You do not have to cover the cost of an accident due to negligence yourself. Instead, you can place that burden on the negligent party by filing a personal injury lawsuit in Yorktown Heights.
For personal injuries to happen in Yorktown Heights, one person has to act negligently and breach the duty of care they owe another, injuring them. The most common way this happens is during car accidents. A negligent driver hits a victim, and the victim then pursues recovery against the negligent driver. However, there are other causes of personal injuries, such as workplace accidents or slip and falls due to poorly maintained properties. No matter the cause of your specific injuries, you should get all relevant documents and reports that may support your recovery. For example, if you called 911, our attorneys can help you get the resulting report from law enforcement. If you reported the incident to the negligent party directly, make a copy of that report. Finally, you will have to get your medical records to confirm your injuries, so make sure you prioritize your treatment following an accident.
Call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407 to have our Yorktown Heights, NY personal injury lawyers evaluate your case for free today.
Breaking Down Personal Injuries in Yorktown Heights, NY
Personal injuries happen when one person’s negligent, reckless, or intentional wrongful act harms another. The victim might sustain emotional harm in addition to physical injuries, both of which are compensable in Yorktown Heights.
Accidents, personal injuries, and the claims that follow involve negligent parties, who later become defendants. For example, if a driver hits you with their car and you are eligible to sue in New York, you could file a claim against the driver. The negligent party might not always be as clear, however. For example, if you use a product in your home and it malfunctions, injuring you, the company that produced and distributed it might be liable. Because of this, if you sustain an injury in an accident, you should investigate the matter further, even if it does not initially appear that other parties are involved.
Personal injuries might also happen in the workforce. According to a dataset from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes Westchester County, New York, the most common jobs are in office and administrative support, sales, transportation, and healthcare. All these industries present the risk of unique accidents and injuries that might require compensation.
Victims might also get hurt on another person’s property. For example, if a restaurant failed to clean up a spill and you slipped, the restaurant would be liable for your injuries. The same can be said for negligent homeowners who fail to maintain safe environments for guests in Yorktown Heights.
Getting Relevant Documents for Your Yorktown Heights, NY Personal Injury Case
For your lawsuit to succeed, you should get all relevant documents that could help your case. This may include the accident report from the police, an incident report made to the negligent party, and a victim’s medical records.
Incident Reports from the Police
Law enforcement will process the scene when victims call 911 to report accidents. They will collect relevant information and condense it into a police report. You can get this report from the Yorktown Police Department (YPD). The YPD sends completed accident reports to CrashDocs.org for victims to download. It generally takes a few days for police officers to finish reports, but you should not have to wait unnecessarily long. Our personal injury lawyers can contact officers at the YPD to ask about the delay in finalizing your report if necessary.
After we get the report, we will check to make sure it is wholly accurate. We can also review it to see if officers noted eyewitnesses’ contact information or other relevant details.
You can call the police to report any accident that injures you. Reporting to the police is not just reserved for motor vehicle accidents, but it is also a good way to document any incident, especially if you need compensation for it.
Incident Reports from Negligent Parties
When hurt on someone else’s property, a victim might inform the property owner instead of calling the police. For example, if you tripped over a hazard in a store, you might fill out an incident report with the store itself. Make or request copies of all correspondence or reports related to the accident. We can use this to show that you informed the other party of the accident, their negligence, and your injuries and serve as documentation of the incident.
Beyond an initial accident report, you should not have any additional correspondence with the negligent party without our attorneys. If you do, you might unintentionally misspeak or otherwise jeopardize your claim. If the negligent party has documentation of that correspondence, they might try to use it against you to lower or eliminate their liability in Yorktown Heights.
Medical Records and Bills
You will also need to get your medical records to use as evidence in your case. Generally speaking, you can obtain your own medical records by requesting them and filling out the necessary forms with your provider or the applicable hospital. You may also need records from before the accident to negate any arguments that your current condition or injury is from a pre-existing condition and not the defendant’s negligence. Get records from all facilities or practices you have sought treatment from, including the emergency room you went to immediately after the accident in Yorktown Heights.
Furthermore, as you receive charges from medical treatment, give copies to our lawyers. We can use this as evidence of your losses from the accident. If you need long-term care for permanent injuries, we can get medical experts to testify so you get compensation for future damages not yet incurred.
Call Our Yorktown Heights, NY Injury Attorneys Today
Call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407 to discuss your case for free with our personal injury lawyers.
