Car Accident Attorneys in NYC

Turning the Tide in Your Road to Recovery

It is extremely difficult to navigate the no-fault and serious injury threshold laws of the state of New York. This is why it is extremely important to hire an experienced personal injury law firm that has a dedicated personal injury department. Call us at 516-908-9519 to learn more about how we can help and to speak to an experienced personal injury attorney to get you the results you deserve.

What To Do If I Got Into A Car Accident?

If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident, remember to remain in your vehicle and call 911 if you are able to. Do not speak to anyone at the scene of the accident other than emergency personnel. Once the police arrive, they will prepare a motor vehicle accident report. The police will ask you and the driver of the other vehicle how the accident occurred. They will then take your side of how the accident occurred and the adverse vehicle’s side of the story and will put it into a brief description on the police report. If there were any witnesses to the car accident, the police would also take their statements down. Once the report is completed, the police officer will let you know when and at what precinct you may pick up the police report. The police report is free of charge.

At your earliest convenience, it is important to report the accident to your insurance carrier. It is common that the insurance carrier of the other driver will also attempt to contact you to obtain something called a liability statement. It is important that you do not give a liability statement to the adverse insurance carrier before speaking to an experienced motor vehicle accident attorney.

Who Will Pay For My Vehicle To Be Repaired?

If you have full coverage insurance, no matter of fault your insurance company will cover the repair of your vehicle minus your deductible. If you are found to be 0% liable, your insurance company will reimburse you for the deductible. However, if you do not want to get your insurance company involved, you may also contact the other insurance company and they will pay for the repair of your vehicle in proportion to fault. However, this is not recommended. It is always easier and faster to deal with your own insurance company. If you carry only liability insurance, then the adverse vehicles insurance company will pay for the repair of your vehicle only if you are not at fault.

Who Will Pay For My Treatment?

Article 51 of the New York insurance law, a.k.a. the no-fault law, governs treatment in relation to a motor vehicle accident in New York. No-fault insurance is also known as comprehensive motor vehicle insurance.

In New York, the no-fault portion of your insurance policy provides for the payment of medical costs, a percentage of lost wages, and up to $25 a day for substituted services and reimbursement for other reasonable expenses incurred as a result of personal injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident and a maximum of $50,000 per person.

In layman’s terms, this means that if you were involved in a motor vehicle accident in New York and you were injured as a result of the accident, New York State no-fault regulation provides no matter of fault, your insurance company will pay for up to a maximum of $50,000 per person for any medical related expenses such as physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, pain management, etc.

All of the expenses that are paid from your no-fault carrier are known as basic economic loss. These benefits are “first-party benefits” and will be paid to all individuals entitled to them regardless of fault by the insurance carrier of the motor vehicle the injured person was in or the vehicle that struck a pedestrian.

Basic economic loss means up to $50,000 per person for;

All necessary expenses incurred for medical and related services, therapy certain non-medical treatment by an excepted religious method, and other professional health services so long as there are currants were ascertainable within one year of the injury

Loss of earnings and reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in obtaining services in lieu of those such persons would have performed for income, up to $2000 per month for up to three years;

All other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred up to $25 per day for not more than one year following the accident, for example home health aide assistance.

How Do I Become Entitled To No-Fault Benefits?

In New York, you must file for no full benefits within 30 days of the motor vehicle accident by filing a no-fault application (NF-2) with your insurance carrier. Make sure you have proof of mailing of the application just in case any problems arise. To ensure that you comply with the regulations, it is recommended that you hire an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible after a motor vehicle accident.

How Do I Get Compensated For Time Lost At Work?

In order to qualify for loss of earning reimbursement, you must file an Employer Wage Verification Report (NF-6) and a notice and proof of claim for disability benefits (DB-450) within 90 days after the date of incident. If you are entitled to loss of earnings reimbursement, your insurance company will reimburse you up to $2000 per month.

Will I Be Awarded Money In A Personal Injury Action?

Being involved in a motor vehicle accident does not necessarily entitle you to a monetary award for your injuries. In New York, it is extremely difficult to be compensated for your injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. This is commonly known as New York’s serious injury threshold law.

In New York, article 51 of the insurance law provides that a plaintiff in a personal injury action arising out of negligence in the use or operation of a motor vehicle must establish that he or she has incurred a basic economic loss exceeding $50,000 or has suffered a serious injury under the definition of the insurance law section 5104.

Insurance law section 5104 (a)(b) defines a personal injury as resulting in one of the following:

• Death;
• Dismemberment;
• Fracture;
• Loss of a fetus;
• Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system;
• Permanent consequential limitation of a body organ or member;
• Significant limitation of use of a body function or system;
• Medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material ask which constitutes such person see usual and customary daily activities for not less than 90 days during the 180 days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment. (this is an example of soft tissue injuries such as bulges and herniations.)

You should contact our firm immediately following the car accident. One of the reasons is that it is critically important that we start our investigation into the cause of the accident and gather as much information as possible, such as ownership, and adhere to all NY state laws and requirements. Our attorneys focus on winning your case and getting the best possible result.