If someone causes you physical harm, you might have a personal injury case. In such cases, the person who hurt you can be held civilly liable and made to pay for your expenses related to the injuries.
Your personal injury lawsuit begins with a formal complaint. The complaint is an important legal document that must contain specific and extensive details about your injuries and why you believe the defendant should be held liable. Our legal team has handled various personal injury cases, including car accidents, premises liability cases, wrongful death, and more. Your damages encompass the losses and expenses incurred from your injuries and may sometimes represent a large sum of money. You should speak to an attorney about filing your case sooner rather than later, as there is a deadline on personal injury lawsuits.
The person that hurt you might not have committed a crime, but they should still be held responsible for their actions. Our personal injury lawyers can file your case and get you the compensation you deserve. Call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083 for a free case assessment.
How to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Elmhurst, NY
Before filing your case, you should speak to an attorney about your situation to determine what kind of case you have. Personal injury law is a broad field encompassing many different kinds of cases. As noted below, our Elmhurst, Queens personal injury attorneys have handled various cases and are prepared to help you file yours.
To start your lawsuit, we must draft and file a formal complaint. The complaint is an important legal document that must contain specific information and be written and formatted according to strict court rules. We must explain in the complaint how you were injured, why we believe the defendant should be held liable, and what kind of relief you need (i.e., how much money you need to cover your damages).
The complaint is extremely important as it is the document that kicks off your case and sets the tone for all subsequent hearings and proceedings. It might be possible to change the complaint later, but this is not always easy and might be impossible if too much time has passed.
We also must make sure we file your complaint in the correct court. There are numerous courts throughout New York, and they may or may not have jurisdiction over your case. We must figure out which court has the authority to hear your case based on what kind of case you have and where the personal injury occurred.
Personal Injury Cases Our Elmhurst, NY Attorneys Handle
Since a personal injury case requires some sort of harm done to your body, most physical injuries may be grounds for personal injury lawsuits. Because there are innumerable ways a person can be injured, there are many kinds of personal injury cases, and they might follow different rules and laws. Our personal injury attorneys have experience with the following cases:
- Car Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Bus Accidents, Uber and Lyft Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Construction Site Accidents
- Slip and Falls
- Product Liability
- Premises Liability
- Drunk Driving Accidents
- Drowning Accidents
- Wrongful Death
Your injuries might fall under several categories, thus implicating different rules and procedures. Our legal team is prepared to assist you with your case and work to get you the compensation you need.
Evidence to Prove Your Personal Injury Case in Elmhurst, NY
Every personal injury case is unique, and the evidence needed to prove your claims will be equally specific. The evidence we use in your case will largely depend on what is available. Sometimes, evidence is scarce, and our personal injury lawyers may build a strong case using only a few key pieces of evidence.
Your testimony may be a very important element in your case. You can testify about your injuries, what you remember from the accident, and how your injuries have affected your overall life and health. These are details only you can know and talk about, so your testimony might be necessary.
Testimony from others might also be very useful in court. Witness testimony is sometimes regarded as the backbone of many civil cases. People who witnessed the accident can testify and help us create a more accurate image of what happened. Multiple witnesses often make for a much strong case. Even witnesses who did not observe the accident can testify if they have some first-hand knowledge relevant to the case.
Photos and video footage are increasingly common forms of evidence as most people nowadays have cell phones with cameras right in their pockets. You might have taken photos of the accident scene while waiting for help to arrive. Maybe there was a security camera that recorded the accident. If you have photos or videos, show them to your lawyer immediately. If photos and videos exist elsewhere, we must find them before they are erased.
Physical objects may also be used as evidence. If the object played a role in how the accident happened, we can present in court as evidence and explain how it affected the accident and your injuries. For example, if a defective product injured you and you are suing the manufacturer, we need the defective item that injured you as evidence.
Damages Available in Personal Injury Lawsuits in Elmhurst, Queens
When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you will also include a claim for damages. Damages represent your injuries, losses, and expenses you incurred because of the defendant’s actions. Generally, there are several broad categories of possible damages. Compensatory damages are designed to make up for your losses, while punitive damages are designed to punish defendants for their behavior. Our Elmhurst, Queens personal injury lawyers can help you calculate damages are argue for the maximum compensation possible.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory Damages are either economic or non-economic. Economic damages represent monetary losses related to your injuries. Any money you spent because of being injured can be claimed as part of your economic damages. Common examples of economic damages include medical bills, lost income due to missing work, and property damage.
