Bronx Car Accident Lawyer
Residents of the Bronx often work in other parts of the city and have to commute around the city, whether in their own cars or by Uber or taxi. Others have cars for weekend errands, trips out of the city, and other needs. In the Bronx, car accidents can happen in the blink of an eye, potentially altering the lives of victims and others affected by the crash. That is where our lawyers come in.
Immediately after a car accident in the Bronx, call an experienced attorney. Your lawyer can help you properly document your collision and report your damages to the police and other necessary parties. The Bronx car accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm work to help victims of car crashes get the compensation they need for injuries and other damages after accidents. Our lawyers provide aggressive, strategic, compassionate representation to help victims and their families get what they deserve from insurance companies and at-fault drivers.
Call The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083 to receive your free case review with our car accident lawyers.
When to Contact a Bronx Car Accident Lawyer
You should always contact a lawyer as soon as you can after a car accident. Our New York City car accident lawyers can work quickly to get pictures of the crash scene, preserve any camera footage that might have caught the accident, and get statements from witnesses and police. In most cases, you have three years to file your case, but it is better to file your case much sooner than that.
It can be difficult to tell when your case is serious enough to warrant calling a lawyer. Our Bronx car accident lawyers offer free case reviews, so you never have to doubt whether your case is “bad enough” to call a lawyer – we can let you know. However, there are some general ways to tell if your case is serious enough to get legal help. First, if you were injured in any way, the case is automatically serious enough to get legal help. Additionally, if the case involved an uninsured driver, you will likely need to file a lawsuit to get full compensation.
If your injuries were serious enough to leave you with permanent injuries or disabilities, then your case can go to court for damages above and beyond what the insurance companies are willing to pay. All of these are good reasons to get a lawyer involved in your case.
Reporting a Car Accident in the Bronx
Hiring a lawyer after a car accident in the Bronx is important. While your attorney can help you pursue litigation against a negligent driver in order to recover compensation in the future, more immediately, they can help you properly report and document a recent car accident in the Bronx.
In New York, all car accidents that result in death, $1,000 worth of property damage, or injuries of any kind must be reported to the police and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Your Bronx car accident lawyer will likely advise you to call the police immediately after a crash to satisfy reporting requirements. Bronx law enforcement officials can then complete an accident report detailing the events of your recent collision. Although this report will not be considered evidence in a Bronx car accident lawsuit, your attorney can use it to strengthen your claim in other ways.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible for Bronx car accident victims to report their injuries and property damage to the police right away. If a negligent driver speeds off or convinces you not to involve law enforcement, you might be unsure what to do. If you cannot call the police and report your injuries after a crash, reach out to an attorney. New York victims have ten days after an accident to inform law enforcement and the Department of Motor Vehicles of damages. Your lawyer can help you file the necessary reports within ten days so that you can properly document an accident.
Seeking Medical Care After a Car Accident in the Bronx
After a car accident in the Bronx, victims should seek medical care right away. In doing so, victims can create crucial evidence of their injuries, which an attorney can use to demonstrate a defendant’s negligence and a victim’s damages in a Bronx car accident lawsuit.
If you were recently injured in a car accident in the Bronx, you should visit the hospital immediately afterward. This is necessary, regardless of the severity of your injuries. Some common car accident injuries, like whiplash, can take hours, even days, to show signs in victims. Some car accident injuries that initially appear insignificant might worsen if not treated quickly.
Creating immediate medical documentation of your injuries and their cause is crucial after a car accident in the Bronx. These records, along with medical assessments from specialists in the weeks and months following a collision, can be vital evidence in a Bronx car accident lawsuit.
Our firm urges all victims to visit the hospital immediately after a crash. Waiting to get the necessary medical care can make your injuries and damages appear unworthy of compensation in a car accident lawsuit. Your attorney can explain the importance of getting immediate and continuous medical treatment after an accident and help you get the care you need.
Gathering Evidence After a Car Accident in the Bronx
In Bronx car accident lawsuits, having sufficient evidence of a negligent driver’s fault is crucial. An experienced Bronx car accident lawyer can immediately launch a thorough investigation into an accident so that you can easily prove an at-fault driver’s negligence in a lawsuit for compensatory damages.
