No matter what type of injury you are dealing with, it can be difficult to handle when faced with the financial and personal obstacles that may come with it. Many personal injury victims look to the judicial system to provide them with the financial security that they need to recover comfortably.
To preserve your opportunity to obtain compensation for a personal injury, it is important that you report your incident and seek medical attention as soon as possible. If you have grounds for filing a lawsuit, you can seek compensation for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering, among other harms.
To get your first case evaluation for free, call (631) 910-7493 to speak with the Melville personal injury attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm.
What to Do After Sustaining a Personal Injury in Melville, NY
When dealing with a personal injury, it can be difficult to focus on all of the issues at hand. That is why our Melville personal injury lawyers have laid out some of the most important steps that you should take after sustaining any type of personal injury.
Report the Incident
In any case where you sustain a personal injury, it is important that you follow the proper procedures for reporting the incident. In addition to meeting certain insurance or legal requirements, filing a formal report shortly after the accident helps establish the direct connection between the accident and your injuries.
If the incident occurs in a public area, such as a car accident, the best way to start this process is by calling 911. The emergency dispatcher will send law enforcement to the scene of the accident to file an official police report.
If you sustain your injury at work, you may need to fill out an incident report with your employer, who will submit it to their insurance provider. There may be a similar process if you suffer your injury on other private commercial property, like a retail store or a sports arena.
If you are not sure how to report your incident, be sure to contact an experienced Melville personal injury attorney as soon as possible. There are often short time limits on reporting your injury correctly, and it is best to avoid having these arbitrary deadlines come between you and the monetary recovery that you deserve.
Gather Evidence
After getting emergency medical care, and if you are able to stay at the accident site, your next step should be to gather as much information as you can right away. Start by taking detailed photographs and videos of the scene, making sure to capture it from various angles.
Gathering eyewitness accounts is also crucial. Talk to those who witnessed the incident and ask them to share their statements. Be sure to take down their names, contact details, and a brief summary of what they saw. Our team will contact them after initiating your claim to get their testimony.
Be sure to collect essential information from everyone involved in the accident. This means noting down the at-fault party’s full name, address, and insurance details. This will allow us to file a claim with their insurance company and serve your lawsuit to them at their residence. Every bit of information you gather can significantly help clarify what happened during the incident, so take your time to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
Seek Medical Attention
You should always visit your nearest hospital’s emergency room as soon as possible after sustaining a personal injury. If you were involved in an accident that could have caused injury, but you are not sure if you actually sustained any harm, it is still important to take this step. Many types of personal injuries may not be apparent immediately after the accident without professional testing. If left untreated, these injuries could worsen over time, even to the point of becoming life-threatening.
Getting medical attention is important for your long-term financial recovery as well. Establishing a medical record immediately after the accident is the best way to establish both that the accident was the cause of those injuries. Without this evidence, the door is open for the other side to argue that you sustained your injury at another time or that your condition was made worse during the time when you didn’t seek care.
We recommend emergency rooms over urgent care or primary care doctors. While you can walk into an urgent care facility, they may not have the capabilities to identify or treat some serious forms of injury. Primary care physicians may not be able to see you immediately, and many primary care offices will not treat personal injuries if they are unable to accept insurance coverage as payment.
Contact Our Attorneys
After you have received medical care for your injuries, you should contact your Melville personal injury attorney to help you deal with the procedural aspects of pursuing your recovery. This includes collecting and recording evidence, finding expert witnesses, estimating damages, providing options for recovery, and handling the back and forth with insurance agents, not to mention filing your lawsuit. These are all obstacles that you shouldn’t have to handle alone while also dealing with the consequences of your injuries and rehabilitation.
After getting injured in a Melville accident, starting your case as soon as possible is crucial. You will need time not only to treat your injuries but also to gather evidence that can support your claim for damages. Keep in mind that the statute of limitations is ticking away. If you do not file your case before the deadline, you could jeopardize the compensation essential for your recovery.
Under C.V.P. Law § 214(5), personal injury victims typically have three years to file a claim, with the countdown beginning as soon as the cause of action for damages arises. If a lawsuit is initiated just one day after the three-year mark following the accident, the victim will usually find themselves with no viable options to recover their losses.
Our attorneys can leverage this time in your case, especially if you initiate it promptly after the accident. If you sustained serious injuries, it will take time to undergo treatment and fully assess the extent of your damage. By allowing more time for filing, you can complete a larger portion of your treatment plan, and we will gather more evidence to strengthen your case, such as evidence of your “pain and suffering” and other impacts on your life. We will also need that time if your injuries resulted from a car accident since the process for recovering compensation in these cases is different than other personal injury claims.
How to Recover Compensation When a Melville, NY Car Accident Caused Your Personal Injuries
To file a lawsuit after a car accident, you’ll need to gather your medical records and other supporting evidence. In Melville, vehicle accidents fall under the state’s no-fault insurance regulations, which means that victims are generally required to work through their car insurance to recover economic losses. However, according to I.S.C. Law § 5104(a), victims can only pursue lawsuits for non-economic damages if they have suffered “serious injuries.”
The “Serious Injury” Threshold
Many types of injuries are considered “serious” for the purposes of filing a car accident lawsuit, including death, the permanent loss of function in a body part or organ, dismemberment, significant scarring, miscarriage, and broken bones. Additionally, a temporary injury that notably restricts your ability to perform most daily activities for at least 90 days within the first 180 days after the accident is also classified as serious, according to § 5102(d). If your injuries meet this criteria, you can pursue economic and non-economic damages in a lawsuit.
It is crucial to seek medical care promptly after your accident and to keep up with follow-up treatments. We must provide proof of necessary medical care to meet the serious injury threshold for your claim. Records from hospitals, surgeries, dental treatments, X-rays, and physical therapy can all be valuable in supporting your case. Our team is here to help gather and organize your medical records so the court does not dismiss your lawsuit.
“Pure” Comparative Negligence
The next challenge in a car accident lawsuit is establishing liability. Figuring out who is at fault in an accident can be tricky, especially if only one driver is being sued, as they might invoke the “pure” comparative negligence rule in their defense. When multiple drivers are involved, we must assess the degree of carelessness attributed to each party, including you. However, this analysis will help us predict and get ahead of the arguments the defense will likely make.
According to C.V.P. § 1411, every party involved in a lawsuit is accountable for their own percentage of fault. Unlike in many other states, you will not be barred from receiving compensation even if you are found to be more at fault for the accident unless you are entirely responsible for the crash. However, if the defense proves your comparative fault, you will lose recoverable damages in proportion to that fault.
For instance, let us say the court awards you $100,000 in damages but determines that you were 40% at fault. In this case, your recoverable damages would total $60,000. Conversely, if you were found to be 99% at fault, you would still be able to recover $1,000, which is certainly better than nothing.
Damages Available in a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Melville, NY
Personal injuries cause a wide range of consequences for the victim, and New York law does its best to quantify these harms in the form of monetary recovery. Below are some of the most common categories of damages summarized so that you can get an idea of what your case may be worth. However, it is difficult to estimate the actual value of your specific case without the help of a seasoned Melville personal injury attorney.
Medical Bills
The cost of any necessary medical services and procedures related to your condition will be included in the damages you receive from a lawsuit. This can even include parking fees at hospitals, so be sure to save all receipts that are related to your medical care or necessary modifications to your home or vehicle.
Lost Income
If your injuries force you to miss time at work or materially limit your ability to perform the functions of your job or field, damages may account for your lost wages, any paid time off you are forced to use, and even your long-term decrease in earning potential. Our Melville personal injury lawyers will help you locate a financial expert witness who can help explain the professional consequences your injuries have caused.
Pain and Suffering
Damages can also be noneconomic, as not every harm caused by your injuries can be found on a spreadsheet. Chronic pain, damage to personal relationships, physical limitations, and the onset of psychological conditions such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are all compensable through a lawsuit.
Discuss Your Personal Injury Recovery with Our Melville, NY Personal Injury Lawyers
By calling the seasoned Melville personal injury lawyers of The Carrion Law Firm today at (631) 910-7493, you can get a free initial case assessment that can help you immediately on your path to recovery.