As most of you know, New York is “No-Fault” state when it comes to motor vehicle accidents. Under No-fault, regardless of whose fault the accident was, the insurance carrier of the vehicle you were driving or riding in as a passenger will pay up to $50,000.00 for “basic economic loss” which includes medical bills, lost wages and out of pocket expenses to an injured party.
No-Fault applications should be sent within 30 days of the accident to the insurance company of the motor vehicle you were driving or riding in or your No-Fault rights will be denied. Moreover, you should send written notice to your own motor vehicle’s insurance company if you were in a motor vehicle accident and have excess PIP coverage (additional No-Fault coverage over $50,000.00) or UM/SUM coverage (insurance under your own policy that covers you in case the driver of the motor vehicle that struck you is uninsured or has minimal insurance coverage).
Our car accident lawyers handle the No-Fault aspect of your case free of charge.
Under the No-Fault law a person involved in a motor vehicle accident can bring a lawsuit seeking money damages for pain and suffering only if he or she has suffered “serious injury” as defined by the No-Fault statute. Among other injuries, “serious injuries” include: A fractured bone, significant scaring or disfigurement, loss of a fetus, permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, or the inability to perform substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person’s usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence.
As you can see, what constitutes a “serious injury” allowing an individual to bring a law suit seeking money damages for his or her injuries can be subject to great debate. Call us for a professional opinion as to if you may have the right to bring a lawsuit for injuries you have suffered do to a motor vehicle accident.
Our firm has helped clients who suffered serious injuries in auto, truck and bus collisions. When necessary we retain the experts needed to recover the maximum amount of money to fairly compensate our clients for their injuries. Experts in the field of liability may be retained to help our clients prove who was at fault for the accident. We also retain medical experts to help establish the degree to which our clients have been injured and the day to day effect these injuries will have on our clients in the future. Our whiplash injury attorneys will help assess if your neck & back pain will lead to compensation. Finally, when our clients are unable to work due to their injuries we retain experts in the field of economics or vocational rehabilitation to establish the dollar amount of income that has been lost in the past and in the future due to the accident.
There is no fee for any of our services unless we recover money damages for you.