If your injuries permit you, take photos after an accident in the Bronx. Photograph everything you can see, including your injuries and any apparent property damage. When in doubt, victims should take pictures of the entire accident scene. An experienced Bronx car accident lawyer can analyze photos from a crash site to uncover information that points to fault. If you cannot take pictures because of your injuries, ask eyewitnesses or first responders to help you.
Regarding eyewitnesses, be sure to get their contact information. Eyewitness testimony of a negligent driver’s actions and an accident’s events can be crucial evidence in a compensation claim. If eyewitnesses took photographs or videos on their smartphones, your attorney can contact them and obtain those images.
A skilled Bronx car accident lawyer can look for evidence in other areas as well. For example, your attorney will survey the accident location to identify any private security or traffic cameras that might have filmed a crash. Using all of this evidence, coupled with the information learned through police reports and medical records, your attorney can prove a negligent driver’s fault in a Bronx car accident lawsuit.
How to Tell Who is at Fault for a Car Accident in the Bronx
New York State and New York City laws dictate who is at fault after a car accident. Traffic laws are to be followed by everyone on the road, and whether you are driving a car, a truck, a bus, or even a bicycle, you are required to follow these rules. In most car accident cases, you determine who is at fault by looking at who violated which traffic laws.
Proving Negligence
In any injury case, you typically file lawsuits for “negligence” instead of having to prove that the other driver intentionally did something to injure you. This means showing that they violated some legal duty that they owed you – such as the duty to follow various traffic laws. This means that if one driver was speeding, running red lights, texting and driving, or driving under the influence, then the other driver is usually deemed the victim under New York law.
Assigning Blame to Other Drivers
In many cases, it is difficult to tell who broke the law – or it is apparent that both drivers did something wrong, and the case becomes a question of whose driving was worse or more dangerous. When there are questions of who did what, the case can usually go before a judge and jury to decide who is at fault. Both sides will present their cases, and the victim will need to provide proof to show that the other driver was at fault. This usually means testifying as to what happened in the crash and having your lawyer argue that the facts show the other driver was at fault.
A jury can rule in your favor even if you might have done something wrong to contribute to the crash. The law in the Bronx and throughout the rest of New York does not require that victims need to be 100% innocent to claim damages. Instead, the court will assign a percentage of fault to each driver involved in the crash, and they will be responsible for that share of damages.
That means that even if you were 25% responsible – e.g., because you were adjusting the radio or driving ten mph over the speed limit when the crash occurred – the court will still order the other driver to pay you 75% of the damages the crash caused you.
Assigning Blame to Drunk Drivers
It is important to determine the cause of a car accident, especially if it was caused by a drunk driver. In such cases, liability for the accident can be attributed not only to the driver but also to the bar or restaurant that over-served them.
To prevent such incidents, bars and restaurants must be vigilant of their patrons, particularly those who intend to drive after consuming alcohol. They have a responsibility to ensure that their customers are not endangering themselves or others on the road. By neglecting this duty of care, bars and restaurants risk being held accountable for any accidents that result from their patrons’ drunk driving.
Assigning Blame to Employee Drivers
When companies require their employees to operate vehicles for work purposes, it is crucial that they provide reasonable working conditions for their drivers, regardless of whether they transport large loads or make small deliveries. Failure to do so can result in serious legal and ethical consequences for the company.
For instance, if an employer expects the driver to operate a vehicle in unsafe conditions or forces them to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the company might share liability for any accidents that occur as a result. Similarly, if the company neglects necessary vehicle maintenance or ignores potential problems with the vehicle, it might also be held liable for any accidents that result from mechanical failure.
Assigning Blame to Manufacturers
In the event that a manufacturer decides to keep selling vehicles that are known to have problems that could potentially result in an accident, the manufacturer might be held responsible for any accidents that occur as a result of those problems. This means that if you get into an accident because of a known issue with your vehicle, the manufacturer could be held liable for any damages or injuries that you sustain.
