Injuries resulting in expensive medical bills, time away from your job, and other effects on your daily living can be a huge interruption on your life. When these injuries result from an accident that you caused or one that was simply unavoidable, it can be frustrating. However, when someone else caused the accident, you might be entitled to compensation.
If you were injured in an accident that could have been avoided if the other party had acted more responsibly or taken better care, then you should consider filing a lawsuit – or at least an insurance claim – against them. In many cases that you might think were “freak accidents,” you can still attribute fault to someone you might not have thought of.
For a free review of your potential injury case, call our personal injury lawyers at The Martello Law Firm right away at (914) 685-6950.
Determining the Cause of Your Accident in Middletown, NY
As mentioned, some accidents are true accidents or “freak accidents,” where no matter what anyone would have done differently, the accident was still going to happen. However, many accidents that our personal injury lawyers can help you with can be blamed on someone’s “negligence” rather than the circumstances on their own.
Examples of So-Called “Accidents” That Involve Fault
As an example of this, consider an accident on an icy road at night. If everyone was driving the speed limit, but the other driver slid and hit you, you might think that there is no one to blame but Mother Nature. However, legally speaking, sometimes the speed limit is too fast on icy roads, and you might still have a case against the other driver for driving unsafely.
Similar situations can come up in building and structural collapse cases, where a worn-down structure might just collapse after many years. However, it is up to the property owner to investigate their property for dangers and warn guests about them. Similarly, if your loved one died after a bout with cancer, it might be worth having a lawyer review your case to see whether the cancer was treated properly and caught at an appropriate time or whether a doctor’s errors could have given you more time with your loved one.
Legal Analysis
All in all, the legal analysis in these cases relies on a claim that the other party was “negligent.” Negligence has four elements: that there was a legal duty the defendant owed you, that they breached that duty, that the breach caused the accident, and that the accident resulted in injuries and damages you can seek compensation for.
In a classic car accident, the duty is often supplied by a traffic law, the violation is a violation of that law, and the violation directly causes the crash. The various injuries, medical bills, vehicle damage, and lost wages, among others, would all be compensable “damages” in these kinds of cases.
Sometimes the duty in question is less obvious. For example, some duties are based on the relationship between you and the defendant, such as a guest and host or patient and doctor. In these kinds of situations, the law places an obligation on the parties to act reasonably. A host needs to act as a reasonable host would and warn guests about potential dangers they might not notice; a doctor needs to act as a reasonable doctor would by providing care that lives up to appropriate medical standards.
If the accident would have happened regardless of what the defendant did, then it is one of those “freak accidents,” but if it only happened because they failed to do something they were supposed to do or because they did something unreasonable, then the accident is their fault, and they pay the damages.
Damages for Injury Claims in Middletown, NY
In many injury cases, there is some kind of insurance policy that will cover the accident. Businesses have liability insurance, homeowners have homeowners insurance, drivers carry car insurance, and so on. However, many situations allow you to sue instead of relying on insurance for damages, potentially accessing damages beyond what insurance will cover.
Types of Damages
Generally speaking, injury cases result in a range of damages. Any costs incurred because of an injury can be blamed on the person who caused the injury in the first place. This means that even odd effects like lost wages from missed time at work or additional childcare expenses while you recover can all be included in your claim against the person or entity that injured you.
Most cases involve, at the very least, damages for medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. Pain and suffering are “non-economic” damages present in any case that involves an injury, with more severe injuries being worth more in pain and suffering damages. Many “economic” damages are based on clear receipts or bills, but our lawyers can use a few standard techniques to help you calculate non-economic damages and understand what they are worth.
Insurance Payouts vs. Awards from Lawsuits
Some insurance systems block you from receiving full damages, and it is important to talk to a lawyer about whether you have the option to go around the insurance restrictions and sue in court. Otherwise, you would be leaving damages on the table.
Car insurance in New York works on a “no-fault” basis, and you must file with your own insurance company to get compensation unless you have “serious injuries” that allow you to sue. When you file with insurance alone, you are blocked from receiving pain and suffering damages.
Similarly, work injuries are often covered by Workers’ Compensation insurance, which does not pay pain and suffering either. To get these damages, you often have to sue a party other than your employer or rely on certain loopholes to sue your boss for injuries.
When you sue in court, you are entitled to virtually any and all damages you can prove were related to the accident.
Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Middletown, NY Today
For a free case evaluation, call (914) 685-6950 today to speak with our personal injury lawyers at The Martello Law Firm.
