If you have been injured due to another party’s negligence, under New York law you are entitled to file a personal injury claim. Personal injury is a broad area of law that includes auto accidents, slips and falls, product-related injuries, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and more. After an accident, you are entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other expenses related to your accident. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to prove that another party was liable or how much your case is worth. Even if you have evidence of fault, insurance companies can find ways to deny all or part of your claim. This is where a New York personal injury attorney can be a game-changer.
At Buttafuoco & Associates, since 1981 we have been helping victims get the compensation they need after a serious injury. From investigation to filing paperwork, negotiating with insurers, and litigating your case in court if necessary, our team handles the details of your case so you can get on with your life and get the compensation you deserve. Read more below, or call 1-800-NOW-HURT to set up a free consultation with an attorney.
What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
A personal injury lawsuit is a legal claim arising from an act of negligence that resulted in injury or death. Negligence is the failure to act in a reasonable manner to prevent harm from coming to others. In other words, if another party caused an accident that resulted in injuries, they can be held liable under New York law.
Here are just a few examples of personal injury cases that we handle.
Vehicle Accidents
If you were in an auto accident, you can file a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claim with your insurance company. But if another party caused your accident and you suffered serious injuries as they are defined in the state of New York, you may also be able to file a liability claim against the at-fault driver. Pedestrians and bicyclists can also file PIP and/or liability claims after an accident with a motor vehicle.
Slip and Falls/Premises Liability
Slip and fall accidents are a type of premises liability case that occur when a hazard on another party’s property causes a person to slip or trip and fall. Premises liability also includes environmental hazards, attractive nuisance (pools, trampolines, etc.), and animal attacks.
Medical Malpractice
When a medical professional fails to follow the standard of care, it can lead to medical errors. These errors can happen in any health care setting, from hospitals to home care nurses. Birth injuries are a specific form of malpractice that can have a lifelong impact on your child’s health.
Product Liability
We expect our consumer goods to be safe. But when defective design or dangerous components cause injuries, the manufacturer is liable for any injuries that result. Product liability claims can range from food products and medications to firearms and recreational equipment.
Abuse or Neglect by a Caretaker
When you trust the care of your elderly loved one or child to another person or institution such as a nursing home that violates that trust through abuse or neglect, you have the right to hold that person and potentially their employer liable for damages, in addition to any criminal charges they might face.
Will My Insurance Company Compensate Me for My Injuries?
Insurance companies are not in the business of paying claims – they are in the business of paying as little as they can. Like all businesses, they must turn a profit to succeed.
Regardless of the severity of your injuries or their obvious impact on your life, getting compensation in a personal injury claim requires much more than simply filing a claim and expecting the insurance company to give you what you believe you deserve. Successful claims involve careful planning, thorough investigation, and exhaustive evidence collecting, not to mention patience and perseverance. In most every case, you will recover far less compensation if you go it alone rather than hiring an experienced personal injury attorney in New York.
How to Prove a Successful Personal Injury Claim
Ultimately, a personal injury claim needs to prove the following four elements through evidence and legal argument.
Duty of Care
The first thing you need to prove through evidence and argument is that the defendant owed you a duty of care to keep you safe. For example, drivers owe others on the road a duty of care; doctors owe patients a duty of care; manufacturers owe consumers a duty of care; and property owners owe visitors a duty of care.
Breach of Duty
If a liable party breaches this duty by failing to exercise reasonable care, this is called negligence. For example, drunk drivers, doctors who fail to perform common tests, manufacturers who fail to disclose risks of their products, and property owners who fail to correct hazards could all be found to have breached their duty of care.
Causation
Once you have established that liable party breached the duty of care, you must prove that their actions caused your injuries. In other words, you need to prove that your injuries are related to the accident. This can be challenging, as many insurance companies argue that claimants’ injuries are either non-existent or occurred before or after the accident. Psychological conditions and other injuries that are not visible with any imaging technology can be especially difficult to prove. An experienced personal injury lawyer serving New York will have the expertise and access to expert witnesses you need to prove causation.
Damages
Even if you can prove the first three elements, you do not have a claim against the other party unless the accident caused damages–in other words, a clear monetary impact. Proving damages can be challenging in a lot of cases. Insurance companies may downplay your injuries and related expenses, argue you are not as injured as you claim, or underestimate the long-term effects of the injuries.
At Buttafuoco & Associates’ personal injury lawyers take on a case, they work with expert witnesses and trained investigators to prove every aspect of these cases. This is often what it takes to build your case and get compensation.
What Can I Recover in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Do not accept the insurance company’s settlement offer without first bringing it to your personal injury lawyer. Once you settle, you cannot re-file the claim if you later realize that the settlement does not account for all damages.
Before you settle your case, you need to have a clear picture of your short-term damages, as well as your long-term damages. This means evaluating the prognosis of your injury, how it affects your ability to work, what medical treatment you might need in the future, how the injuries might affect you psychologically and emotionally, and more.
At Buttafuoco & Associates, our personal injury lawyers review every aspect of your case and work with medical and vocational experts to project the long-term damages you may face. We do not settle your case until we are confident you are getting the full amount of damages you are entitled to.
Find out how Buttafuoco & Associates can help you through the personal injury claims process.
Call 1-800-NOW-HURT today to set up a free consultation.