Getting Compensation Through Car Insurance Claims and Lawsuits in the Bronx
In New York, we use no-fault auto insurance rules. These rules can sometimes create problems for drivers and car accident victims. While these rules are intended to get you damages more quickly after an accident, they often block victims from getting full damages.
No-Fault PIP Insurance Claims
In the Bronx and throughout New York, all drivers are required to carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. This is a no-fault policy that covers medical bills and lost wages for anyone injured in the driver’s car (i.e., both drivers and passengers) as well as injured pedestrians (which includes cyclists). These policies pay damages quickly and without a need to prove fault, but they only cover medical bills and lost wages.
Any serious injuries resulting in pain and suffering will not be compensated in full. Moreover, when you use your own insurance, you have to pay deductibles. Additionally, these policies cover only a percentage of your damages in most cases, leaving some damages uncompensated. Even vehicle damage is typically paid through a third-party claim against the at-fault driver’s lawsuit – which is separate from this at-fault coverage. Unfortunately, PIP does not compensate victims for non-economic losses, like pain and suffering or reduced quality of life.
Lawsuits
To get additional damages, you can take your case to court, where you will have to prove fault, as discussed above. However, a lawsuit before a judge and jury can pay damages for pain and suffering, it can compensate you for medical bills and lost wages at their full value, and it can pay other economic and non-economic damages the insurance claim might not cover.
Check with our Bronx car accident lawyers to see if you can file a lawsuit in your case. The option of filing a lawsuit is typically blocked in New York unless your injuries reach the threshold of “serious injury” under New York law. According to I.S.C Law § 5102(d), a serious injury is defined as one that includes permanent loss or loss of function, “significant disfigurement,” death of a fetus, death of the person, or any other injury that will prevent activities of daily living for at least 90 of the following 180 days.
Broken bones are also included in this threshold, so many injury cases do ultimately meet this standard, allowing you to sue for injuries.
Calculating Car Accident Damages in the Bronx
While courts can assign proportional fault to each driver involved in the crash, it is important to understand how they calculate total damages in the first place. The general scope of what damages are available in a car accident injury case is laid out under the law. An experienced attorney can help victims understand what damages they are entitled to after a car accident in the Bronx.
In the Bronx, you can claim damages for nearly any economic harm you face because of the crash, including lost wages if the injuries keep you out of work, medical expenses you incurred because of your accident, and other economic harms like transportation expenses, auto repairs, childcare costs, home care costs, and more. You can also claim damages for non-economic effects, such as emotional distress, pain and suffering, and mental anguish. These damages might be limited in some cases, so talk to a Bronx car accident lawyer about which damages you are allowed to claim.
The court will first learn of what damages you faced because you will have to list them in your complaint. When you file your case, the complaint will include a list of the total values you are claiming for injuries. From there, you will provide evidence – medical bills, financial records, testimony from financial experts, etc. – to prove these amounts.
In many cases, the defendant will end up settling the case with you. This sometimes changes the amount you get in the end because both sides end up saving money by skipping the trial. Your lawyer can help you understand how to calculate settlement amounts and determine whether a settlement offer is fair before you make any decisions to settle.
Common Types of Car Accidents Our Attorneys Handle in the Bronx
Our Bronx car accident lawyers handle a wide range of car accident cases. Generally, our attorneys tend to focus on multi-car accidents, drunk driving accidents, distracted driving accidents, commercial driver accidents, and speeding driver accidents. If you need help with any of the types of car accident cases we focus on – or any type of auto accident not discussed here – call our attorneys right away. If a negligent driver caused you injury in a Bronx car accident, our team can help you recover the compensation you deserve.
Multi-Car Collisions
Car accidents involving more than two vehicles are often more difficult. With more parties, each with their own insurance companies and lawyers, the complexity of the litigation automatically increases. There might be more than one at-fault party you have to file your claim against, and there might be tricky situations where fault is shared among all three, four, or more of the drivers. Our Bronx car accident lawyers can help sort out fault and file your claim against as many drivers as necessary to get you damages.
Distracted Driving Accidents
Accidents caused by inattentive drivers are incredibly common. These crashes often prevent a driver from being able to stop in time because they are too distracted by their phone or other distractions to even hit the brakes. Because of this, the injuries in a distracted driving case are often severe, and our Bronx car accident lawyers can help you file a lawsuit for damages.
