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. Certain accidents could cause serious injuries, even if they are only minor collisions. Injured parties should call 911 and seek medical attention right away.
A New York car accident lawyer can help victims with their legal needs following an accident. They can help victims obtain compensation for medical bills and lost income.
No-fault Insurance
New York is an insurance no-fault state. This means that motorists pedestrians, passengers, and passengers as cyclists and bicyclists are covered automatically by their auto insurance policies. This includes medical expenses, lost wages and other accident-related costs. This has helped protect the victims of car accidents from being burdened with out-of pocket expenses. However it is crucial to understand what it means.
To be eligible for No-Fault Insurance you must satisfy certain requirements. First and foremost you must have been injured in a car accident that took place in the state of New York. You must be a driver, a passenger or pedestrian in the insured vehicle. The person who was injured must be treated in a hospital or by an authorized medical professional. In addition you must have sustained a "serious injury."
Serious injuries are defined in the New York State Insurance Law as a permanent and substantial loss of function, permanent disfigurement, or death. These are all extremely serious injuries, and can have a profoundly negative impact on the victim's life. If you have been seriously injured in a New York car accident, an experienced New York injury attorney can assist you in obtaining the compensation that you deserve.
A lawyer can assist with the legal process in many ways following a serious auto accident. They can help you understand your legal options, conduct an in-depth investigation and negotiate with your insurance company. They may also file a lawsuit in court on your behalf against the negligent driver who caused the accident.
Following a serious car crash you could face astronomical medical expenses, lost wages and other expenses. El Monte injury lawsuit can be paid for by no-fault insurance and you should seek medical attention immediately after a car accident even if you feel like you are fine.
If you are unable return to work, no-fault will pay for 80 percent of your lost wages up to $2,000 per month. It will also cover a lot of your out of pocket expenses, like the cost of household assistance.
Insurance companies often schedule an IME (Independent Medical Examination) or EUO or Exam under Oath. Attendance is mandatory, as the absence of this could result in retroactive denials of benefits.
Purely comparative fault
In many car accident cases the plaintiffs could be held to be fully or partially responsible for the incident. The law permits injured parties to recover damages according to the percentage of blame that can be assigned to them. This is known as pure comparative negligence. Pure comparative differs from modified comparative, which limits the amount a person may be deemed to have in order to keep the claimant from obtaining financial compensation. Modified comparative fault states typically set the bar between 49 to 51 percent.
In a case involving a car accident the plaintiff's legal responsibility for the accident rests on proving two things: negligence and causation. Negligence is the act of breaking a law or committing an act with reckless carelessness. Causation refers to how the negligence directly led to the injury. To establish legal responsibility, plaintiffs must also show economic losses, like medical expenses, lost income, and travel expenses that result from their injuries. Non-economic losses include emotional trauma and suffering and pain.
New York is one of the 13 states that have pure comparative fault laws, which means that injured parties are still able to seek compensation even if they are partially at the fault. If the claimant is found more than 50% at fault, then they are unable to claim damages. In this case it is essential to work with a knowledgeable lawyer.
Comparative fault is applicable to nearly any personal injury or wrongful death case in which a victim (or the heirs of the deceased) has suffered physical or emotional damages. However, the concept of comparative fault can be a bit more complicated in wrongful death claims.
The principle of comparative fault is crucial to know when making an action for compensation following an accident in New York. Your lawyer will work with the insurance companies to secure the maximum compensation for your injuries.
Joint and several liability can also apply if there are multiple defendants. This is a method that divides the judgment between all the defendants if the jury decides that you are jointly and multiplely responsible for the accident. This is a great way to ensure that you receive the most compensation for your injuries.
Insurance company tactics
The aftermath of a car accident can be just as stressful. Injured victims often must deal with medical expenses and loss of income from being unable to work, not to mention their emotional and physical pain. Rent and other daily expenses are also a problem. They don't need to be subjected to the delay tactics employed by an insurance company to convince them to accept lower settlement offers.
Insurance companies exist to earn money. They do this by denying or reducing your claims. Insurance agents will use every tactic possible to deny you the compensation you deserve. It is important to hire an experienced New York car accident attorney to ensure that you are treated fairly. The attorneys at Mirman Markovits & Landau PC have years of experience fighting for the rights of car accident victims. Our lawyers will take on insurance companies and their sneaky tactics.
In order to save money insurance companies will do whatever they can to delay or stop your claim. They may also attempt to avoid liability by arguing that the injuries aren't related to the accident or do not require treatment. They might even claim that you suffer from a previous medical condition that is to blame for your crash.
In some instances an insurance adjuster might come up with an amount for settlement that seems reasonable. This is a classic scam that many people fall for. This offer is much lower than the amount you'll must pay to cover medical expenses and other damage.
New York law requires that all drivers carry no-fault coverage. It is not uncommon for people to sustain injuries while driving another person's car or in their vehicle. The most common causes of accidents are distracted driving, reckless driving, and speeding. Distracted driving happens when a driver is using a device while driving to send or receive text messages or phone calls or listen to music. Distracted driving can lead to drivers losing control of their vehicle and leading to serious accidents. Other causes of crashes include drunk driving, road conditions and weather.
Reckless driving
If you've been injured in a car accident caused by reckless driving, you could be entitled to compensation. A New York City reckless driving accident lawyer can assist you investigate the crash to identify the parties accountable for your injuries and losses. They may also bring a lawsuit or claim against the driver to recover damages.
The New York criminal code defines reckless driving as the practice of operating a vehicle in a manner that endangers the lives and safety of others on the road and pedestrians or riders on bicycles. In order to convict someone of this crime, a police officer must prove more than carelessness or negligence. This means that the police officer must show that the driver was aware that their actions were likely to cause an accident or put others at risk.
Even minor traffic violations can be deemed reckless driving in New York. Driving through a stop sign or red light could cause an accident that is serious. If a driver is found driving recklessly, they could be found guilty of misdemeanor charges and could face fines or even jail time.
Unsuspecting driving can cause serious injuries to pedestrians, drivers and bicyclists. A conviction for this crime can lead to the addition of points to your license as well as hefty fines. This could cause driver's insurance rates to go up significantly. It is crucial to employ an New York reckless driving accident attorney who will ensure the driver is held accountable on a fair basis.
The reckless driving laws in New York are very strict and could result in substantial penalties, including fines and imprisonment. The severity of the penalty depends on a variety of variables like the severity of an accident and if there were aggravating circumstances. A conviction for reckless driving can also result in the suspension of a driver's licence.
A reckless driving accident attorney who has experience can determine the causes of an accident and gather evidence to show your innocence. This evidence could include witness statements as well as phone records to determine whether the driver was distracted, photographs and videos taken at the scene of the accident, official medical reports and toxicology reports. They will prepare, file, and litigate lawsuits or insurance claims that are aimed at obtaining the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries.