Personal injuries can occur in any number of circumstances. When negligence is involved in a car accident, slip and fall, construction accident, defective product, drowning, animal attack, or any number of other situations, victims should know what they can do to better their situation. An attorney can help you get fair compensation from those responsible for your injuries.
In many cases, this involves taking legal action to recover damages. Compensation for a personal injury lawsuit may account for medical bills, lost income, the victim’s pain and suffering, and possibly more. In some cases, additional damages may be awarded to further punish a particularly reckless or malicious defendant. Again, personal injury claims may span various injuries and accidents, and you need an attorney with experience with claims like yours. Your claim may determine how and where we find evidence and what damages might be available. Some people are so badly hurt that their lives are forever altered. Others do not survive, and their families may take legal action on their behalf.
Contact our personal injury attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm by calling (631) 910-7493 right now. We can provide you with an initial case evaluation for no charge.
Compensation is Available Through a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Garden City
If you suffered serious injury because of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or intentionally harmful conduct in Garden City, chances are that you can pursue a personal injury lawsuit. When considering legal action, it is natural to wonder how much your case may be worth.
Without specific information about the victim, the injuries they suffered, and how the injuries were caused, it is difficult to predict what any given case is worth. However, with the help of our seasoned personal injury attorneys, you can break down your potential recovery by category. There are three major categories of damages in a personal injury lawsuit to consider: economic, noneconomic, and punitive damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages account for the ways in which the accident cost you money. Accidents are infamous for being expensive, and your economic damages might be quite high. Claims commonly involve medical expenses, lost income, damaged property, and other financial consequences that result directly from your accident.
Even when injuries are relatively minor, medical costs are often high. Healthcare is known for being costly, and a single visit to the emergency room might be more than you can pay. For those facing severe injuries with extensive medical needs, hospital bills might be thousands upon thousands of dollars.
People with serious injuries often need time away from work to recover, especially if their jobs are physically demanding. In such cases, victims might lose income, making it even harder to pay their medical expenses and other costs of living. The longer you are out of work, the higher your economic damages might be.
Many other injured victims lose property in the accident. Maybe the construction accident damaged your personal and expensive tools. Maybe you were injured in a car crash, and your vehicle is totaled. The cost of replacing or repairing your property should be factored into your claim for economic damages.
Your attorney can help you account for all of these costs by recording all invoices, bills, and receipts you receive that are directly related to your medical care and by assessing the impact that your injuries have had on your career.
Non-Economic Damages
Noneconomic damages may be awarded to compensate a victim for the pain and suffering that they have and will continue to experience as a result of the accident and their injuries. Though these harms are not necessarily financial, they can factor into your monetary recovery. Non-economic damages tend to be highly subjective, and we likely need strong evidence indicating that the accident took a serious toll on your life and well-being.
Many non-economic damages revolve around the pain of your injuries. Besides the cost of medical treatment, your injuries might take a serious mental or psychological toll. They might be excruciatingly painful or come with permanent complications that change the way you live. Perhaps your injuries left significant scarring or disfigurement, and you must emotionally come to terms with how your body has changed.
You might also claim non-economic damages for humiliation and damage to your reputation. For example, if you were injured in a construction accident in front of all your coworkers and colleagues, they might develop unfair, negative opinions about you and how you work. This can be very embarrassing and make it harder for you to find employment in the future. As such, you may claim these painful experiences as part of your non-economic damages.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages may be awarded to plaintiffs, but they are not intended to compensate plaintiffs for things they might have lost or pain they might have endured. Instead, punitive damages are meant to penalize defendants for certain kinds of egregious behavior. While these damages are technically a punishment, defendants do not have to be criminally charged for punitive damages to be available, although criminal charges might make your claim for punitive damages more compelling.
Punitive damages are only awarded in cases where the defendant’s behavior is so morally reprehensible that it warrants additional punishment from the court. These are more commonly awarded in situations where the injuries were caused by recklessness or intentionally harmful or malicious acts.
Common Causes of Personal Injury in Garden City
Personal injuries occur in Garden City every day in a variety of ways, but some causes are more common than others. Our personal injury attorneys have provided some of the most frequent causes of personal injury lawsuits below.
