Personal injury law permits victims of negligence to seek justice from those whose acts caused them harm, whether through negligent, reckless, or intentional acts. Williamson, Clune & Stevens is committed to helping their clients across New York find justice in their personal injury claims.
Personal injury cases typically involve two types of losses: special and general. Special damages refer to tangible costs like medical expenses and lost wages, while general losses include things such as pain and suffering and decreased quality of life.
Negligence
Personal injury cases rely heavily on evidence of negligence to establish their cases. This could include photographs, eyewitness accounts, medical records, expert testimonies and more to prove that a defendant had an obligation to act with caution and refrain from harming others, that this duty was breached, and their actions caused your injuries directly – this last element is known as causation; showing this link between their action or inaction and your losses is crucial in receiving just compensation for them.
Negligence can generally be defined as any act or failure to exercise ordinary care in any situation, although certain situations, such as gross negligence (acting with complete disregard for others’ safety), also qualify. Some states use comparative negligence law which enables victims of an injury they were partially responsible for to receive compensation – though this varies by state.
Damages
Damages are financial compensation for physical harm and financial losses caused by another party’s negligence or reckless behavior, including physical injuries and financial losses. There are two forms of damages compensation, compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages provide for quantifiable costs such as medical expenses, property damages, lost wages and future income losses; punitive damages cover anything beyond this cost threshold such as potential court fines.
Non-economic damages include pain and suffering or emotional distress that is difficult to quantify, so insurance companies frequently undervalue such claims. A personal injury lawyer can assist in documenting this suffering’s worth to insurance companies.
Keep in mind that most personal injury claims are resolved outside of court, usually by filing an insurance claim and engaging in negotiations to reach an acceptable injury settlement agreement.
Settlements
Settlement agreements are reached between disputing parties regarding legal claims either prior to court action commencing or post-trial.
Personal injury cases take time and require careful preparation in order to be successfully settled. The first step in building your case against those responsible involves gathering evidence against them – from photographs taken of the scene and interviewing witnesses, as well as consulting field experts such as healthcare providers or economists in order to calculate damages accurately.
After gathering all this information, your lawyer will send a demand letter to the insurance company requesting a monetary amount that covers all of your damages. They usually make an initial low offer that your lawyer can then negotiate to increase. Once a settlement has been agreed upon and approved, payment should come through within 30-60 days and distributed accordingly among you, your attorney, any other parties named in the claim and attorney fees (usually deducted) in accordance with state statute.
Trials
Your personal injury case will eventually go to trial unless you live in one of the few states with no-fault insurance laws, in which case evidence of your damages will be presented before a judge or jury for consideration and they will decide if the defendant was indeed responsible and how much compensation should be awarded to you.
Before commencing with any trial proceedings, both you and your attorney must perform extensive investigations and gather quality evidence – such as medical bills/records/police reports/witness statements/camera footage etc. Additionally, depositions (in-person question and answer sessions under oath) may also be required of you as they provide testimony under oath from witnesses who may testify at your trial.
Your attorney will strive to select an impartial jury, while the defense may attempt to convince them that your injuries were preexisting or caused by something other than the accident itself. At trial, the jury will ultimately decide whether or not they award compensation.
