Irondequoit Car Accident Lawyer
Car accident claims can help you get the compensation you need after a serious accident. However, knowing how to file a claim and what your claim should be worth might not be that simple.
Working with an attorney, you can be assured that you have an experienced professional on your side who can help you with your case. This can begin with an insurance claim against your own policy to help you recover immediate payments for medical bills, but you will likely have additional costs plus pain and suffering on top of these damages. Getting full compensation might even mean taking your case to court.
For a free case evaluation, call our car accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083.
The Car Accident Claims Process in Irondequoit, NY
Getting damages from a car accident case in Irondequoit usually begins with an insurance claim. However, the no-fault insurance system we use in New York ultimately limits recovery in a few ways. To get the rest of the damages you deserve in your case, you might need to file a claim against the at-fault driver. Then the question becomes one of whether the other driver’s insurance company will pay you what they owe you or whether you need to go to court to get full compensation.
Insurance Claims
Your no-fault or “PIP” (personal injury protection) insurance should cover some of your medical bills and lost wages up front, regardless of who caused your accident. This insurance is helpful, but it probably will not compensate you in full, as a basic policy with minimum coverage covers only $50,000.
Our car accident lawyers can help you get compensation for medical bills and a portion of your lost wages through this insurance, but you might still be left with other expenses. For example, even something as simple as auto repairs will not be covered through this policy unless you have expanded first-party benefits. You also cannot get pain and suffering damages this way, and those damages are incredibly important in serious injury cases.
Filing a Third-Party Insurance Claim
Victims of “serious injuries” are able to reach beyond their own insurance and file a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. This coverage has a minimum of $25,000 of coverage for injuries, but many drivers have higher coverage.
To get payments from the other driver’s insurance through a “third-party” claim against their liability insurance, you have to show the insurance company that their driver was at fault. You also need to prove the value of your expenses, e.g., by producing medical bills and auto repair bills. If the insurance company is reluctant to pay full value or believe your claim, our attorneys might be able to negotiate with them.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
If the other driver did not have insurance (as required under New York law), then your own policy should have uninsured motorist coverage to make up for this. This is usually required in New York and should help cover you if the other driver has no insurance or you were injured in a hit and run. You might also have underinsured motorist coverage, which helps make up the remainder if the other driver’s insurance is too low.
Lawsuits
If negotiations with the defendant’s insurance company are not producing the payments you need, we can take your case to court and file a lawsuit against them. With the added pressure of a lawsuit, insurance companies are often more willing to settle for a fair value.
In a lawsuit, we can fight to recover all compensation you need, including pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and any other expenses you faced because of the car accident. Even if your case goes to a lawsuit, we can still potentially settle the lawsuit before going to trial, saving you time and expense.
How Much is an Irondequoit Car Accident Claim Worth?
Knowing how much your accident case is worth is very important. While our attorneys can help you put a value on your damages and assess whether a settlement offer is fair or not, the decision of whether to accept a settlement or not is ultimately your call. The following information can help you understand whether the settlement is right for you or whether you should continue on to trial to get damages paid through a jury trial.
Calculating Economic Damages
Economic damages are the damages paid to pay you back for expenses and the other financial impact of an injury. This usually involves bills for vehicle repairs and medical expenses related to the crash. It can also include other money you lost, such as lost wages or future lost earnings.
These damages have bills and statements attached to them, so that makes it somewhat simple to calculate the total of these damages. However, some expenses need to be estimated or projected into the future. For example, if you make $1,000 a week and you miss 5 weeks of work, that’s $5,000 in damages. However, if you can no longer work, you will miss work for the rest of your working years, during which you would have conceivably gotten various raises or promotions. Calculating that kind of economic impact is much more complex.
Putting a Value on Pain and Suffering
Unlike medical bills, your pain, the emotional distress you face, and your mental anguish over an injury do not have dollar values attached to them. Nonetheless, you can claim monetary damages for such harm in court.
Putting a value on these damages is often difficult, but there are some tools lawyers and insurance companies use. One method is to assign a daily value, usually based on your income, and multiply it by the number of days you face pain and suffering. Another method is to assign a multiplier to the severity of your injury, then multiply the other damages in your case by that number to calculate non-economic damages.
Call Our Car Accident Lawyers in Irondequoit Today
Call (718) 841-0083 to have The Carrion Law Firm’s car accident lawyers review your case in a free case analysis.