The date of your accident is the start of many problems. You might be unable to work, you may have escalating medical expenses, and you may have serious pain and suffering to deal with. From that date, the clock also starts on your case.
Call a lawyer quickly to start your claim. Our attorneys can help you collect evidence, negotiate with insurance, and even take the case to court if needed. Never accept any money or sign anything from the insurance company without speaking with a lawyer first.
For a free case review, call Basch, Keegan & Spada at (845) 303-2748 today.
The Process of a Personal Injury Case
Report Accidents, As Needed
If you are involved in a car crash, you need to report it to the police.
In accidents on someone else’s property, you should generally try to let them know about the accident so they can document it. For example, in a fall in a store, you should tell the staff so they can write an accident report and create records of when it happened, and potentially who was working at the time.
You also have to report work accidents.
In other accident cases, there may be no report to make. Just focus on getting medical care.
Get Medical Care
When you are hurt, call 911 and request an ambulance if you need it. Otherwise, have someone drive you directly to the hospital.
You need to get medical care to document your injuries and put you on a path to recovery. You should generally do this at a hospital, not an urgent care clinic or your normal doctor. Because of the way injuries are billed against third-party insurance and because those clinics can turn you away if your injuries are too severe, just go straight to the hospital. They are prepared to handle both of those issues.
Collect Evidence
There is a lot of potential evidence you can collect, from the names and contact info of witnesses to photos of the accident scene. Get as much proof as you can of what happened and who was involved.
Call a Lawyer
Once you are clear of the scene and getting the medical care you need, call us. Our personal injury lawyers can collect additional evidence, assemble your claims, negotiate with insurance, and even take the case to court when needed.
File Insurance Claims
Let us help you negotiate with insurance to try to get the damages you need. If they are willing to pay full damages – usually after rounds of negotiations and bad offers – your case may be paid in full.
File Lawsuits
If they will not pay, we can take the case to court and let the judge and jury decide.
Damages Available in a Personal Injury Case
Injury cases vary as to how much you can claim in damages, but these are the general areas of damages you should consider in every case:
Medical Bills
The cost of treating your injuries can be quite high. Medical bills often need to be covered by insurance, as they could be unaffordable for the everyday person.
Lost Wages
If you cannot work because of the injury, that is the defendant’s fault. They should be responsible for all lost income, including current wages you are missing during your recovery and wages you will miss going forward.
If your injury caused you an ongoing disability, future lost earnings can be high.
Property Damage
While our focus is getting your injuries compensated, we certainly include property damage in your case, too. For example, damage to your vehicle in a car accident case can be a big expense worth claiming.
Other Economic Damages
Along with these costs and losses, there may be other incidental costs you face, too. For example, the cost of hiring a babysitter while you are in the hospital, or the cost of replacement household services you cannot perform.
Save any receipts or bills so we can see about claiming them in your case.
Pain and Suffering
While treating your injuries as an economic cost, dealing with your injuries has a mental, physical, and emotional cost. These “non-economic” effects, often grouped under the umbrella of “pain and suffering,” can be claimed as monetary damages, too.
Calculating these damages is often more of an art than a science, and they can be as much as (or more than) the economic damages in your case, depending on how severe your injuries are.
When Should You Contact a Lawyer?
Call a lawyer as soon as you can after the accident. Once you are stabilized at the hospital, contacting us to start the process allows us to track your medical expenses and get copies of your records. We can also look for evidence and potentially take pictures of the accident scene before things are cleared away.
How Long Do You Have to File?
Cases typically need to be filed within 3 years of the accident, but starting as early as you can is often best.
How Do You Know if Your Case is Serious Enough for Legal Action?
Any time you face medical bills, time away from work, or notable pain and suffering, your case is serious enough to call a personal injury lawyer. Injuries can be moderate instead of severe, and even some mild injury cases are worth suing over because of the economic impact.
If you are in doubt, call our lawyers for a free, no-obligation case review.
Can You Accept a Settlement from Insurance?
Yes, but only after consulting with a lawyer about it. Insurance companies might offer low-dollar settlements, hoping you will take them and end the case cheaply, but you may need more. You can only settle once, so make it worth it.
When it comes to car insurance claims, you file a claim with your own no-fault insurance first. You can accept this settlement without ending your case against the defendant, but you should still work with a lawyer to see that your insurance is paying the full amount it should.
Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyers in Fishkill Today
Call (845) 303-2748 for a free case review with the personal injury attorneys at Basch, Keegan & Spada.