Car accidents cause serious injuries that can lead to costly medical care, missed time at work, and difficult pain and suffering for victims. If a negligent or reckless driver caused the accident, the victim may be able to pursue compensation through a lawsuit and recover compensation for these and other harms.
To do this, you may need to demonstrate that your injuries qualify as an exception to New York’s no-fault car accident insurance laws, which require victims with less serious injuries to file insurance claims. Insurance claims will compensate the victim, but they are limited by policy terms and will not address the victim’s pain and suffering, so it is important to know when this option is available to you.
If you have questions, we can help you get answers. When you call (631) 910-7493 to speak to the Garden City car accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm, you can get your first-time case assessment free of charge.
Filing a Lawsuit for a Car Accident in Garden City
In order to win compensation in a court case after sustaining car accident injuries in Garden City, you must be able to show that another driver’s negligence caused the accident and that you sustained serious injuries as a result. These are important for different reasons.
Proving Negligence
In order to win a lawsuit for car accident injuries, you will have to demonstrate that another driver breached their duty of care to you by driving negligently. In other words, you must show that the other driver behaved unreasonably behind the wheel or violated some type of traffic law. Examples of these types of behaviors include speeding, running red lights, failing to account for weather conditions, and drunk or distracted driving, just to name a few.
It is not enough to show that the driver was simply negligent. You must also be able to demonstrate the causal relationship between the driver’s negligence and the accident. If a driver ran a red light two minutes before the accident occurred, it is unlikely that this negligent behavior was the cause of the accident.
Finally, you should be able to demonstrate that you sustained injury as a result of the accident. Though this may seem straightforward, many potential car accident lawsuits fail every year because the victim did not take the time to establish a medical record. This is why it is so crucial that you get medical attention as soon as possible after an accident, even if you believe that your medical needs are not immediate.
“Serious” Injury
New York follows a unique “no-fault” car accident injury rule. Under I.S.C. Law § 5104(a), many car accident injury victims are prevented from filing a lawsuit. Instead, they must seek their compensation through their own insurer, even if another driver was at fault for causing the accident. If you file an insurance claim with your own provider, you will not have to prove that the other driver was negligent. Still, you will not be eligible to receive the same value of monetary remedy, as some of the forms of compensation available in a lawsuit are not available through insurance.
However, there is an exception under § 5102(d) that allows some car accident injury victims to step outside of the state’s no-fault rule if they can show that their injuries are “serious.” Of course, all car accident injuries should be taken seriously, but this specifically refers to a statutorily defined range of particularly debilitating or impactful injuries.
Generally, the deciding criteria that New York law uses is the 90/180 rule. Under this rule, a condition will be considered “serious” if it materially affects a victim’s abilities for at least 90 of the 180 days that immediately follow the accident. If you can show that your injury caused significant disfigurement or temporary or permanent limitations in the use of a body part, system, or bodily function, your condition will meet the state’s “seriousness” threshold.
Figuring Out How Your Car Accident Occurred in Garden City
In order to take legal action against the negligent driver who injured you, we need to be able to explain exactly what happened, what went wrong, and who is responsible. The cause of a car accident is not always clear at first, and we might have to do some investigating and work with law enforcement to figure it out. Below are some common causes of accidents you should talk about with a lawyer.
Speeding Drivers
Speed is a very common factor in many car accidents. When drivers speed, they are more likely to lose control of their vehicles. This is especially dangerous when roads are wet, as speeding cars could hydroplane and collide with other vehicles. Even if speed is not the direct cause of an accident, a high rate of speed can make injuries and damage much worse.
We might be able to determine if the other driver was speeding based on your own observations and the observations of others. Most drivers do not carry radar guns to measure speed, so we might have to rely on your memory of how events transpired. Maybe you and others who saw the accident remember the other driver speeding very fast before the accident. Such testimony may be crucial to your case.
Distractions on the Road
One of the leading causes of vehicle accidents nowadays is distracted driving. All drivers are required to keep their eyes on the road and maintain focus. Unfortunately, it can be all too easy to lose focus. Maybe the other driver was on their cell phone. Texting or calling while driving is not just dangerous but may also be a traffic violation.
Other distractions might include the radio, GPS devices, and even passengers inside the vehicle. If you believe the other driver was not paying attention, tell your attorney.
Intoxicated Drivers
While lots of people like to enjoy a drink or two every now and then, drinking should never happen shortly before getting behind the wheel. Alcohol makes your reflexes dull and impairs your judgement, making it much more likely that an accident will happen. Intoxicated drivers often speed without realizing it before crashing into another car. Intoxicated drivers might have such dulled reflexes that they cannot react in time to hit the brakes.
If the other driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the police should be contacted immediately after the crash. They may arrest the other driver and chemically test them to determine their degree of intoxication. Such results may be useful evidence in your civil case.
How Quickly You Should File a Car Accident Case in Garden City
You only have so much time to prepare and file a civil case after a car accident. If a case becomes too old, it might be impossible to prove because evidence has likely become lost. The statute of limitations is a law that sets a strict time limit on when plaintiffs may file claims. According to C.V.P. Law § 214, you have only 3 years to file a personal injury case. This limitation period may begin on the same day as the accident, so time might already be running out.
You should start as soon as possible. While lots of people take time to recover from the accident and give serious thought to what kind of legal action they might take, it is not a good idea to take too much time. Not only do we risk running afoul of the statute of limitations, but we also risk losing evidence. If evidence is not gathered quickly, it could easily disappear, never to be found.
It also makes sense to start your case as early as possible because you might need to spend some of it working on an insurance claim. Many plaintiffs try to get fair compensation through insurance before turning to a lawsuit. All the while, the clock is ticking.
Finally, your case might be more complicated than you think, and you want to make sure your lawyer has adequate time to prepare.
Damages Available in Garden City Car Accident Cases
Your damages are as unique as just about every other aspect of your case. To fully understand your damages and figure out what kind of financial compensation they warrant, you should speak to your attorney about the economic costs of the car accident and non-economic injuries and losses you might have suffered.
Economic Damages
In many car accident cases, economic damages stem from how the accident cost the injured victim money. Anyone who has ever been in an auto accident can tell you how expensive they can be. Even when injuries are minor and damage to your car is fixable, the costs might still be quite high.
A major aspect of your economic damages is your medical care and hospital bills. Even small injuries should be seen by a doctor, and major injuries might require long-term care. Either way, your hospital bills might be very high.
Do not forget about your damaged vehicle and any personal items that might have been inside. Vehicle repairs can be costly, and you might be without a vehicle for a while. If your car is totaled, you may need to replace it with a new one, which is also extremely expensive. If you lost personal belongings in the accident, they should also be replaced and their costs added to your damages.
If you cannot work for a while after a car accident – which is very common – you might lose income, possibly a lot of income. Affording medical bills and vehicle repairs is already hard enough without also losing your ability to work and earn a living. For the time that you cannot work, however long that might be, we can estimate the value of the income you lose and add it to your damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Your non-economic damages are based on your unique, personal experiences during and after the car accident. Non-economic damages often do not come with a financial cost for plaintiffs, but they may still deserve financial compensation.
Your physical pain from your injuries should be a factor in your non-economic damages. Many people experience long-term or chronic pain from severe injuries, and they might suffer for years. Even when pain from bodily injuries is temporary, it can still be difficult to endure.
Accidents also have a way of causing victims intense emotional distress. The accident might have been terrifying, and you might have been very close to a fatal collision. If others involved in the accident did not survive, you might live with something called survivor’s guilty, which can weigh on your mind for a long time. These painful experiences and more may deserve fair financial compensation.
Benefits of a Lawsuit vs. an Insurance Claim for a Garden City Car Accident
When you file a claim with your car insurance provider, you can recover compensation for your medical expenses, repair or replacement value of damaged property, and lost income while recuperating from your injuries. However, your insurer will only cover up to the limit allowed by your policy. Different policies have varying limits, but you may find that your recovery will be cut short if you only choose to file an insurance claim.
A lawsuit, on the other hand, provides compensation for all of these categories, without being hamstrung by policy limits. If your serious condition warrants a serious amount of monetary recovery, you deserve to get it, especially when another driver was responsible.
Additionally, lawsuits provide damages for what insurance claims cannot – the personal and emotional pain and suffering that accompanies severe car accident injuries. Victims may experience chronic pain or the onset of psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. These conditions can impact a victim’s enjoyment of life, personal relationships, and their ability to engage in their favorite activities or pastimes.
Insurance does not provide for these harms because they are not financial in nature, but that does not mean they are any less real to the victim. The best way to get an idea of how much more you stand to gain through a lawsuit as opposed to an insurance claim is to bring your case to the attention of one of our seasoned Garden City car accident lawyers.
Get Help from the Garden City Car Accident Lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm Today
If you need help assessing your legal options and potential recovery, reach out to the dedicated Garden City car accident attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm today by calling (631) 910-7493 to get your free initial case assessment.