Car crashes, truck accidents, slips and falls, and more happen across the United States every day to countless victims. While sometimes, these injuries may be complete freak accidents, a good portion of the time, injuries can be traced back to another party’s negligent conduct. When you are hurt because someone else was negligent, you can take them to court in what is called a personal injury lawsuit.
That is where we come in. Our attorneys are experienced and professional and have a passion for seeing justice served. We can collect evidence, form an argument, talk to other parties on your behalf, and fight hard for you to get the financial compensation you need after you are injured.
To get a totally obligation-free case analysis at no cost to you, call our personal injury attorneys with The Martello Law Firm at (914) 685-6950.
What Can Our Poughkeepsie, NY Personal Injury Lawyers Help You With?
Many people may be wondering what kinds of cases our personal injury lawyers can assist you with. Because the scope of “personal injury cases” is very large, attorneys have to know how to handle a wide variety of cases. If you were injured under any of the circumstances denoted below – or indeed under other circumstances – you should reach out to our offices.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents frequently result in serious injuries. Car, truck, and bus accidents happen every day, and sadly, many people are injured in these accidents. Victims of motor vehicle accidents end up with fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and other injuries.
A common cause of motor vehicle accidents is driver negligence. In the area of personal injury law, “negligence” refers to someone being careless and, as a result, hurting someone else.
Drivers can be negligent in many different ways, but it generally falls into one of two categories. First, it is negligent to ignore traffic rules and laws. So, if a driver is speeding or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they are negligent because there are specific laws that prohibit those things. Second, drivers can be negligent by failing to act as a reasonable driver would under the circumstances. For example, driving a little slower than surrounding traffic or driving in an erratic manner is not necessarily against the law, but could be the result of carelessness and can easily lead to an accident.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slipping and falling down may sound innocuous, but it can actually lead to very serious injuries like broken bones or permanent nerve damage. Slip and fall accidents can happen for a lot of reasons, including wet floors, uneven sidewalks, and poorly lit stairwells.
Many slip-and-fall accident claims will fall under the umbrella of premises liability. Property owners have a duty to keep their property safe for people who may go onto it, and it can be considered negligent if someone gets hurt because the property is in bad shape.
Product Liability
People get hurt by things they buy all the time. The area of law that deals with these kinds of injuries is called “product liability.” When a product injures someone because of a problem it has, that product is considered “defective.” Defects in product liability can be broadly categorized as design defects or manufacturing defects.
Design defects are problems that are “baked in” to the design of the product. That means that even if the product is assembled “correctly,” it will still be dangerous to the end user. Examples of design defects would include a jet ski without a backstop on its seat or a car that is too top-heavy and prone to rolling over.
Manufacturing defects, by contrast, arise because of mistakes made somewhere along the line. These mistakes could be when the product is being built or when it is being worked on or repaired. Some examples of manufacturing defects would be improper electrical wiring in a car or a sharp kitchen knife with a loosely fitted handle.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals are skilled individuals that we trust with our health and well-being. Unfortunately, they are just as prone to being negligent as any other person. When you are injured due to medical negligence, you can file a medical malpractice claim against the medical professional who wronged you and potentially the hospital or medical provider they work for.
Medical malpractice cases can have some differences from other personal injury claims. For example, medical malpractice lawsuits frequently rely heavily on expert testimony from practicing medical professionals. You should talk to our lawyers about your claim in a medical malpractice case.
Wrongful Death
Sadly, many circumstances that can lead to serious injuries can also result in the death of the victim. When that happens, certain parties can file either a wrongful death claim or a survival action. There are some differences between the two kinds of claims, but they both deal with compensating family, friends and loved ones because someone died in a negligence-based accident. You need to discuss the particulars of your situation with our attorneys to figure out how to proceed.
How do Personal Injury Cases Work in Poughkeepsie, NY?
Personal injury claims have a lot of steps that need to be completed before anyone enters a courtroom and argues before a jury. Most of the legal legwork happens prior to trial. As a matter of fact, there is often at least a year of lead-up activities prior to a trial in a personal injury case. We will walk you through what to expect at each phase of your personal injury case.
Talking to Our Lawyers and Filing Your Claim
The first step in a personal injury case is discussing your situation with legal counsel. When you call our offices, we can give you basic advice for your situation. We can only start working towards your specific needs until you are retained as a client. Once that agreement is made, we can start working on your case and filing your claim.
It is important that you file your claim as soon as you can. Every state has laws called statutes of limitations that limit how long you have to file a given type of case. For example, some very serious crimes, like murder, have no limit on how long you have to file. Personal injury lawsuits in New York, however, have a three-year time limit from when you file your case per C.V.P. Law § 214(5). After that time, you are no longer able to pursue your claim.
Discovery
Perhaps the most important step in a personal injury case is a process called “discovery.” During discovery, attorneys on either side of the case share important information. This may sound like you are giving something away to the other side, but it is very important to ensure that both sides are working off a more-or-less equal playing field and that there are no surprises at trial.
Discovery requests can be made for many different things. Almost anything that may be relevant to the case can be asked for. However, that does not mean you- or the other side – are necessarily required to give you everything asked for in discovery. Some information is still off-limits. For example, the other side cannot force you to give them conversations we have with you about trail strategy, as those communications are protected by attorney-client privilege.
Depositions
Another important part of trial preparation, which is technically part of the discovery process, is depositions. Depositions are a formal process by which people who are going to be involved in a trial are interviewed by lawyers. These interviews are under oath, so intentionally withholding the truth during a deposition is extremely damaging to someone’s case and credibility in court.
During a deposition, you, our lawyers, opposing counsel, a professional recorder, and perhaps some other parties will be present. You will then be asked a series of questions by opposing counsel. These questions will start out simple to acclimate you to the process. However, the subject matter will then quickly turn to things relevant to your claim. Answer these questions as truthfully as you can, even if you think it will hurt your case. If our attorneys think that anything you are asked is unfair or not relevant, we can raise an objection to the question so you do not need to answer it.
Once their lawyer is done with their questions, our lawyers will do the same thing with follow-up questions. Both attorneys can go back and forth in this manner for as long as they wish, so it is possible for a deposition to take several hours.
Pre-Trial Proceedings
Concurrent with and following discovery, there will also be many pre-trail proceedings before a case goes before a jury. The judge has to set a date for a trial that works for all parties involved; the jury needs to be selected, and if they so desire, attorneys can file pre-trial motions. These are formal requests for the court to do something relevant to the case. Many times, these requests are not complicated. For example, an attorney could file a motion to have the trial moved to a new location or to a different day. An attorney could even file a motion to dismiss the case entirely if they believe that doing so is the correct move.
Possible Settlement
During negotiations with opposing counsel, it may be possible to come to an agreement where you can amicably resolve your claim without going to trial. Indeed, many cases are settled outside the courtroom for many different reasons.
Some of the benefits of settling a case include reducing the cost of litigation because the matter will resolve quicker than if it were to go to a full trial. Moreover, the defendant may even be willing to work with you on the offer, depending on the circumstances. Finally, settlements have a guaranteed outcome, while a trial never does.
If an offer to settle will meet your needs and has everything you would want out of a trial, you should discuss the prospect of accepting it with our lawyers. Many people conflate accepting a settlement with “losing” or having a weak case, but that is not true. In fact, many parties with very solid legal arguments and strong evidence elect to settle disputes for various reasons. Of course, everyone has the right to a fair trial, and you have the ultimate decision to settle your personal injury claim or not.
Trial
The final step in a personal injury lawsuit is a trial. During a trial, both attorneys have a mostly full picture of what will happen at trial. There may be some surprises, but that is the exception, not the rule. The legal arguments and evidence are presented to the jury, who then decides whether the facts support the plaintiff’s claim. If the jury finds the defendant liable, they also determine the amount of damages you receive.
What Can You Get Damages for in a Poughkeepsie, NY Personal Injury Lawsuit?
When you seek damages in a personal injury case, you have to be specific about what you are basing them on. There are a number of things you can base damages on in your case.
First, you can get damages based on medical bills and expenses. The cost of surgery, hospital stays, and long-term care can easily add up. Accordingly, you can be awarded damages for those expenses.
Second, you can get damages for lost wages under a number of circumstances, including if you lost your job or had to take a lower-paying one.
You can also get damages for less tangible things like emotional distress or physical pain. These kinds of damages can be hard to grasp for juries, so you will need to convey their importance to the court.
Talk to Our Team of Poughkeepsie, NY Personal Injury Lawyers Today
If you need assistance, call The Martello Law Firm’s personal injury lawyers at (914) 685-6950 and get a free case review.
