Frequently Asked Questions
Generally people are unsure of what to do when it comes to their personal injury cases and have a lot of questions. Our team is proud to serve all of Long Island and New York City with the best in legal representation. We have dedicated our entire careers to representing personal injury victims and are here to answer any-and-all questions you might have. So please give us a call today for a free consultation.
A lot of people are concerned that they cannot afford a lawyer. However, our clients retain us on a contingency fee agreement, so we only get paid if we get you paid, and our percentage of the recovery is governed by the rules applicable to all lawyers practicing in New York. Also, we never charge for any consultations. So please do not worry about being able to afford a lawyer. We are here to answer any questions you may have and will go over the retainer agreement in detail with you before signing.
One question that every client asks is “what is my case worth?” There is no simple answer to this question. You have to consider all the factors surrounding the case, such as the extent of the injuries, whether you have lost wages or have incurred medical expenses, and the amount of coverage available on your case. The important thing to know is that YOU are always in control of whether your case settles or not.
We cannot settle your case without your authority to do so. As your attorneys, it is our job to extract offers from the other side, inform you about the offers, and give you our opinion about the offers, but at the end of the day, it will always be your call whether to accept it or not.
We promise that we will never pressure you to settle your case and we are ready, willing, and able to bring your case as far as it needs to go to get you the results you want—And if that means taking your case to trial, you can rest assured that you have experienced litigators in your corner. However, when deciding whether to accept or reject an offer, we want you to make an informed decision.
Therefore, when an offer is made, we will sit down with you and talk to you about all the factors that need to be considered when contemplating whether to accept or reject the offer, and answer any questions you might have. This ensures that you are comfortable with whatever decision you arrive at, and know what to expect next.
If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, the first thing you should do is ensure that you and anyone else in your vehicle is alright. You should also make sure to get to a safe location to avoid a second accident from happening. Once you are in a safe place, you should then call the police and EMS if needed. You should also try to gather and document as much information as possible. This includes taking photos of the property damage and license plates of the vehicles involved, as well as photos of the accident scene. You should also try and obtain the name, contact and insurance information of all the other drivers involved in the accident. You will want to obtain the names and contact information for any witnesses to the accident and check the surrounding area for any other potential evidence such as surveillance cameras on nearby businesses.
Ensure a police report is filed and receive medical attention right away. You will want to establish a claim with your insurance carrier and possibly one with the other driver’s carrier. Before speaking with the other driver’s insurance carrier, we advise that you contact an attorney as your conversation will likely be recorded and you do not want to say anything that might be detrimental to your potential claim.
Our office offers free consultations and invites you to contact us to discuss your accident and how to properly move forward with your claims and potential lawsuit.
In the 1970’s New York enacted the No Fault laws to ensure that people who were injured in an accident would receive lost wages and medical benefits in a timely manner and to reduce the amount of personal injury lawsuits filed in the court system. Under No Fault, the insurance carrier of the vehicle the injured person was in at the time of the accident is responsible to pay for that person’s lost wage and medical benefits regardless of who caused the accident. The amount of coverage available under a no fault claim can vary. However, the New York State law requires at a minimum that each policy has up to $50,000 in benefits from which you can receive up to 80% of your lost wages, at a maximum of $2,000 per month. This money will also cover any medical treatment you receive for injuries related to the accident.
No Fault insurance allows an injured person to get compensated for lost wages and medical expenses quickly. The claims are paid almost as they are incurred instead of a person having to wait for the end of the case to receive it. However, it also limits an injured person’s ability to recover for non-economic loss like pain and suffering. It does this by limiting the ability to receive compensation for non-economic loss just to those people who can establish that their injuries meet the statutory definition of a “serious injury.” There are nine different categories of what constitutes a serious injury under the No Fault laws. These include death, significant disfigurement, fracture, sustaining a significant limitation in a body function or member or having a medically determined injury which prevents you from engaging in your normal activities for no less than 90 days within the first 180 days following an accident. This is known as the serious injury threshold, and it has significantly impaired an injured person’s ability to obtain financial compensation for their pain and suffering following a car accident.
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, understanding what no fault benefits are is important to ensure that you receive all the benefits you are entitled to following an accident and to ensure that any medical bills relating to injuries from an accident are being paid by the appropriate insurance carrier. You also want to retain a law firm that is experienced in this area or you could be denied any compensation for your personal injuries if you fail to show that they meet the serious injury threshold. Our team at Dallas Law is well versed in all areas of the no fault insurance law, and are here to help ensure that you receive all the benefits you are entitled to through the no fault carrier. We also know what it takes to show that your injuries meet the serious injury threshold and ensure that we obtain you a maximum recovery for your pain and suffering claim.
So if you have been injured in an accident, please contact us today for a free consultation to go over your case with our team.
A personal injury claim is when you or the law firm you have retained and the at fault party’s insurance company try to come up with a settlement to resolve your claim. Most cases generally do settle out of court. If a settlement can not be reached, a law firm will go ahead and commence a personal injury lawsuit, which simply means taking the at fault party to court.
There are several types of compensable damages that can be received including money for lost wages and career change, property damage compensation, health aids, and home rehabilitation to accommodate for the injuries sustained.