Brooklyn Personal Injury Lawyers

Many accidents and injuries are not caused by criminal actions. As such, people sometimes mistakenly assume there is nothing they can do legally to get justice. This could not be further from the truth. After an accident, an attorney can help you take civil action against the person who caused the accident and get you financial compensation for your injuries and damages.

The term “personal injury” is sometimes used a bit loosely, and many might not know what constitutes a legal claim for personal injuries. Generally, you must have suffered some bodily harm because of someone else’s actions. You must file your claim within 2 years of when the injury occurs, barring special circumstances. A few examples of possible personal injury claims might involve car crashes, slip-and-fall injuries, and injuries caused by defective products. Evidence to prove your injuries and claims might come from anywhere, like photos, testimony, and medical records. We will need as much evidence as possible to prove your damages, which represent your losses, financial and otherwise. Talk to your lawyer soon so they can weigh your legal options with you.

Get a private, free case evaluation from our personal injury lawyers by calling The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.

How Do I Know if I Have a Personal Injury Claim in Brooklyn?

Again, the phrase “personal injury” comes up a lot and is often used incorrectly. People might use this phrase to describe almost any sort of civil lawsuit, but this is not accurate. Personal injuries are a specific type of civil claim that may arise if you experience bodily harm. If you are unsure whether you have a potential personal injury claim on your hands, ask yourself the following questions.

Were you in an accident? If you were hurt, you might have a valid claim. Accidents are arguably the main source of personal injury claims. The person responsible for the accident does not necessarily have to have committed a crime to be held responsible. Even minor accidents, like a small rear-end collision at a red light that caused you whiplash, may warrant legal action.

Have you been physically injured? Remember, the hallmark of personal injury claims is that they involve bodily harm. If you were in an accident but were not hurt, you likely do not have a personal injury claim. However, that does not mean you do not have any claim at all. You should still talk to an attorney to see if you can still take legal action to recover compensation for things like damaged property.

Was your injury someone else’s fault? To put it bluntly, you cannot sue for an accident that was your fault. Many, if not most, personal injury claims are based on someone else’s negligence. Our personal injury lawyers are tasked with gathering evidence to prove that the defendant behaved negligently and that their behavior is the direct cause of the accident.

When to File a Personal Injury Case in Brooklyn

It is often unclear to injured victims whether it is a good time to begin a civil lawsuit. Not only is beginning legal action a serious decision, it often leads to a very time-consuming and complicated court battle. As such, people tend to hesitate and take their time to think about their options. However, taking too much time to think it over might do more harm than good, as you have a limited time in which to file your case.

The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in New York is found under C.V.P. Law § 214 and gives plaintiffs only 3 years to file their claims in court. This limitation period begins on the day of the accident, so you might be running out of time as we speak. If you do not file your case on time, you might be unable to file it at all.

If you are running out of time, your attorney may be able to help you have the statute of limitations tolled. Tolling allows plaintiffs to pause the clock counting down on their limitation period, essentially extending their time to file the case. This is only possible under very specific conditions. Some of the most common reasons for tolling include “infancy” and “insanity” under § 208(a).

If a plaintiff is a minor when they are injured, the limitation period may be tolled until they are 18. This means the 3-year limitation period would not begin on the day of the accident but on their 18th birthday. If the plaintiff was under a mental condition that inhibited them from filing their claims on their own or understanding their rights and injuries, the limitation period may be tolled until their condition is removed.

Personal Injury Cases Our Brooklyn Attorneys Have Worked On

A personal injury case may encompass a vast assortment of accidents, injuries, and claims. Personal injury claims involve plaintiffs with bodily injuries. Since injuries might happen in any number of accidents, personal injury claims span a broad legal spectrum. Below are a few examples of cases our team has experience with.

Auto Accidents

Car accidents are among some of the most frequently filed personal injury cases. Car accidents are a nearly daily occurrence, and someone somewhere is likely dealing with car accident-related injuries at this very moment. In New York, drivers are required to carry no-fault insurance, according to I.S.C. Law § 5104(a). As such, drivers may not file civil lawsuits for damages unless they have a “serious injury.”

A serious injury is defined under § 5102(d). It may include injuries leading to death, loss of a fetus, dismemberment, fractures, serious disfigurement, limitation or loss of organs, body parts, or bodily functions, or a medically diagnosed, non-permanent injury that gets in the way of normal daily chores for at least 90 days out of the 180 days right after the crash.

If a car accident is severe, there is a good chance your injuries meet the serious injury rule. It is a good idea to speak to an attorney before filing an insurance claim to see if your case is grounds for a civil lawsuit.

Premises Liability

If an accident happens because the conditions on the land or property were unsafe, you might have a premises liability claim on your hands. A common example of such a claim is a slip-and-fall accident. Maybe you were walking through a store or a restaurant and slipped on a wet floor. Maybe there was a spill, or someone mopped up without placing a wet-floor sign. If you are hurt, you may sue the property owner for damages.

Generally, property owners have a legal duty to make the property safe for guests. They should remove or repair hazards they know about and make reasonable inspections for unsafe conditions they might not yet know about. If they fail to do so, they may be held liable for a resulting accident.

Product Liability

If you were hurt when you tried to use a new item you purchased, you might recover damages in a product liability case. Not all new products are safe to use right out of the box, even if they are supposed to be. Products might be damaged before they leave the factory or so poorly designed that they cannot be used safely for their intended purpose. Suppose you tried to use a brand-new coffee maker, but the glass coffee carafe shattered in your hands and cut you because the glass was not properly manufactured to withstand the hot coffee. The manufacturer of the coffee maker may be held liable for your injuries.

Evidence We Need to Prove Your Personal Injury Case in Brooklyn

To prove your claims in civil court, we need enough evidence to meet our burden of proof, which is proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Put another way, we must have enough evidence to show that it is more likely than not that the defendant is liable for your damages. While this is a somewhat lower burden of proof compared to criminal cases, it is still difficult to meet, and you need strong evidence.

Physical evidence may include items or objects from the accident that help us prove your claims. If a faulty product injured you, we need the faulty product as evidence. If an object is too large to transport to a courtroom (e.g., a damaged car after a crash), photos of the object may suffice.

Testimony is also powerful evidence, depending on the person testifying. If other people saw the accident happen or have personal knowledge about the accident, their testimony may be extremely valuable to your case. Your own testimony is also important. Only you may testify about certain aspects of the case, such as your pain, suffering, and what you personally witnessed during the accident.

Proving your injuries is necessary to establish the extent and value of your damages. To do this, we might need copies of your medical records. Our personal injury lawyers can help you get your records from the hospital where you were treated, and we can have a doctor review your records and explain them in court as a witness.

Recoverable Damages in a Brooklyn Personal Injury Case

Damages in your personal injury case will undoubtedly vary based on your losses, injuries, and the extent of your personal experiences. Some people have high costs and experience severe distress after an accident. Others might have somewhat less extensive damages. Even so, you deserve fair compensation for your damages, and your attorney can help you.

Economic damages may be proved with evidence of costs and expenses. If you sought medical treatment after being injured – which you should definitely do – your hospital bills should be added to your economic damages claim. Similarly, the cost of repairing damaged property and the value of income you might lose from being too injured to continue working should be accounted for. If you have incurred other costs, talk about them with your lawyer.

Non-economic damages are based on certain painful experiences and might be totally unrelated to money. As such, these damages are usually not proven with evidence of costs, and their value may be a bit more open to interpretation. Your trauma, distress, pain, humiliation, disfigurement, quality of life, and loss of overall happiness from your life are common in non-economic damages claims.

Why You Need a Brooklyn Personal Injury Lawyer to Help You

People are often afraid of committing themselves to something like a lawsuit, and they might be afraid of incurring expensive legal fees. However, trying to handle your personal injury case alone is not a good idea. Your case might be complex, and you need someone with legal experience to guide you.

Your attorney can help you get started by talking to the police. Depending on how you were hurt, the police might be involved. For example, law enforcement often gets involved in things like car accidents or cases of severe injuries. They are also involved when personal injury claims overlap with criminal law. If there is an investigation and the police uncover valuable evidence, your attorney can talk to them about it.

Your lawyer will also communicate with the defendant and their attorneys if they have any. As a general rule, you should not be directly communicating with the defendant. Communications can quickly turn hostile, or the defendant might try to intimidate you into dropping the case. Your lawyer should be your point of contact.

We must also coordinate with the courts. Once your case is filed, hearings and court appearances are scheduled. There may be numerous status hearings about your case before the actual trial begins. Your attorney should be coordinating with the court about things like evidence, paperwork, and what kind of legal procedures should be followed. Do not think of your case as one big trial. Think of it as many smaller hearings that must line up in a certain way, and your attorney can help you make sure everything goes smoothly.

Call Our Brooklyn Personal Injury Lawyers for Legal Help Today

Get a private, free case evaluation from our personal injury lawyers by calling The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.