New York Personal Injury Lawyers Near Your Area
Few things can be as jarring to your life as being involved in medical malpractice or a serious accident. Apart from the lasting effects on your health, the financial and even psychological effects can cause severe disruption to your professional and personal life. How will you pay your medical expenses? How will you work and cover your other bills?
While we have no control over what accidents we may encounter in our daily lives around the New York area, what we can control are the actions and decisions we make after a serious accident. One of the most important decisions is to speak to a New York personal injury lawyer who is experienced in representing victims of serious injuries.
At Varcadipane & Pinnisi, P.C. we have a track record of success in helping medical malpractice and injury victims obtain the justice they deserve after medical malpractice or serious accident. Our New York personal injury lawyers can help you get compensation for your pain and suffering, medical expenses lost wages, and more. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation.
Uniquely Equipped To Serve You
What makes our New York PI Lawyers qualified to help you with your injury case? A few things set us apart from other law firms:
- We have recovered millions for Bronx and Queens Injury Victims
- One of our New York personal injury lawyers, Jeff Varcadipane, is board-certified as a trial attorney
- We provide boutique, personalized legal services that larger firms cannot
Find out more below about New York personal injury laws, then contact our injury lawyers if you have questions.
What Is Required to File an Injury Lawsuit in New York?
If another party or entity injured you by medical malpractice or a car accident in New York, filing an injury lawsuit may be necessary. To file a lawsuit, you must have standing to sue, as established in Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife. That case established that as the plaintiff, you must show the following to sue:
You Were Injured
You must have sustained an injury to file a PI lawsuit, also known as an ‘injury in fact.’ An injury means you have a proven injury that you sustained before you took legal action. The injury must be provable.
Let’s say a driver was texting and driving and rear-ended you at a stop sign. The car accident was high impact, and you suffered a broken hip and concussion. Your New York personal injury lawyers would rely on your medical records and doctor’s evaluation to prove your injuries. These records may include the medical report for the accident, hip x-rays, and a CT scan of your head.
The Accident Caused the Injury
It isn’t necessary to prove all aspects of negligence to have the standing to sue in New York. However, you must show the judge a connection between your injuries and the defendant’s alleged negligence.
Using the above example, you must establish that the rear-end accident is connected to your concussion and a broken hip. Your attorney will probably use your medical records, the police report, and eyewitness testimony to establish the link between your injuries and the car accident.
Proving causation is a critical part of filing an injury lawsuit, which is why it’s crucial to get prompt medical attention after the accident. If you delay medical treatment, it becomes harder to argue that the accident is connected to your injuries. Insurance companies frequently argue that the accident victim waited too long to seek medical treatment, which could jeopardize the case.
The Court Can Offer a Remedy for Your Claim
This is also referred to as ‘redressability,’ which means the court can provide something to remedy your injury claim. Using the above example, the jury may provide compensation for:
- Lost wages and benefits because of your injury
- Cost of medical bills and ongoing care
- Personal care expenses
- Mental health treatments for PTSD, anxiety, and depression
- Loss of earnings potential because of a permanent injury
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional and mental anguish because of injuries and physical limitations
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Contact a New York Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you or your loved one has been in a serious accident in the New York area, our New York personal injury attorneys can help you receive compensation for your injuries. Please contact us to speak with one of our New York injury attorneys.
Schedule a Personal Injury Consultation Near You Today
If you or your loved one has been in a serious accident around the New York area, call us or fill out our contact form today to schedule a free consultation with one of our qualified New York personal injury law firms near your area.
Our New York injury Lawyers, Jeff Varcadipane & Dawn Pinnisi are committed to providing the highest legal level of legal service to their New York clients across the following practice areas: personal injury (medical malpractice, car accidents, wrongful death, and construction site accidents), real estate law, commercial litigation and civil litigation. If you need an attorney in any of these matters, contact Varcadipane & Pinnisi, P.C. today for a consultation.
Statute of Limitations for Filing a New York Personal Injury Lawsuit
Every state limits how long you have to file a personal injury lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations. Typically, there is a 3-year statute of limitations for personal injury matters but the statute can be much shorter under certain circumstances. For instance, in medical malpractice matters, the statute of limitations is generally two and a half years from the date of the treatment at issue. If your claim is against New York City or some other municipality, the statute of limitations can be as short as 90 days to file a Notice of Claim. This is why calling Varcadipane & Pinnisi is so important because the attorneys can determine which statute of limitations applies to your potential claim.
This law is critical because if you don’t file a lawsuit within this timeframe, the court will probably refuse to hear the case and the possibility of obtaining compensation may be lost.
Are You Inside of the Time Frame to File a Lawsuit in NY?
The statute of limitations for your personal injury case is 3 years for most lawsuits. Exceeding it can severely limit or completely invalidate your legal options for seeking compensation. Act swiftly to ensure your rights are preserved and explore your legal recourse before time runs out, otherwise, the likelihood of pursuing your case successfully may diminish considerably. However, if your claim is against a public entity, your timeframe can be significantly shorter.
Shared Fault Laws in New York
If you intend to sue someone for your personal injuries after an accident, it’s essential to understand the shared fault rules in New York. This is because this state follows a pure comparative negligence rule. This means the compensation you get for your personal injury case depends on your percentage of fault.
Let’s say you are in a pedestrian accident where the driver hit you in a crosswalk and suffered $10,000 in leg injuries. However, you were in the crosswalk when the car had the right of way. The jury determines you were 20% at fault for the accident, so your damages are reduced to $8,000 in the personal injury case. Car accidents claim can be complex and challenging.
If the personal injury case is settled out of court, the insurance adjuster could argue you are more to blame for the accident. Again, it will be up to the skill and experience of your best personal injury lawyers to get you as much compensation as possible.
New York No-Fault Auto Insurance Rules
If you’re hurt in a New York City car accident, you may have fewer options for compensation in this state. This is because New York has a no-fault insurance rule. This means if you are injured in an auto accident, you need to use your auto insurance policy first to pay your medical bills and lost earnings, no matter who caused the accident.
In most cases, you only can go outside the no-fault rule and file a lawsuit if you are ‘seriously injured’, according to New York state law. This means you have suffered one or more of the following from the accident:
- Major disfigurement
- Fractures
- Permanent limits to the use of an organ or limb
- Major limitation of use of a body system or function
- Full disability for 90 days or more
If your injuries are severe, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent driver. You can also pursue damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages.
Your york personal injury lawyers will need to show the jury that you have suffered significant pain and suffering, so you get the most compensation. Of course, pain and suffering are subjective, but the attorney can point to other cases, verdicts, and settlements for those with similar injuries. This can give the jury a frame of reference for the level of compensation you deserve.
The State of New York also allows the jury to assess punitive damages if the defendant engaged in grossly negligent behavior that led to your injuries. For example, if the driver was highly drunk and left you with catastrophic injuries, you could be eligible for punitive damages.
“There is nothing our firm takes more seriously than fiercely advocating for our clients in a manner that makes them feel confident and informed at all times. We are not striving to be the biggest law firm for our practice areas but we do aim to be the best.”