The Role Of A New York Personal Injury Attorney Explained
Researching New York personal injury attorneys may not be at the top of your list after you have been involved in an accident. That is perfectly fine. Your primary focus should be on your health and recovery. Whether that means undergoing surgery and months of physical therapy or starting to see a psychiatrist, you want to get yourself back to how you were before the accident as much as possible.
Recovering after an accident isn’t just physical, mental, or emotional, though. There are other ways to recoup what you may have lost. That’s exactly what a New York personal injury attorney can help you with.
What Does A New York Personal Injury Attorney Do
Personal injury lawyers help people become “whole” again after they have been in an accident where some individual(s), company(ies), or other party(ies) were negligent. When you get hurt in a motor vehicle accident, slip and fall accident, as a result of medical malpractice or from a defective product, a New York personal injury attorney can help get you compensation for any damages you’ve suffered as a result.
Below we discuss the ways how a New York personal injury attorney can help you in your time of need.
Help you recover compensation after an Accident
When you get hurt in an accident, your mind is most likely on your physical and mental recovery. You’re not thinking about the medical bills stacking up, or the lost benefits from all the sick days you have to take off from work. As you’re taking care of yourself medically, your New York personal injury attorney is looking after your legal rights and possible financial security.
Conduct Necessary Investigation And Obtain Evidence
One of the biggest aspects of any personal injury case is investigating the facts and performing discovery. Discovery is the process of gathering relevant evidence from all parties and witnesses to help support and prove your case. Your New York personal injury attorney may do the following:
Get in contact with witnesses for interviews
Take photos and videos from the scene or create diagrams
Obtain police reports or accident reports
Reconstruct an accident scene, if necessary
Serve demands upon the other party for paper records, photographs, videos, statements, business records
Conduct depositions of all parties including all necessary and relevant non-party witnesses
Advise You Of The Status Of Your Case And Discussing Your Options At Different Stages Of Your Case
A New York personal injury attorney will spend a great deal of time making sure you fully understand your situation. The New York personal injury attorney listen to your full account of the accident and pull out facts or pieces of information that may require verification or follow-up. The attorney’s job is to obtain all of the details of the accident so that they—and you—have all the necessary information to make the best decisions as the case proceeds.
In a personal injury action, the case is very fluid and things can change at different stages of the litigation process. A New York personal injury attorney will keep you apprised of information that is gathered during the course of the case that may have an impact on your legal matter. The information obtained could be positive in your favor and it could also be negative. Having discussions with your attorney will help keep you up to date as to what is happening and allow you to make the proper informed decisions when necessary.
Negotiate A Settlement On Your Behalf
Most personal injury cases end with a settlement. With a settlement, there’s no need to go to court and the parties agree to the conditions negotiated by each party’s respective attorneys. Settlements are legally binding, so if you agree to settle a case, you must comply with it. You will not be able to undo a settlement.
Trying to come up with settlement terms on your own is not a good idea if you aren’t familiar with personal injury laws in New York State. Having a New York personal injury attorney negotiate on your behalf ensures that you get the best deal possible in your situation, and that you don’t agree to something that doesn’t benefit you and is not in your best interests. The New York personal injury attorney should advise you of what a reasonable settlement range is based upon the facts of your case and the injuries you sustained. It is important to bear in mind that every personal injury case is fact specific and that each case has a different possible value. Information that is posted elsewhere on the internet may not apply to your situation and most firms do not provide all of the details behind their settlements or jury verdicts.
Discuss Your Case With Insurance Companies
As you’re recovering after your accident, you may not have the time or the energy to deal with your insurance company or the other side’s insurance company. Most insurance carriers want claims to be dealt with as quickly as possible, and typically for an amount lower than the value of your injuries. A New York personal injury attorney can request copies of your various insurance policies and review them to look for the coverage and benefits you’re entitled to. A New York personal injury attorney will also present the best possible case to the insurance carrier to see if there is any earnest interest to settle a case at different points of the litigation.
Present Your Case To A Jury At The Time Of Trial
Although most personal injury lawsuits are settled, when the parties cannot reach an agreement, your personal injury case will go to trial before a jury of your peers. All personal injury attorneys must be ready to take their cases to trial if it comes to that point. A personal injury attorney starts to prepare for trial once you have retained their services. A New York personal injury attorney will have a general roadmap as to how to proceed with your case and will aim to get all of the necessary and relevant evidence to prove your case should your case have to go to trial. The time to complete a trial can range depending on the complexity of your legal matter. A trial can last several days, a week or two, and in some cases a month or longer.
Personal injury lawyers do a lot of work for their clients. No case is the same and there’s hardly ever a clear-cut solution for a legal matter. A New York personal injury attorney’s job is to find and fight for the best resolution possible for your situation. It is important to have an open line of communication between you and your attorney so that the best informed decisions are made when necessary.
What Types Of Cases Do Personal Injury Lawyers Handle?
Personal injury lawyers can work on a wide variety of cases. Some attorneys may specialize in a specific type of personal injury law as well, such as motor vehicle accidents or medical malpractice.
Generally, however, personal injury can include the following:
Motorcycle accidents
Premises liability (which includes slips and falls, swimming pool accidents, exposure to harmful materials or chemicals, etc.)
Defective products
Wrongful death claims
Traumatic brain injury resulting from an accident
Catastrophic injury
The above list isn’t exhaustive but covers some of the areas of personal injury law. If you’ve been in some kind of accident and are wondering what your rights are, you should contact a New York personal injury attorney in your area.
General Process For A Personal Injury Case
Most personal injury cases will go through the following process:
The plaintiff gets injured in an accident and hires an attorney to help them recover damages.
The plaintiff’s attorney files a personal injury complaint in court and the defendant is served with the complaint.
The defendant hires an attorney. If insurance coverage is involved, the defendant’s insurance company will appoint and pay for an attorney to represent the defendant.
Both sides ask each other for evidence and witness information during the discovery phase of the litigation. Occasionally both sides will have to appear in court to let the judge know how the process is going and to advise the court if there are any discovery disputes.
The plaintiff and the defendant will appear for a deposition.
After the plaintiff has been deposed, the plaintiff is required to undergo a physical examination by the defendant’s doctor in order to assess the injuries that are being claimed.
If there is a necessary non-party witness, the parties may seek to conduct a deposition of the non-party witness.
Once all discovery has been completed, the case is placed on the trial calendar.
The two sides agree to a settlement before the case goes to trial. This is the most common outcome.
If no settlement can be reached by the parties, a trial will be held. In the majority of cases, a jury will determine if the defendant is at fault for the accident and, if so, how much they must pay to cover the plaintiff’s losses.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys On Your Side
When you’ve suffered an accident and want to recover compensation for your losses, a New York personal injury attorney is the most qualified person to help you. A good attorney will truly have your best interests in mind and work diligently to make you whole again.
If you have been injured in an accident, you may be able to seek compensation from the the party responsible for your accident. To schedule a free case evaluation with a New York personal injury Attorney, call the Law Office of Dimitrios Kourouklis, Ph.D. today and speak with one of our New York Personal Injury attorneys at 929-400-7608 or via email.