Accidents Caused by Speeding and Other Traffic Violations
Simple traffic violations that cause car accidents are some of the most common types of cases we handle. Crashes, where a driver was speeding, running a red light, or merging without signaling, create a clear path to proving the driver’s fault, as any violation of a traffic law meant to keep drivers safe can be used as evidence of fault. For help with an accident where the other driver violated a traffic law and you did not, call our attorneys for help.
Common Types of Injuries Caused by Bronx Car Accidents
Car accidents can result in a wide variety of injuries that can significantly impact the victim’s life. These injuries might cause them to miss work, accumulate high medical expenses, and experience severe pain and suffering. Each of these injuries can have long-lasting effects on a victim’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being. The following are the most common injuries victims experience in the Bronx:
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Sustaining a traumatic brain injury can cause severe physical, mental, and emotional distress. In addition to difficulties with both short-term and long-term memory, sufferers might also experience mood swings, emotional instability, and problems concentrating. They might also encounter persistent vertigo or dizziness.
Even minor traumatic brain injuries can lead to symptoms that persist for over a year. In cases of severe traumatic brain injuries, symptoms might affect victims for the remainder of their lives. The consequences of such injuries can be significant and life-changing.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The first six months following a car accident are crucial for individuals who have suffered a spinal cord injury. Within this window, victims have the best chance to make progress towards recovery. Those with an incomplete spinal cord injury might regain a significant amount of mobility and strength in the affected limbs.
However, those with a complete spinal cord injury might face paralysis below the site of the injury. Additionally, spinal cord injuries can cause a decrease in sensation, as well as tingling or persistent pain in the areas below the injury site.
Burn Injuries
If a car catches fire, the flames can quickly engulf it, putting the occupants’ lives at risk. This can lead to a race against time for the people inside, who might need to escape quickly to avoid suffering severe burns.
Additionally, if there are chemicals present in the vicinity, they can cause chemical burns that are just as dangerous. Burns not only cause physical pain, but they can also leave significant scarring that might not disappear even after undergoing plastic surgery. The scars can be so severe that they can permanently alter the victim’s appearance.
Chest Contusions
The chest is a vital part of the human body that houses essential organs like the heart and lungs. A chest contusion might seem minor at first, but it can turn into a severe medical condition if left untreated. As the swelling increases, it can put immense pressure on these organs, causing significant harm.
People with chest contusions often experience limited mobility and have to avoid strenuous activities until the bruising heals. In severe cases, damage to the heart or lungs might result in long-term restrictions on both work and leisure activities.
Broken Bones
Car accidents can result in devastating injuries, and broken bones are among the most common. The severity of the break can depend on the force of the impact and the area of the body that was struck. The pain and mobility issues caused by broken bones can be substantial, and recovery can be a long and difficult process.
Depending on the location and severity of the break, surgical intervention might be necessary to properly set and strengthen the affected bone. Even after recovery, ongoing pain and discomfort can persist, making it challenging for car accident victims to move forward with their daily lives.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries such as torn ligaments and tendons might not require a cast, but they can still lead to serious complications. The victim might experience excruciating pain and reduced mobility, which can be more severe than a broken bone.
Such injuries can also hinder the victim’s ability to work because of pain, discomfort, and inability to perform physical tasks, particularly if the job requires a lot of physical exertion. In such cases, surgical intervention might be necessary to alleviate the symptoms and restore normal functioning.
Amputations
Car accidents can cause traumatic injuries that can result in limb loss for victims. The impact of the accident can severely damage the limb, leading to a complete blood flow cutoff and requiring amputation to save the victim’s life. Recovery after amputation is a challenging and lengthy process that often involves extensive occupational therapy to help amputees adapt to their new physical limitations.
Many amputees opt for prosthetic devices that replace the missing limb, but they can be expensive, and frequent replacements can be a financial burden. However, prosthetic devices have an average lifespan of only three to five years, which adds to the costs of your recovery.
Call Our Bronx Car Accident Lawyers Right Away for a Free Case Review
For your free case evaluation with our car accident attorneys, contact The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.