Slip and Falls
Slip and fall injury lawsuits are specific types of personal injury claims that fall under premises liability law. Under these laws, the person responsible for slip and fall accidents or other injuries that occur on a particular property is generally the property owner. Property owners have a legal duty to make their property and premises safe for guests. Our lawyers can help you assess what legal duties you were owed and whether a property owner’s breach could be grounds for a lawsuit.
Workplace Injuries
In most cases where someone is injured at a job in Garden City, Workers’ Compensation is designated by law as the exclusive source of monetary remedy. However, Workers’ Compensation does not always fully cover injuries and financial costs. You should always discuss the possibility that you can step outside the state’s exclusive remedy rule and file a lawsuit with the help of our injury lawyers.
Car Accidents
Car accidents are a leading cause of personal injury in Garden City and other areas of Long Island every year. Drivers and passengers in them are not the only potential injury victims in a traffic collision. Cars, buses, rideshare vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrians are also at the mercy of a negligent, reckless, or intentionally harmful motorist who causes a crash.
Product Liability
Product liability is an area of law that holds the makers and distributors of faulty and hazardous products responsible for the harm they cause. Any household item that is found to be defective could cause injury and create grounds for a lawsuit. Defects could arise in the design of the product, its manufacturing, or the failure to include sufficient instructions on safe use or warnings about potential dangers.
Drowning Accidents
Drowning and other swimming pool accidents commonly result from a lack of supervision. The owners and operators of swimming pools at private homes, resorts, hotels and motels, municipalities, water parks, and other places with pools have an obligation to provide adequate supervision to prevent drowning accidents. They also must post signage about proper behavior and hazards in the area, such as where shallow areas prevent diving. When negligence in these areas causes critical injury, our lawyers will pursue compensation for victims and their families.
Dog Bites
New York law makes the owner or keeper of a previously adjudicated “dangerous dog” strictly liable only for the victim’s medical and veterinary costs. For other damages, New York requires a victim to prove that the dog had the dangerous tendency to bite people and that the dog owner knew so. After seeking medical attention for you or a loved one who suffered a dog bite, contact our personal injury attorneys as soon as possible.
How Long you Have to File a Personal Injury Case in Garden City
The process of navigating a civil case through the court system is famous for being time-consuming. However, that does not mean you have all the time in the world to file your claim. In fact, plaintiffs have a very limited amount of time to file their cases or risk losing their ability to do so. The statute of limitations under C.V.P. Law § 214 gives personal injury plaintiffs a mere 3 years to file their claims in court. Your time typically begins on the day you are initially injured, and the clock might already be ticking.
Considering the time crunch, it is imperative that you speak to an attorney about your situation sooner rather than later. Call a lawyer even if you are unsure whether legal action is the right choice. They can help you take stock of all your legal options so you can make an informed decision about the next step.
If time is running out, you might be allowed to pause the clock, but only for very specific reasons. Tolling the statute of limitations may be possible if certain conditions prevent you from taking legal action within the normal limitation period. Some of the more common reasons for tolling include infancy and insanity.
According to § 208(a), plaintiffs who are minors when they are injured or who have mental or psychological conditions that make it impossible for them to understand their injuries or legal rights may have the limitation period tolled. If you were a minor, the limitation period is tolled until you are 18, giving you 3 years from then to file. If you have or had a mental condition that inhibited your ability to sue, the limitation period may be tolled until the condition is removed.
Suing for Vehicle Accidents in Garden City
Some of the most frequently filed personal injury claims on Long Island are for auto accidents and collisions. What makes these cases somewhat challenging to deal with in a legal sense is the complex relationship between drivers’ right to sue and the insurance laws of New York.
New York is a no-fault insurance state. All drivers are required to carry personal injury protection insurance (PIP) in addition to standard liability coverage. According to I.S.C. Law § 5104(a), drivers are required to file claims with their no-fault insurance first. If their claims are completely covered, there is no need to take any further legal action. However, if your damages exceed the limitation of your no-fault policy, you may file a claim with the other driver’s liability coverage or a lawsuit. However, a lawsuit is only permitted if you can prove you experienced a “serious injury” in the accident.
A serious injury is defined under § 5102(d). It includes dismemberment, significant disfigurement, death, the loss of a pregnancy, limited or permanent loss or limitations of body parts, organs, functions, or systems, or a medically determined, non-permanent injury that hinders you from doing normal daily activities for at least 90 days during the immediate 180 days following a crash.
Personal Injury Claims for Slip-and-Fall Accidents in Garden City
Slip-and-fall accidents are another example of commonly filed personal injury claims. Slip-and-falls tend to get an unfair reputation for being shameless money grabs, but the truth is that many victims are badly hurt and in dire need of compensation. Depending on where and how a person falls, they might seriously injure their arms, hands, legs, head, back, or neck. One bad fall can completely change a person’s life, and not for the better.
The first question is, who should be held responsible for a slip-and-fall accident? Generally, the person who owns the property where you fell may be held liable if dangerous conditions on the premises are the direct cause of the accident. A classic example is a freshly mopped floor with no wet-floor sign. This is a common problem in grocery stores, restaurants, or other places prone to spills and wet floors.
Not only do we need evidence of your injuries and damages, but we also need some evidence showing that the defendant’s failure to maintain the premises was the direct cause of the fall. Property owners generally have a legal duty to remove or repair known hazards on the premises and make reasonable inspections for potential unknown hazards. If these hazards cannot be removed, guests should be adequately warned of the unsafe conditions.
Evidence Needed for Many Garden City Personal Injury Cases
Evidence is the beating heart of anyone’s personal injury case. Evidence is often unique to each situation and may vary greatly from case to case. As such, you and your lawyer might have to go to great lengths to find proof of the defendant’s negligence. Although much evidence might be specific to each plaintiff, some evidence is prevalent across many personal injury claims.
Photos and videos are frequently used as evidence in civil cases. Nowadays, most people have a camera on their phones and can take high-quality pictures and videos with the press of a button. For example, drivers often take pictures of accident scenes to send to insurance companies, and their photos and videos may also be used as evidence in a civil claim. Often, these pictures contain details that are lost when the authorities clear the accident scene, so your pictures might be crucial to your case.
We should also seek out witnesses who saw the accident or have personal knowledge of details relevant to the case. We should also consider having you testify, as you may be able to speak on how the accident and your injuries have affected your life. Testimony can be very persuasive, especially if multiple witnesses have clear memories of the accident.
In some situations, certain records or documentation may be very important to proving claims. For example, your medical records may be necessary to prove the extent and cost of your injuries. If you are suing a business, certain business records might shed light on how the defendant is responsible for the accident.
What to Do if Personal Injuries Are Extreme or Catastrophic in Garden City
Many plaintiffs are fortunate enough to fully recover from their injuries in time. However, not all plaintiffs are so lucky. Catastrophic injuries like brain injuries or spinal cord damage might leave a person with life-long complications, disabilities, and pain. In such cases, plaintiffs might need help contacting lawyers and filing their claims. Additionally, their damages are often far more substantial.
Injuries involving long-term or permanent medical complications are not only painful but often take a serious emotional and psychological toll on plaintiffs. Not only that, but plaintiffs also often require greater medical care, often for the rest of their lives. As such, your economic and non-economic damages for such injuries may be very high.
With such severe medical needs and injuries, we must take care in how we present evidence of your damages. Much of your evidence may come from medical records, and we need to make sure you are thoroughly evaluated by doctors and that you continue seeing doctors throughout the duration of the case.
What if Your Loved One Passes Away After an Accident in Garden City
Not everyone survives an accident. If you recently lost a family member in an accident, you may file a wrongful death claim to get fair compensation for you and your family. According to E.P.T. Law § 5-4.1(1), wrongful death cases must be filed by the deceased person’s “personal representative.” This is usually someone appointed to handle legal affairs surrounding the deceased’s estate. The personal representative might be a friend or family member named in the deceased person’s will. If you are unsure who the representative is, we can help you identify them. If there is no personal representative, we can ask the court to appoint one to file a wrongful death claim.
Wrongful death claims must be filed no later than 2 years after your loved one passes away. This limitation period might not run from the date your loved one was initially injured. Many people do not pass away immediately. Instead, make sure to calculate your limitation period from the date of death.
You Can Pursue Damages Today with Our Garden City Personal Injury Lawyers
By picking up the phone and calling (631) 910-7493, you can obtain a free first-time case assessment from our personal injury attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm.