Bronx Personal Injury Lawyers
Personal injury victims might struggle with much more than just their injuries following an accident. Medical bills, lost time at work, and the psychological impact of your injuries are just a few of the issues that may result.
Whether you were injured in a car accident, a slip and fall, or a workplace accident, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries. A Bronx personal injury lawyer can make all the difference in maximizing the compensation you could receive. There are multiple categories of damages that a personal injury victim could be awarded in court. These account for economic and non-economic damages. However, a lawsuit could be the only way to recover certain damages.
If you have suffered a personal injury, our Bronx personal injury lawyers are ready to provide you with a free case assessment. Contact The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083.
Common Types of Personal Injuries in The Bronx
While some personal injuries might be minor, others result in severe damages that often require long-term medical treatment. There is no end to the scenarios that can cause personal injuries, like car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and medical malpractice. The following are some common types of personal injuries you could suffer in a Bronx accident:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Burn injuries
- Paralysis
- Amputations
- Soft tissue injuries
- Facial injuries
- Internal injuries
- Wrongful death
Many of these types of injuries require expensive treatments and surgeries and will likely necessitate a long period of physical therapy to heal successfully. Our Bronx personal injury lawyers are ready to discuss the nature of your injuries and the compensation available to cover them.
What to Do After an Injury in The Bronx
Suffering a personal injury can be one of the most traumatic events in your life. The scene of an accident is often chaotic. A person not prepared for what to do after being injured might be at a loss as to what steps they should take next. There are a number of measures that you can take to protect not only your health but the legal interests of your case.
Get Medical Treatment
While it might seem obvious, the first thing you should do after being injured in an accident is to seek medical attention at a hospital, if possible. Even if you believe you are uninjured, medical treatment at an emergency room could reveal injuries that have not caused pain yet. Receiving care at a hospital will also begin the important process of documenting your injuries and generating the medical records you will need to recover compensation later. The following list provides some of the hospitals that might be near you in the Bronx:
- Jacobi Medical Center
- North Central Hospital
- Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
- Barnabas Hospital
- Montefiore Medical Center
- Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center
- James J. Peters VA Medical Center
This list represents some of the Bronx’s biggest hospitals and medical centers. If, for some reason you are unable to make it to an emergency room at a hospital, you can receive treatment at an urgent care center, but the services offered there might be far less than that of a standard hospital.
Contact a Bronx Personal Injury Lawyer
Once you have received the proper medical care, you should contact a Bronx personal injury lawyer. Insurance claims are notoriously complex, and insurance representatives will look for opportunities to reduce or deny your claim. Insurance companies often want statements from victims following personal injury accidents. A Bronx personal injury lawyer can help ensure that you do not give any statements that could be used against you in the recovery process.
A Bronx personal injury lawyer can help with stressful settlement negotiations and filing a lawsuit, if necessary. Retaining a Bronx personal injury lawyer will allow you to focus on the most important thing, your health.
Keep the Case Confidential
It is critical that you keep the facts of your case confidential. Statements you make about your case can be discovered by insurance agents and used against you during settlement negotiations. This includes posting social media updates about your injuries or the accident. Insurance companies have become highly adept at scouring victims’ social media accounts for information to use against them.
Ideally, you should only speak to your Bronx personal injury lawyer and those parties they deem necessary about the facts of your case. Our Bronx personal injury lawyers can provide the support you need to protect the interests of your case.
Types of Compensation in a Bronx, NY Personal Injury Case
There are different types of compensation meant to cover certain types of damages. Depending on the case, a victim could receive economic and non-economic compensation. Punitive damages might be awarded if the conduct that caused the accident is especially egregious.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are intended to compensate a victim for the financial losses their injuries have caused. Several categories fall under the term economic damages. The most common form of economic compensation is for medical expenses. Many personal injuries require treatment beyond just an emergency room visit. Physical and occupational therapy is often necessary. Economic damages for medical expenses also include future costs of medical treatment if the person suffered a permanent or long-term disability in the accident.
Economic damages also include any wages lost because of time missed at work. It is not uncommon to miss work for a certain amount of time to recover properly. Even after returning, you might only be able to work in a more limited capacity than you did before sustaining your injuries. Fortunately, you are entitled to recover the wages you lost as a result of decreased hours or reduced responsibilities. If your injury prevents you from returning for a prolonged period or indefinitely, you might be able to recover compensation for lost future earnings and earning potential.
