SYRACUSE, NY CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY
LET KING LAW’S SYRACUSE CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS HANDLE YOUR CASE
Car accidents are unfortunately fairly common in Syracuse, and they leave hundreds of people in serious pain. If you were injured in an accident, you should not have to worry about how you will pay your medical bills or replace your lost wages. Sadly, far too many people struggle to obtain fair compensation following an accident that was not their fault. At King Law, we make it our job to represent motorists like you who are injured in a car wreck.
We Represent Auto Accident Victims Whose Injuries Are Serious Or Catastrophic
When cars collide, it generates a tremendous amount of force. As much as car manufacturers try to make their cars as safe as possible, the human body often suffers serious trauma. Even accidents at low speeds can result in life-altering injuries.
Our Syracuse car accident lawyers represent clients who have suffered from the following auto accident injuries:
- Back injuries
- Broken bones
- Facial disfigurement
- Head injuries
- Neck injuries
- Nerve damage
- Soft-tissue injuries
- Spinal cord damage
Serious car accident injuries require experienced legal representation. Let King Law handle your car accident claim while you focus on your healing and recovery. Whether your recovery requires extensive rehabilitation, prescription medications, or surgery, our team will help you through the process every step of the way.
What Should I Do Immediately Following a Syracuse Car Accident?
Motor vehicle accidents are upsetting and disorienting, and it can be difficult to think clearly in the event of an accident, especially if you or a loved one has sustained injuries in a crash. Even if your injuries do not appear to be severe, you may be unsure if you should get medical help or go home and recover.
It’s important to seek medical attention after a car accident in Upstate New York for many different reasons:
Car Accident Injuries May Not Produce Immediate Signs or Symptoms
You should know that many car accident injuries, including some serious ones, may not produce immediate signs or symptoms. For example, the Mayo Clinic explains that it can take hours, days, or even more time before the obvious symptoms of whiplash show up. The early signs of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a concussion also may not seem obvious, but they can worsen significantly as more time passes. As such, it is critical to have a medical assessment from a health care provider when you have been involved in a traffic collision in Rochester, Syracuse, or elsewhere upstate.
Delayed Medical Care Could Affect Your Damages Award:
If you delay seeking medical care, your damages award or payout could be affected. Indeed, under New York’s comparative fault law, an injured plaintiff’s damages award can be reduced by his or her portion of fault if the accident itself or the severity of her injuries resulted from her own negligence. Failing to seek immediate medical attention and to have an assessment from a health care provider may be considered negligent in a car accident claim. The risk of comparative fault reducing your damages award is a particular concern when injuries obviously worsen as a result of delayed medical care.
You Will Need Medical Documentation of a Serious Injury to File a Car Accident Lawsuit:
Finally, you will need to have medical documentation of a serious injury if you plan to file a car accident lawsuit. Under New York law, if you cannot prove with medical evidence that you meet the serious injury threshold required to file a lawsuit against an at-fault driver, you cannot be eligible to file a lawsuit. As such, you should see a doctor as soon as possible after a crash, and continue to seek medical attention, so that you have clear documentation of a serious injury.
Obtaining Compensation: Understanding New York’s No-Fault Insurance
New York requires that people carry at least $50,000 in personal injury protection benefits, which are no fault. This money can immediately begin paying for necessary medical care that helps you get back on your feet. If necessary, you can also make a claim for lost wages using your PIP coverage.
Because PIP is no fault, you may be able to tap into these benefits even when you are responsible for a wreck. For example, you might have been speeding when you hit a patch of ice, sending you crashing into a tree. Here, you have been driving too fast for conditions, so you may be at fault for the accident. But PIP benefits are still available.
Nevertheless, many insurers still refuse to approve claims. They might unfairly deny your claim as outside the coverage, or they might refuse to fully compensate you for the care you received.
Negligent Drivers: When Another Motorist Is To Blame
In many accidents, another driver is to blame for the collision. The driver fails to drive as carefully as a reasonable person would, and accidents occur. The failure to use reasonable care is negligence, which makes this driver liable for the collision.
There are many examples of negligent driving that can lead to an accident:
- Speeding
- Passing illegally
- Tailgating
- Driving on the sidewalk
- Failing to yield
- Failing to check a blind spot before changing lanes
- Distracted driving
- Impaired driving
New York also requires that motorists carry bodily injury liability coverage, which is “fault”-based coverage. This insurance will pay compensation to victims when a person covered by the policy is to blame for the wreck. So if a motorist runs a red light and crashes into you, you can make a claim on his or her insurance.
Satisfying the Requirements to Sue
Suing another driver is harder than it should be. New York has thrown up some hurdles, one of which is a requirement that victims suffer from a “serious injury.” New York Insurance Law Section 5102(d) identifies nine injuries that give a motorist the right to sue:
- Fracture
- Death of a fetus
- Dismemberment
- Death
- Significant disfigurement
- A significant limitation of a body system or function
- Permanent loss of the use of a body organ, member, system, or function
- Permanent consequential limitation of the use of a body member or organ
- A non-permanent injury that prevents a person from living their daily lives for at least 90 days
New York passed this law to cut down on what it viewed as frivolous litigation over minor injuries. However, all it has done is cut off the ability of gravely injured people to get the compensation they are entitled to.
If you were seriously injured, contact our Syracuse car accident attorney today. Proving you have a sufficiently serious injury is difficult and requires detailed medical information as well as your own testimony.
Protecting Your Case
It is vital that victims not immediately give a statement to the insurance companies after a wreck in Syracuse. Often, insurance adjusters are fishing for evidence that shows you are to blame for the accident—at least partially. They will then use this information to reduce the amount of compensation they offer.
To protect yourself, refuse to give a recorded statement. Your car accident attorney can handle all communication for you so that there is no confusion about your memory of the event. Also, continue to receive medical treatment so you can show you are doing everything possible to get well.
CASE RESULTS
OUR RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.
Criminal Sale of Marijuana
Result - Dismissed
Rape in the First Degree
Result - Dismissed
Pedestrian Accident
Settlement - $105,000