Non-economic damages are connected to losses that did not cost money but still took a significant toll on the plaintiff. Your emotional and physical pain and suffering may be claimed as non-economic damages. Similarly, things like humiliation or reputational damage can also be claimed. Our Elmhurst, Queens personal injury attorneys can calculate these damages by assessing how much they hinder your ability to function on a daily basis.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are not meant to make up for any losses experienced by the plaintiff. Instead, these damages serve as a costly punishment for defendants found liable for personal injuries. In New York, punitive damages might be available, but only in cases where the defendant’s behavior was especially outrageous or shocking. As a result, punitive damages are very rarely awarded. When awarded, they may be quite high as there are no statutory caps on punitive damages in New York.
How to Prove Fault for a Personal Injury Case in Elmhurst, NY
Personal injury cases often involve accidents. While the defendant might not have meant to cause you harm, they may still be held liable for their actions. Many, if not most, personal injury cases are based on negligence. This is more than just careless behavior. It is made up of four legal elements, each of which must be proven for your case to succeed.
Duty
The first element is the defendant’s duty. To have a valid claim against the defendant, they must have owed you a duty of care or safety when the accident occurred. Exactly what this duty is may vary based on the situation. You do not have to know someone in order to owe them a duty of care. In many cases, the defendant and plaintiff are strangers, but a duty of care is still involved.
A common example of a duty of care we all have shared at one point or another is on the road. All drivers owe all other drivers on the road a duty to drive with reasonable safety and caution under the circumstances while obeying the traffic laws. Explain your accident to your attorney and they can help you determine what kind of duty the defendant owed you.
Breach
The second element is the defendant’s breach of their duty. This involves something the defendant did or failed to do that violated their duty of care. In a car accident case, a breach of duty might consist of running a red light, speeding, or failing to signal a turn. Again, the breach will vary from case to case, and it is not always obvious from the start. You and your lawyer might have to investigate and determine more details about the accident before you can pinpoint how the defendant breached their duty of care.
Causation
The third element of negligence is causation. The defendant’s breach of their duty must be the direct and proximate cause of the accident and your injuries. Put another way, the breach must be the cause of the accident. A defendant might violate some legal obligation, but this does not automatically mean that an accident will occur. It is possible that some other intervening force caused the accident. As such, we must be prepared with evidence that connects the defendant’s actions directly to the accident.
Damages
The fourth and final element of negligence is your damages. If you did not experience any injuries or damages because of an accident, you do not have a valid legal claim. Damages do not have to be significant to be valid. Even small damages for minor costs and injuries may be enough. We must come with evidence of your injuries and damages. This might involve proof of monetary costs (e.g., hospital bills) or proof of non-economic injuries, like pain and suffering.
Why You Should Hire an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney for Your Case in Elmhurst, NY
You might consider trying to file and handle your case on your own. While this is not illegal, and you do not have to be represented by an attorney if you truly do not want to, it is a bad idea to proceed on your own. Your case might be far more complicated than you first think, and navigating complex laws and court procedures might be more than you are prepared to handle.
A lawyer can help you by developing legal strategies for your case. This often means analyzing the evidence in light of the facts and applicable laws to determine how to move the case forward. A good legal strategy might take time and a lot of effort, and you should not try to do it alone. Not only that, but strategies often must change or be adjusted as the case unfolds, and your attorney should know how to roll with the punches.
Your lawyer may also advise you on various legal options. While having a full trial with a judge and jury is one option, it is not the only option and possibly not even the best option for your case. Your lawyer can help you explore other options, like settlements or insurance claims, to get you fair compensation.
When to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Elmhurst, NY
You should file your personal injury lawsuit as soon as possible for several reasons. First, you have a limited time to file the case after being injured. Statutes of limitations impose deadlines for plaintiffs, and if they miss these deadlines, they risk losing their rights to file their cases. In New York, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is 3 years under C.V.P. Law § 214(5).
Second, you should file sooner rather than later because you risk losing precious evidence the longer you wait to file. Physical evidence from accident scenes tends to disappear quickly, and witnesses might move away if you wait too long. The sooner you decide to file your case, the sooner our Elmhurst, Queens personal injury attorneys can gather and keep track of the evidence needed to hold the defendant liable.
Contact Our Elmhurst, NY Personal Injury Lawyers
If someone else caused you bodily harm, they can be held accountable in a lawsuit and made to cover your expenses. Our personal injury lawyers can help you start your case. For a free case evaluation, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.