progressing. Otherwise, negotiations might drag on for far too long, leaving victims with overwhelming medical bills and other expenses. Once you accept a settlement agreement, you cannot pursue additional compensation, even if you realize that the settlement is insufficient to cover the cost of your damages.
Going to Trial
Some personal injury claims will go to trial because a defendant is unwilling to settle at an amount that satisfies a plaintiff. When this happens, a jury or judge will be involved. They will hear both sides of the argument and make a decision about liability and compensatory damages. In personal injury cases, victims must prove that it is more likely than not that a negligent party caused their injuries. Because the burden of proof is not as high as in civil cases as it is in criminal cases, our attorneys can prove fault with the proper evidence.
Recovering Compensation
A victim can recover compensation once a case concludes, whether because of a settlement or judgment at trial. Compensation will either be paid via lump sum or structured payments. The former involves one payment of all damages, while the latter involves payments over time. In either circumstance, victims will recover all of the damages they are awarded after being successful in their personal injury claims in Amherst.
Call Our Amherst, NY Lawyers About Your Personal Injury Case
For help with your case from The Carrion Law Firm, call our personal injury lawyers at (718) 841-0083.