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Personal Injury

• Firm Moves Case Out From Under Bankruptcy Stay
• Firm Settles Case on For Direct Selection of a Jury
• Driver and Pedestrians Urged to be Careful as City Expects First Snow
• City of New York Modifies 911 System for Snake Hill Road
• New York City Schools Get PCB Removal Offers from Private Firms

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News

• Police Report Shows Officer Was Speeding when Struck Pedestrian...
  Posted on 1/18/2012
• Brooklyn Woman with Broken Ankle Waits 30 Hours for Ambulance...
  Posted on 12/29/2010
• NY Insurers Argue Against No-Fault Reform...
  Posted on 6/24/2010
• NYC Police Target Motorists Who Use Cell Phones While Driving...
  Posted on 6/24/2010
• Toddler Suffers 2nd-degree Burns in Brooklyn Playground Accident...
  Posted on 6/24/2010

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Library

Personal Injury

• Injured at a Store in Staten Island, New York
• Injured While Riding a Bike in Staten Island, New York
• PCB Contamination Exposure in Staten Island, New York
• Injured in a Car Accident in Staten Island, New York
• Injured While Jogging in Staten Island, NY

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10 Myths that Can Wreck your Staten Island Accident Case Part 2

Myth #5: I was in a car accident after I had just lost my job and all my medical benefits. My friend told me that I should start a lawsuit. He had a similar accident a few years back and hired a lawyer who sent him to a doctor because he was injured. The doctor helped him feel better but since I lost my job, I don’t have any medical coverage and since I can’t go to a doctor, I don’t have case.

• The Truth: Just because you don’t have medical coverage doesn’t mean that you will be unable to receive medical treatment. In New York State, if you are injured in a car accident, you are entitled to receive medical benefits. Insurance companies are required to pay for your medical care and treatment, even if you were at fault for the accident.

Myth #6: I don’t really need a lawyer. If I talk to the insurance company and explain my case and my injuries and ask for a reasonable amount of money. They will make a reasonable offer and I will have saved the attorneys fee. After all, they want to be fair with me.

• The Truth: The insurance adjuster is not trying to be fair and reasonable. In fact, they are trying to be just the opposite. They will try to settle your case for the least amount of money, no matter how hurt you are. Unless the insurance company is convinced that you are represented by an experienced personal injury attorney and that you are willing to take your case to trial, you will never get a fair settlement. A study by the Insurance Research Council found that injured people using lawyers in personal injury claims received more money than those without lawyers, even after paying the lawyer’s fees!

Myth #7: The more money that I demand from the insurance adjuster, the more money they will eventually settle for, so I should make my lawyer demand much more money that my case is really worth.

• The Truth: Insurance adjusters spend all day everyday evaluating how much a personal injury case is worth. Sometimes they get it wrong, but they usually have a good sense of what a case is worth. Some insurance companies even have complex computer programs that evaluate the value of a case. Determining how much to demand is a balancing act for an injured person’s lawyer. If your lawyer asks for too little, he risks leaving money on the table. If he asks for too much, he risks looking inexperienced or unreasonable, in which case the insurance company is unlikely to offer any money to settle your case. An attorney experienced with serious personal injury cases will make a demand that accurately reflects the impact the injuries have had on your life. It shows that he knows the personal injury business, and that he knows that his demand must be backed up with evidence to present to a jury should the case go to trial.

Myth #8: There is no need for me to hurry if I’ve been seriously hurt in an accident. I have heard that you have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit in New York, so I’ll hire a lawyer when I have the time.

• The Truth: You should hire a lawyer as soon as you are able to do so. If you are too seriously injured to find a lawyer experienced with serious personal injury cases, you should have a friend or a family member begin the search for you. The best time for a lawyer to preserve important evidence in the case, such as the testimony of witnesses and photographs of the accident scene, is as soon as possible after the accident happens. Over time, the key witnesses may move and are harder to find and interview. Their memories may fade; Roadways or building interiors and exteriors may change, making it more difficult to reconstruct the way the scene looked at the time of the accident. While you are procrastinating, I can guarantee that investigators for the insurance company are attempting to obtain favorable witness statements and gathering other important evidence. If you have been seriously hurt in an accident, it is imperative that you retain an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Myth #9: I was in a car accident on my way to work in the morning. Since I didn’t want to be late for work, I just exchanged my driver’s license and didn’t want to wait for the police to come and fill out a report. I am sure that the other driver will call his insurance company and tell them how the accident really happened.

• The Truth: Once you leave the accident scene, you will have no way to prove that you were actually involved in a car accident. If the accident didn’t leave your car with much damage, the driver of the other car may not report the accident to his insurance company. Without a police report, it’s your word against the other driver – who do you think the insurance company is going to believe? I can tell that it won’t be you.

Myth #10: I was in a car accident a couple of days ago and my neck hurts. I am sure that the pain will go away so I shouldn’t worry about going to see a doctor.

• The Truth: If you were involved in a car accident and are feeling pain, you should see your doctor immediately. The true extent of your injuries isn’t always apparent immediately after the accident. It may take a few days for you to realize how hurt you are and a delay may cause further injury. If you didn’t seek medical treatment immediately after the accident, the insurance company will use this against you to say that your pain wasn’t caused by the accident. They will try to settle your case for pennies on the dollar because you didn’t seek immediate medical treatment.

                          

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this website is provided for general educational purposes only, should not be relied on as legal advice and does not serve to create an attorney client relationship. In utilizing this website you acknowledge that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Frank J. Dito, Esq. and that the information contained on this site does not and cannot serve as a replacement for the competent legal advice of a licensed attorney in your state. The content of this website is subject to the Copyright of its author, Frank J. Dito, Esq.