If you were involved in an accident and experienced physical injuries, you may have a strong personal injury claim on your hands. Injuries can be painful and expensive, and you may need to take legal action to get compensation. You should not handle your case alone. Contact a lawyer immediately.
If you experience a personal injury, get urgent medical care and contact an attorney for legal advice. Depending on how your accident happened and the extent of your injuries, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. To prove your claims, we should gather as much information about the accident and evidence about the defendant’s negligence as possible. This can take time, and you should speak to an attorney about beginning your case as soon as possible.
Contact our personal injury attorneys at Basch, Keegan & Spada by calling (845) 303-2748 and ask for a free, confidential case review.
What Should You Do About a Personal Injury in Colonie, NY?
If you are injured and believe that someone else is to blame, get medical care right away and call a lawyer to discuss how to get financial compensation.
Get Medical Attention
Your top priority should be getting medical care. If your injuries constitute an emergency, call 911. If your injuries are less urgent, you should still have someone drive you to the hospital right away. The faster you get medical care, the better your outcome, and the more accurate your medical records will be.
File an Insurance Claim
How did the accident happen? Does insurance cover it? Although you might be interested in a lawsuit, many personal injury claims begin as insurance claims. For example, car accident victims often navigate the auto insurance claims process before suing, and your case may be similar.
If insurance is available, our personal injury attorneys can help you file your claim and determine if additional legal action is necessary to get you the compensation you deserve.
File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
You may sue for your damages, and things like insurance policy limits should not limit your claims. In New York, personal injury plaintiffs must file their claims in court within 3 years of the accident. If you miss this deadline, you may be unable to file the case at any time, barring special exceptions.
Filing a lawsuit often requires extensive preparation, and it can take months of work before your case is ready to be filed. As such, you should contact a lawyer for help as soon as possible. In car accidents and work-related injury cases, you may have limits on your right to sue, but we can discuss these and look for exceptions.
How Do You Prove Your Claims in a Personal Injury Case?
Proving your claims requires evidence, which is often difficult to obtain. Below are common examples of evidence that we can look for when beginning your case.
Witness Testimony
Many accidents occur out in the open where others can see. For example, car accidents are often witnessed by other drivers, and slip and falls are often witnessed by people walking through the area.
Immediately after the accident, you should exchange information with as many people as possible. Simply getting names and phone numbers will help us find these people later and interview them to see if they can provide testimony.
Video Footage
Cameras are almost everywhere nowadays. As such, there is a strong possibility that a camera somewhere recorded your accident. We must work quickly to find these cameras and obtain copies of the footage before it is deleted.
Photos of the Accident Scene
After an accident, photograph the scene as much as possible. If you have a cell phone with a camera, use it to snap as many pictures as possible. Take pictures of the overall scene, your injuries, property damage, and people.
When accident scenes are cleaned up, evidence may be lost. Your photos may help preserve evidence and details that would otherwise be lost.
Your Medical Records
After being injured, you should go to the hospital immediately. You need treatment for your injuries, and your injuries and treatment must be documented. Your medical records may be used as evidence to prove how badly you were hurt and the costs of care. If you wait to get treatment, this gap in your records may raise doubts about your claims.
What Should You Do if You Do Not Know Who Caused Your Personal Injuries?
The cause of injuries is not always obvious, and many victims are unsure who is responsible. An attorney should help you investigate and gather evidence and information to determine who is to blame.
Where Were Your Injured?
The accident location will also shed light on who is responsible. When accidents occur in a business or store, the business may be held civilly liable. If the accident happens on someone’s personal property, the property owner is likely responsible. Even when accidents happen in public, someone at the scene is likely at fault.
Who Was Present During the Accident?
Consider who was around when the accident happened. While some people might be bystanders – these people may make for excellent witnesses – others might have had a hand in causing the accident. Again, this is why exchanging information with others at the accident scene is crucial. If the responsible parties do not come forward, we may still have witnesses who can help us.
Call a Lawyer
At the end of the day, you should not try to investigate the accident alone. A lawyer with legal skills and experience can help you determine who is responsible much faster than if you worked alone.
FAQs About Personal Injury Claims in Colonie, NY
What Constitutes a Personal Injury?
A personal injury involves some form of bodily harm. People sometimes confuse the phrase “personal injury” to include any loss of a personal nature, like the loss of personal property after an accident. While other claims may be included in a personal injury case, you must have a bodily injury.
Should You Report Personal Injuries to the Police?
If your injuries are serious and the accident is an emergency, call the police. The police may take control of the scene, speak with anyone who may be responsible, and ensure you receive urgent help as quickly as possible.
Can You Sue for Personal Injuries That Are Not Severe?
Yes. A personal injury case, outside of car accidents, does not require serious or life-threatening injuries for a lawsuit. Even if your injuries are expected to recover fully, you may still sue for damages.
In car accidents, you do need a “serious injury” to sue; otherwise, you are limited to recovery from your own car insurance.
What is a Personal Injury Case Worth in Colonie, NY?
Personal injury cases are often worth at least several thousand dollars. More serious cases may be worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. You might not know what your claims are worth until you speak to a lawyer.
Receive Legal Help by Calling Our Colonie, NY Personal Injury Lawyers
Contact our personal injury attorneys at Basch, Keegan & Spada by calling (845) 303-2748 and ask for a free, confidential case review.