Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal injury law encompasses a wide range of situations. This includes workplace injuries, car and bicycle accidents, defective products, slip and falls, and medical malpractice. Chances are that you or a loved one have suffered a personal injury at one point or another for which you could seek recovery.
In these situations, the most important step that you should look to take first is getting medical care. You should also take note of any reporting requirements for your injury, which your attorney can help you meet. This must all be done well in advance of the time limit created by New York’s statute of limitations, so that you can avoid having your case dismissed for procedural reasons.
To get the necessary, immediate, and diligent help you need with pursuing your recovery, reach out to the seasoned Syracuse personal injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm as soon as possible. When you call us today at (718) 841-0083, you can obtain your first case evaluation for no additional charge.
What to Do After Suffering a Personal Injury in Syracuse
When you sustain a personal injury, you may not be aware of how your actions can impact your ability to recover. That is why our Syracuse personal injury attorneys have provided the following list of what you can and should do, and what you can gain from doing them.
Go to a Hospital
The first step you should take after suffering any personal injury is to visit your nearest emergency room. This is important both for your immediate health concerns and your long-term financial recovery.
Even if you believe your injuries are not that serious, it can be hard to tell the extent of the damage in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Your body may naturally conceal how much pain you may be feeling, and some conditions, such as brain injuries and internal bleeding, may not show themselves without medical testing.
By getting medical care immediately after the incident, you also create a direct medical record of your injuries. This prevents a defendant in a lawsuit or an insurance from arguing that you sustained your injuries from some other event that occurred later, or that your condition would have been less severe had you acted immediately.
We would advise against choosing to visit an urgent care facility or your primary care physician. Urgent care facilities often do not have all of the capabilities of a hospital. It may take time for you to get an appointment with your primary care doctor, and many primary care offices will not treat personal injuries as they may not be able to accept payment from the defendant’s insurance provider.
Report the Incident
In most situations where you are injured in a public setting, it may be necessary to report the situation and your resulting injuries. This comes in a variety of forms. The easiest way to get this handled is to call 911 and have the responding officers file an accident report, which they frequently do for car accidents. If you were injured at work or at a store, management will often require you to fill out an accident report for their insurer. A Syracuse personal injury attorney can help you through all of these steps. If you need help, it is important to act quickly, as many of these reporting requirements feature time limits.
Call a Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer
As soon as you have had your injuries dealt with, contact a dedicated Syracuse personal injury lawyer for help assessing your case and dealing with the procedural matters that might cause you unnecessary stress. You should be able to focus entirely on your physical recovery and pressing matters that your condition has created, and not have to deal with the troubling procedural areas of your recovery.
One of these areas is the gathering of evidence. As time passes, critical evidence can dry up and disappear. Our lawyers go to great lengths to secure all forms of proof of the incident and your injuries in the immediate aftermath of the incident so that you can focus on what is most important to you– your own personal health.
You can also have your attorney act as the go-between for you and the other side’s insurance provider. Never attempt to discuss your story or negotiate the terms of a settlement with an insurance representative on your own. Insurance agents use tricks to try to get you to admit fault for the accident or make other statements that they can then use in court against you if you decide to pursue your case further.
Statute of Limitations on Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Syracuse
It is important that you assess your situation and make decisions on filing as soon as possible, as all personal injury lawsuits in Syracuse are subject to the State of New York’s statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is a law that puts a limit on how much time can pass before any type of case can be brought.
For personal injury actions, the statute of limitations only allows for a three-year window. In other words, you generally have three years from the date that you suffered the injury to file your lawsuit in court.
In almost every case, it is worth it to file your suit well in advance of the statutory deadline. This not only minimizes the chances that you miss your filing deadline, but also keeps evidence fresh and gets the process moving on you recovering the compensation that you are owed.
You Deserve the Help of our Experienced Syracuse Personal Injury Attorneys
To get your first-time case assessment free of charge, contact the dedicated Syracuse personal injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm today. Call our offices at (718) 841-0083 to learn more.