Close

Poughkeepsie Car Accident Lawyer

Table of Contents

    Car accidents can leave victims in dire straits.  With serious injuries, you might not be able to work – and with medical bills piling up, you could be left without the funds to cover them.  Fortunately, New York’s no-fault insurance might provide some relief.  However, if you face serious injuries, you could be entitled to a lawsuit for additional damages.

    Working with a lawyer can mean the difference between a low-dollar settlement that only accounts for some of your damages and full compensation to cover all the damages you faced in your accident.  Our attorneys can provide professional, compassionate representation to help you through this trying time.

    To have our car accident attorneys provide a free case review, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.

    Car Accident Insurance Claims vs. Filing a Lawsuit in Poughkeepsie, NY

    Under New York law, insurance is required for all drivers.  The policy you have must contain a provision that provides “no-fault” coverage.  Under this system, each driver files claims with their own insurance to get compensation after an accident, and the insurance companies pay these claims without looking into who caused the crash.  That means that if you were at fault for your accident, you can get compensation through your own insurance.  If the other driver was at fault, you still get compensation through your own insurance instead of theirs.

    Payments for property damage are still handled through a third-party claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance, meaning that you need to prove they were at fault to get those damages compensated.  Nonetheless, the no-fault system gets people payments for medical expenses and lost earnings faster – but it has its limitations.

    Under this system, you cannot get compensation for pain and suffering.  Additionally, damages for medical care costs and missed wages are limited and only paid at a percentage of their total cost.  You will also have to pay deductibles according to the terms of your insurance policy.

    To unlock the rest of the damages, you are sometimes permitted to file a lawsuit.  When you do this, you can sue for pain and suffering and 100% reimbursement for the other damages you faced.  But to get this opportunity, you must meet the “serious injury threshold” and show that your injuries are permanent, that you broke a bone, or that you now have “significant disfigurement.”  Additionally, an injury that prevents day-to-day activities for 90 of the 180 days following the accident should also qualify for a lawsuit.

    Settling a Car Accident Case vs. Going to Trial in Poughkeepsie, NY

    Whether you accept an insurance company’s offer to settle or you take your case to court, you might be able to settle your case before ever going to trial.  The process of filing a lawsuit has many steps before you get to trial, and cases are often settled before the trial starts.  However, the decision of whether to settle your case is important because you usually cannot go back and claim additional compensation later if new complications arise or your injury gets worse.

    You should always have an experienced car accident attorney review your case and help you calculate damages.  Only then will you really have a good idea of what your case is worth and be able to tell when an insurance company’s offer is adequate to cover your injuries.

    How a Settlement Works

    Most settlement agreements include a waiver of any additional claims or rights to appeal.  This effectively ends your case, so it is vital to make sure that you have all damages accounted for before settling.  Keep in mind that when you accept a claim through your own no-fault insurance, that does not usually act as a settlement that keeps you from claiming additional damages in a lawsuit against the defendant – but it might still affect your overall payout.

    Typically, your insurance company will be able to reimburse itself with some of the funds you later receive from the defendant – whether through a settlement or trial.  Make sure to have your attorney review any offers from your insurance company and discuss this process with you to help protect your ultimate settlement or award.

    You should also have your lawyers review settlement offers from the defendant, as accepting a low-dollar settlement could leave you with unpaid damages.  Even so, the decision to accept a settlement offer instead of going to trial is your decision, not your lawyer’s.

    Whether to take a Settlement or Go to Trial

    When you accept a settlement, you know how much money you are getting.  Settlements also typically happen faster and end the case on your terms.  However at trial, juries can award a range of damages, and you might have less control over how long it takes and what amount they decide on.  In many cases with strong evidence, going to trial could be better and could result in higher awards from the jury, but it is always a case-by-case decision, and it will depend heavily on your specific situation which route is best for you.

    How Our Car Accident Attorneys Can Help

    Having a lawyer on your side during a car accident case can be an incredible help.  Not only can our lawyers help you understand every step of the process, but we can also handle a lot of the process for you while you focus your energy on your health and physical recovery.

    Our lawyers can lead you through what evidence you should provide, through the process of getting a police report, through depositions, and, ultimately, through trial if your case goes to court.  Along the way, we will apply our years of experience handling car accident cases on behalf of injury victims and their families to help us gauge the value of your case and to look for damages that you might not have considered claiming.  We can also use that experience to help us before a judge and jury if we have to argue your case in court.

    Call Our Poughkeepsie, NY Car Accident Attorneys Today

    For a free review of your potential car accident injury case, call (718) 841-0083 to speak with The Carrion Law Firm’s car accident attorneys.