New York Accident Lawyer: A Simple Definition
A New York Accident Lawyer Can Help You Understand the No-Fault Insurance System New York City is a city where car accidents are a common occurrence. Although the majority of them are just fender benders, some can result in serious injuries. Injured parties should call 911 and seek medical attention right away. A New York car accident attorney can assist victims with their legal issues following an accident. They can help them obtain compensation for their medical bills and lost wages. No-fault insurance New York is a no-fault insurance state, which means that drivers passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists are covered by their personal automobile insurance policies for medical expenses, lost wages, and other accident-related expenses. While this system has helped protect car accident victims from being buried due to out-of-pocket costs, it is important to know exactly what it means and does not mean. To be eligible for No-Fault Insurance you must satisfy a few criteria. You must first and foremost be injured in an accident in New York. You must be a driver, passenger or pedestrian in the insured vehicle. The person who was injured must be treated in a hospital or by a certified provider. You must also have suffered “a serious injury.” Serious injuries are defined in the New York State Insurance Law as being a long-lasting and significant loss of function, permanent disfigurement or death. These are all extremely serious injuries, and could have a significant negative impact on the victim's life. A New York injury lawyer can help you if you have suffered serious injuries in a New York car accident. After a serious auto accident An attorney can assist you in a number of ways. They can assist you in understanding your legal options, perform an extensive investigation, and negotiate with your insurance company. They can also bring a lawsuit to court on behalf of you against the driver responsible for the crash. You could be required to pay astronomical medical costs along with lost wages and other expenses following a serious accident. These costs can be covered by no fault insurance, and you should seek medical attention immediately following a collision, even if it feels as if you're in good shape. If you are unable to return work due to an injury, no fault insurance will pay up to $2,000 for lost wages per month. It also covers a number of your out of pocket expenses, like the cost of household assistance. Insurance companies often try to deny your no-fault coverage by scheduling an IME or EUO (Independent Medical Examination or Exam under Oath). Attendance is mandatory, as the absence of this could result in retroactive denials of benefits. Pure comparative fault In many car accident lawsuits plaintiffs are partially or completely accountable for the incident. The law gives injured parties to be compensated according to their percentage of the fault. This is known as pure comparative fault. Pure comparative fault is different from modified comparative fault which caps the amount of fault that a claimant can be deemed to have in order to disqualify them from financial compensation. Modified comparative fault states typically have a range of 49 and 51 percent. In a car accident case, the plaintiff's legal responsibility for the crash depends on proving two things that are causation and negligence. Negligence is the act of breaking a law, or acting with unreasonable negligence. The causality is the way that the negligence led to the injury. To establish legal liability, the plaintiff must also prove the economic damages resulted from their injuries, for example, medical bills, lost income, and travel costs to appointments. Other non-economic losses include emotional trauma as well as pain and suffering. New York is among the 13 states with a pure comparative-fault law. This means that injured parties could still be able to seek compensation if they were partially at fault. If the claimant is found to be more than 50 percent at fault, they are not able to claim damages. In this situation it is crucial to consult a knowledgeable lawyer. Comparative fault is applicable to nearly every personal injury or wrongful death case where a victim (or the inheritors of the deceased) has suffered physical or emotional damages. However the concept of comparative fault is slightly more complicated in wrongful death cases. The concept of comparative blame is very important to understand when making an action for compensation following an accident in New York. Your lawyer will assist you to determine the extent of your own responsibility for the accident, and work with insurance companies to ensure that you get the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries. In addition, if you have several defendants in your case the concept of joint and multiple liability could apply. The system splits the verdict among all defendants if a jury finds you jointly and severally responsible for the accident. This is a great way to ensure you get the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries. Insurance Company Tactics Car accidents can be stressful enough, but the aftermath can be more difficult. Injured victims often must deal with medical bills and a loss of income due to being unable to work in addition to their emotional and physical pain. Rent and other costs of daily living are also a major concern. They don't have to be subjected the stalling tactics used by insurance companies to try and get them to take low settlement offers. Insurance companies are in business to earn money. They do this by denying or cutting your claims. Insurance companies will employ every tactic possible to deny you the money you are entitled to. It is essential to find an experienced New York car accident attorney to level the playing field. The attorneys at Mirman Markovits & Landau PC are seasoned in fighting for the rights of car accident victims. Our lawyers will take on insurance companies and their sneaky tactics. Insurance companies will do all they can to delay your claim or slow the negotiations in order to save as much money as possible. They will also try and avoid responsibility by arguing that your injuries aren't connected to the accident or that they do not require treatment. They could even argue that your crash was the result of a prior medical condition. In certain cases an insurance adjuster might arrive at an amount of settlement that appears reasonable. This is a common method that many people are enticed by. In reality, this offer is significantly less than the amount you will actually have to pay for medical treatment and other damages. New York law requires that all drivers carry no-fault coverage. However, it is not uncommon for people to become injured when driving or riding in another's vehicle. Distracted driving, reckless driving and speeding are some of the most frequent causes of accidents. Distracted Aurora injury attorneys You Tube happens when a driver is using a device to send or receive text messages, make phone calls, or listens to music driving. Distracted driving can result in drivers losing control of their vehicle, resulting in serious accidents. Other causes of accidents include drunk driving, road conditions and weather. Reckless driving You could be entitled to compensation when you've been injured in an accident caused by reckless driving. A New York City reckless driving accident lawyer can help you investigate the crash to identify all parties who may be liable for your injuries and losses. They could also make a claim or lawsuit against the driver to claim damages. The New York criminal code defines reckless driving as the practice of operating an automobile in a manner that endangers the lives and safety of other drivers and people on foot or on bicycles. To convict someone the police officer must prove more than just negligence or recklessness. This means that the officer must show that the driver knew their actions could cause an accident or put others in danger. Even minor traffic violations can be considered reckless driving in New York. For example driving through the red light or stopping sign could cause a serious accident and injury. If a driver is found to be recklessly driving, they could be found guilty of a misdemeanor offense and be subject to a fine or jail time. Reckless driving may cause serious injuries to other cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. A conviction for this crime can lead to the addition of points to your license, as well as substantial fines. This can result in a driver's insurance premiums increasing significantly. It is crucial to employ an New York reckless driving accident attorney who will ensure that the driver is held accountable in a fair manner. The laws governing reckless driving in New York are quite strict and can result in severe penalties which include fines and even imprisonment. The severity of the punishment depends on several factors including the severity of the crash and whether or not there were aggravating circumstances. A conviction for reckless driving can also result in the suspension of a driver's licence. A seasoned reckless accident lawyer will know how to investigate the causes of a crash and gather evidence that will prove your innocence. This could include witness statements, phone records to check whether the driver was distracted, photographs and videos taken at the scene of the accident, official medical reports and toxicology reports. They will file and litigate insurance claims or lawsuits to ensure you receive the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries.