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The Basics of Personal Injury Law: An Overview

Lady Justice, Basics of Personal Injury Law

Personal injury law is the legal field that deals with cases where one party (or multiple parties) causes another party to suffer harm, often as a result of negligence. When someone is seriously injured in an accident, they may have questions about what their rights are, so we will explain the basics of personal injury laws. This overview will cover the standard of negligence that must be met to file a personal injury lawsuit, the most common types of personal injury cases, answers to frequently asked questions surrounding personal injury laws, and what you should do if you’ve been injured and are considering filing a personal injury lawsuit.

The Basics of Tort and Personal Injury Law

Accidents that cause injury happen all the time, but the reality is not all of these cases fulfill the requirements for a lawsuit under personal injury law. No matter what type of accident occurred, there are a few broad conditions that must be met for an injured person to qualify for a personal injury lawsuit.

It first must be established that one party (the Defendant) had a legal ‘duty of care’ towards the other (the Plaintiff). In some cases, such as in a motor vehicle accident, the duty of care of one person towards another is generally clear. Motorists must exercise reasonable care while driving, keep a proper lookout, maintain a safe speed, safe distance from other vehicles, obey the laws of the road, etc.  In other cases, such as a work accident or a slip and fall, the duty of care is not always as clear, and will likely require extensive investigation by an experienced legal team to determine.  For example, if you fall on a construction site, it is possible that the owner of the site is responsible for your injury by operation of a particular Labor Law statute, even though that owner may not have directly caused your accident or was not even on the site where you were hurt.  As another example, if you slip and fall in an icy parking lot, it is possible the owner of the lot owed you a duty of care, but the company hired to actually clear and salt the lot may not.  It is these types of situations that only a competent lawyer can help you navigate.  Block O’Toole & Murphy takes our responsibility to know the law very seriously.  We focus solely on personal injury law so that our attorneys are always up to date on any development in this area of law, as decisions from the courts continue to be published and the law evolves all the time.

It then must be demonstrated that the Defendant failed to reasonably uphold the duty of care they owed towards the Plaintiff. As in all other matters of personal injury law, this is a complicated question that should be left to experienced personal injury attorneys to solve. ‘Foreseeability’ is a critical issue in determining whether a duty of care has been breached. In order to file a lawsuit, it generally needs to be determined that the defect or hazard that caused the Plaintiff to be injured could have been foreseen and avoided or prevented if the Defendant had been acting reasonably.

The last condition that must be met is that an injury occurred as a direct result of the Defendant’s failure to uphold their duty of care, often referred to as negligence in the context of a personal injury lawsuit. These injuries, which can be physical, emotional or psychological in nature, are referred to as personal injury damages. An injured party may receive compensation for these damages in the event that their personal injury lawsuit is successful.  Sometimes it is very clear that an accident caused a particular injury; other times it is not.  Lawsuits claiming personal injuries are usually vigorously defended and those defenses typically include arguments that the injuries claimed by the plaintiff were not actually caused by the accident in question.  The defense may claim the injury actually existed before the incident, was merely a result of age and degeneration, or was caused by some other event.  In some cases, the defense may content the claimed injury does not exist at all.  In order to prove your injury case and fight against these defenses, you need an experienced tough law firm like Block O’Toole & Murphy.  We understand the details of the medicine involved in proving an injury claim and we have access to the best and brightest medical experts in the world to help establish your injury and explain to a jury, if necessary, how it was sustained in the accident and how it may continue to impact your life into the future.

The attorneys of Block O’Toole & Murphy have won more personal injury verdicts and settlements exceeding $1,000,000 than any other New York law firm every year since 2012. Call 212-736-5300 for a free legal consultation.

Most Common Types of Personal Injury Cases

People who have been seriously injured in an accident may naturally wonder if they can file a lawsuit to recover compensation for their suffering. To illustrate how many ways a personal injury lawsuit may arise, here are some of the most common types of personal injury cases we see here at Block O’Toole & Murphy:

Personal injury laws can be complex and difficult for laypeople to understand, particularly when dealing with a severe injury. If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, we highly suggest contacting an experienced attorney who can handle the legal issues so that you can focus on a swift and complete recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions about Personal Injury Lawsuits

Many of our clients naturally have questions about their rights under personal injury law. Here are answers to some of the most common questions we get from our clients.

What Damages Can I Receive Compensation For?

The purpose of a personal injury lawsuit is to restore the injured person to the state they were in before the accident occurred. There are two main types of personal injury damages: pecuniary, or economic, and non-pecuniary, or damages which can’t be measured purely by dollars.

Economic damages in a personal injury lawsuit generally start with medical bills, which can include doctor visits, surgeries, medical devices, prescriptions, diagnostic tests, facility costs and the cost of any necessary rehab. Wages lost due to time away from work are another common damage, and can include past wages, or potential future earnings which may have been affected or lost due to limitations caused by the injuries. Often times our clients often claim loss of benefits, such as pension or annuity benefits.  Property damage is another common economic damage, particularly in the event of a motor vehicle accident.

Non-economic damages can be paid out to injured plaintiffs who have been affected by their injuries in a way that is difficult to measure in money. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, mental anguish or emotional distress, and a diminished ability to enjoy life the way you once did. These damages are hard to measure and vary based on the extent of the injury, the amount and length of treatment required the impact of the injury on one’s life.  Our team of lawyers at Block O’Toole & Murphy take the time to thoroughly understand your injuries from a medical perspective, and also to fully explore how the injury has effected you in terms of your happiness, your ability to enjoy life and the friends and family around you.  Only through spending this time getting to you know, the things you loved to do and can’t do anymore, the joys that have been robbed from you, can we properly express the extent of your non-economic damages to the defense, or a judge or a jury.  Our team’s careful and detailed approach to understanding your pain and suffering has led to our taking some of the biggest pain and suffering jury verdicts in the history of New York.

Compensation also sometimes exists for family relationships which have been negatively affected in what is known as ‘loss of consortium.’

There is a third type of damages called ‘punitive damages.’ Punitive damages are meant to act as a deterrent in cases where the actions of the Defendant were particularly reckless. These types of damages are extremely rare in a typical personal injury case.

How Long Do I Have to File A Lawsuit?

The time limit that an injured person has in which to file a lawsuit is known as the ‘statute of limitations.’ The statute of limitations on a personal injury lawsuit depends on the state the accident occurred in and can be anywhere from 1 to 10 years after the date of the accident, though 2-3 years is most common. For cases involving government entities, it should be noted that the statute of limitations can be significantly shorter.

We strongly advise, however, that you file a lawsuit as soon as possible after an accident occurs. There are many reasons for this. For starters, lawsuits can take a long time to resolve, so the sooner you begin the process, the better. Delaying the lawsuit will also make it harder for your attorney to track down witnesses who have important information about your accident.  Do not hesistate to call an experience law firm right away or you may lose your right to seek compensation.

A lawsuit might not be the first thing you want to think about in the aftermath of a serious injury. If you intend to file one in order to recoup compensation for the damages you suffered, however, you should contact an attorney without delay.

What Is My Case Worth?

It’s impossible to predict the amount of money a lawsuit will settle for, or what a jury will decide it’s worth. You should be skeptical of any lawyer that pretends to predict the exact value of your personal injury case shortly after your accident.  As discussed above, there are many potential categories of damages you can seek; some are easy to quantify and others are not. Only an experienced lawyer who is intimately familiar with your case can give you an idea of the compensation you may be able eligible for.

How Long Can I Expect My Case to Take?

When pursuing maximum compensation, it’s not uncommon for a personal injury lawsuit to take as long as 3-5 years to resolve, sometimes longer. Some cases, however, resolve much faster than that.  One factor which can affect the length of a case is the severity of the injuries you suffered. Typically, for your attorney to determine how much money you may be eligible for, he or she will wait for you to reach “maximum medical improvement,” or at least until the point at which you’ve completed your initial medical treatment and have a clear understanding of what other treatments (if any) will be necessary in the future before engaging in negotiations.

Sometimes, such as after a car crash, insurance adjusters or less experienced personal injury lawyers may try to tempt you with a quick settlement offer to try and prevent you from pursuing a lawsuit that may be worth much more money. Beware of these attempts.  To be abundantly clear, the insurance company is not doing this because they have concluded that it is in your best interests; in fact, it is just the opposite. The disposition of your claim would be in the insurance company’s best interests to settle at that time. You should never accept an offer from the insurance company without contacting a qualified attorney beforehand to get sound legal advice about the merits of your case. To give yourself the opportunity to secure maximum compensation, you should contact a personal injury lawyer and be patient while they gather all the necessary information to get you as much money as the facts of your case allow for.  Our firm’s philosophy is to get our clients maximum compensation and jump at a quick, low settlement offer.  In the end, however, you as the client are the boss of your case and will make ultimate decisions about whether to accept or reject a particular settlement offer.  We are a team and will always discuss these issues carefully and thoroughly and give you the best advice based on our expertise and experience.

What Will It Cost to Hire A Personal Injury Attorney?

The majority of personal injury attorneys operate on a contingency fee, which means they get a certain percentage of the resolution of the case but do not charge anything up front. Do not let anxiety over having to pay an attorney stop you from reaching out for a legal consultation.  Block O’Toole & Murphy handles cases on a contingency basis.  We will never charge you for a consultation.  We pay all necessary costs as your case progresses.  If and when we are successful and obtain a recovery, then our firm is compensated based on a percentage of the recovery as outlined in our retainer agreement.

What to Do If You’ve Been Injured

Being injured in an accident is a stressful experience. The first thing you should do if you have been injured is receive medical attention. Even if you don’t immediately think the injury you suffered was serious, adrenaline can sometimes mask pain. When it comes to your health, it’s better to be safe than sorry.  Often times this means accepting medical attention right away from an ambulance and/or emergency room.

You should also report your accident immediately.  In the case of an auto accident, this means contacting the police and making sure an accident report is created.  For a work site accident, it means telling your boss or foreman or on-site safety company about the accident.  You should also, to the extent you are able, gather information about the accident. In the event of a motor vehicle accident, for example, pictures of the crash (the vehicles involved and the roadway) can be extremely helpful in the event you choose to file a lawsuit. It is also helpful to get names and contact information of any witnesses, because if you wait, it could be difficult to track them down later on.

The next thing you need to do is contact a personal injury attorney. Again, even if you don’t think your injuries are serious, you want to have experienced legal help at your side in case your injuries turn out to be more severe than you initially expected. If you do intend to file a lawsuit, you should begin that process as soon as possible.  At Block O’Toole & Murphy, as soon as we are hired, we begin investigating your accident, preserving any important evidence, collecting witness statements, helping you make good decisions and preserving all of your rights.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident and are considering filling a personal injury lawsuit, talk with the experienced attorneys of Block O’Toole & Murphy by calling 212-736-5300 or by filling out our contact form. We will provide you with a free, no-obligation legal consultation, and answer any questions you may have about what your options are and how your case may unfold. We have recovered over $1.5 Billion Dollars for our clients and we do this while also providing you the personal attention and care you deserve.

We are proud to serve all of New York and New Jersey.

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