Economic damages also include other out-of-pocket expenses you incurred due to treating your injuries. The cost of travel to various doctors’ offices, childcare, and time off from work for medical appointments can add up significantly. The party that caused your injuries is just as responsible for your out-of-pocket costs as medical expenses and lost wages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are meant to compensate for the emotional suffering and subjective impact the accident has had on a victim’s life. Non-economic damages are commonly referred to as pain and suffering damages. Those who have suffered a personal injury often experience mental anguish, depression, and a loss in the enjoyment of life following an accident. While pain and suffering damages are more challenging to calculate than economic damages, the person that injured you is still accountable for the emotional, mental, and physical stress they have caused you.
An injured victim’s spouse may also claim non-economic damages arguing the loss of consortium. A spouse is entitled to damages for losing their loved one’s services, companionship, and financial contribution to the household.
Punitive Damages
Unlike economic and non-economic damages, Punitive damages are intended as a form of punishment rather than compensation. Punitive damages are awarded in a lawsuit when it is shown that the defendant acted with wanton disregard for the safety of others when they caused the accident. It is rare for punitive damages to be awarded, but if they are, they can significantly increase your compensation. Our Bronx personal injury lawyers can explain the differences in the types of damages awarded and what might be available to you.
Should I Settle with Insurance or File a Lawsuit in a Bronx, NY, Personal Injury Case?
Deciding whether to settle with insurance or file a lawsuit can be one of the most difficult decisions a person will face in a personal injury case. Medical bills and other expenses can become overwhelming quickly. Insurance companies realize this and often pressure victims into settling for far less than their injuries are worth. However, it is difficult to tell exactly how much your case is worth early in the recovery process. Depending on your injuries, you may need a significant amount of treatment before reaching the point where medical care can no longer helps. You cannot know what a fair settlement offer is until you reach your maximum medical improvement.
Perhaps most importantly, once you accept a settlement offer from an insurance company, that effectively ends the case. In most cases, you will sign a form releasing the at-fault party and insurance company from liability based on the negotiated agreement. However, you might receive far less compensation in an insurance settlement than you would from a lawsuit. In many cases, insurance companies are reluctant to provide any compensation for non-economic damages during settlement negotiations as they are easier to argue against.
Filing a lawsuit, however, will allow you to claim the full range of damages you are entitled to. A lawsuit also allows your attorney to use the powers of discovery to question relevant parties to illustrate your injuries’ impact on you further. Further, you might receive far more compassion at trial from a jury that is more sympathetic to your injuries than you are likely to receive from an insurance representative. Our Bronx personal injury lawyers will fight to recover the compensation you are owed, whether it is during insurance negotiations or in a courtroom.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in The Bronx?
The length of time you will have to file a personal injury case in the Bronx is known as the statute of limitations. In New York, most personal injury cases must be filed within three years of the accident. For instance, if your accident occurred on January 30, 2022, your lawsuit would need to be filed on or before January 30, 2025.
However, not all personal injury claims have the same statute of limitations. For example, under E.P.T. Law § 5-4.1, those filing a wrongful death claim have only two years from the date of death to file a lawsuit. Victims of medical malpractice must file their lawsuit within two and a half years from the date of malpractice or from the end of continuous treatment rendered by the medical professional you intend to sue for a particular condition, illness, or injury.
There are very few exceptions to the statute of limitations, however. One exception is for minor children. If you have a child that suffered a personal injury, the time limit will not start running until the child turns 18. The statute of limitations will also not toll if the defendant moved out of New York before a lawsuit could be filed or if the defendant resides in the state but under a false name. However, if you miss the deadline and do not qualify for one of the exceptions, you will not be able to litigate your case in court. Our Bronx personal injury lawyers can ensure the statute of limitations is identified in your case, so your lawsuit is filed on time.
How Can a Bronx Personal Injury Lawyer Help You?
Having a Bronx personal injury lawyer on your side can make all the difference in recovery. Victims of a personal injury might already be feeling overwhelmed by their injuries without the added stress of how they will pay for treatment.
Most personal injury cases involve insurance negotiations, which can be extremely difficult without the resources of a legal team behind you. Insurance companies will often make low offers to victims they know are unrepresented by counsel. They might even blame you for the accident and deny your claim. A Bronx personal injury lawyer can ensure that you are treated fairly during the negotiation process.
Many personal injury cases require the use of experts to explain the complexities of a given case. Medical experts, accident reconstructionists, and forensic experts are just a few of the professionals that could be consulted to strengthen your case. Our Bronx personal injury lawyers can use their experience and knowledge to take your case from start to finish to get the compensation you deserve.
Contact our Bronx, NY Personal Injury Lawyers Today to Discuss Your Case
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a personal injury, our Bronx personal injury lawyers are here to fight for your rights. For a free case review, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.