I believe there are three important things that will prove that a personal injury attorney is qualified to handle your case.

Experience is first. You want to know that your attorney has handled cases similar to your situation and has been successful doing so. For example, if you have suffered from an injury because of a motorcycle accident, you would want your lawyer to have experience handling motorcycle injury cases in Nassau County. Not only would the attorney understand and be very familiar with motorcycle laws in New York, but the attorney would also understand the judges, court system and jurors.

You would also want to make sure your attorney has a good reputation. When it comes to the Nassau County legal community, it is not uncommon to deal with the same judges, defense attorneys and insurance adjusters. Additionally, positive client reception is important. It is easy to see an attorney’s reputation by way of online reviews. The more common sites to find attorney reviews can be found on Google, Avvo, Yelp and Lawyers.com. Reading these reviews can give a well balanced idea of the attorney’s reputation.

Lastly, you would want an attorney with good results. If your attorney doesn’t have a track record of recovering large verdicts and settlements can you really be sure they will get you the most compensation possible? Most attorneys will list their results online. Take a few minutes to read them.

Our Garden City firm is highly focused on serious personal injury. We represent those who have been seriously harmed because of someone else’s negligence. Most commonly, the cases we handle are car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip trip and falls, work accidents and construction accidents. We do handle other types of cases and you can them all at  our Practice Area Page.

• Car accidents: The most common car accident cases that cause serious injury are from rear ends, left turns, and side swipes. After over twenty years of handling personal injury on Long Island, there isn’t a car accident scenario our firm has not seen. My law firm is very knowledgeable in all aspects of car accident litigation. We handle everything for you including no-fault issues and property damage claims.
• Truck Accidents: We handle a large number of cases where our clients have been injured by a commercial vehicle such as a box truck or an 18-wheeler. Since trucks are significantly heavier than a car, their impact can cause serious injury. Also, in addition to the obligation to follow the general vehicle and traffic laws, commercial drivers are required to follow specific rules when operating their trucks. It’s important that your Nassau County Truck Accident lawyer be well versed in the obligations of commercial drivers.
• Motorcycle accidents: Motorcyclists face particular risks in Nassau County. We have some of the most heavily congested roads in all of New York State. Additionally, drivers often don’t know how to safely share the road with motorcyclists. This often leads to serious injury for the motorcyclist. Unlike car or truck accidents, New York State No-Fault coverage does not apply to motorcyclists. Therefore, if you are seriously injured in a Nassau County motorcycle accident, you need to hire an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer to ensure your medical bills are paid for and your rights are protected.
• Slip and Fall Accidents: There are often dangerous conditions that can make someone slip and fall such as snow, ice and spilled liquids. Often there is a party responsible for not maintaining the safety of the premises such as a property owner or a business owner. As experienced Nassau County slip and fall accident attorneys, we know what is necessary to prove your case and hold the responsible party accountable for your injuries.
• Work Related Accidents: For injuries at work, your employer’s worker’s compensation insurance will pay for your medical bills. Sometimes however, a third party is responsible for the injury. For example, if you drive for a living and are injured by another motorist, or you work in a factory and are injured by a dangerous machine. In these cases, you can pursue a claim directly against the responsible party for any medical bills and lost wages not covered by workers compensation in addition to compensation for your pain and suffering.
• Construction Accidents: Construction workers are subject to serious injury because of the inherent risks in the work that they do. For example, falling from a height, being struck by falling objects, machine malfunctions and tripping hazards. In New York State there are specific laws that protect construction workers known as the Labor Law. These laws often require Owners and General Contractors to take significant steps to protect their workers and failing to do so makes them liable for your injuries.

If you were seriously injured in Nassau County or you live in Nassau and were injured by someone else, the soon you are able to call us the better. When an accident occurs, insurance companies immediately begin an investigation to build a case to prevent themselves from being responsible. To combat this, we are available by phone, email and text message 24/7.We’re ready to get to work right away to ensure that your rights are protected.

After retaining our Nassau County Injury Law Firm, we will begin a thorough investigation gathering accident reports, witness statements, scene and injury photos, insurance information and all relevant medical records. Don’t let the insurance company get the upper hand, call us immediately for a free consultation.

New York No-Fault insurance covers individuals that are injured in motor vehicle accidents. Every automobile policy sold in New York is required to provide No-Fault insurance. It will pay for all healthcare treatment, lost wages and other incidentals up to $50,000. It is possible to purchase additional No-Fault coverage that will increase the limit above $50,000. However, that would need to be in place prior to your accident in order for it to apply.

In order to receive No-Fault benefits following a car accident you must complete a No-Fault application and send it to your insurance carrier within 30 days. It is important to understand that reporting the accident to your insurance carrier and having a No-Fault claim number assigned is not enough to ensure that your carrier will pay for your medical bills and lost wages. An application must be filed in writing or through the carrier’s website portal, if they allow that.

The benefits of No-Fault insurance are that you do not need referrals to see doctors, there are no co-payments and no pre-approvals are needed. However, your insurance carrier can request that you see an independent medical doctor from time to time to determine if the treatment that you are receiving is necessary and appropriate.

Dealing with No-Fault insurance can often be confusing and frustrating. It’s never a bad idea to consult with a car accident attorney if you are confused.  To learn more about No-Fault insurance click here.

We have a lot of experience handling premises liability cases. If you find yourself in a situation where you are injured on another party’s property, here’s what you should do:

First, Seek Medical Attention. It’s important to do this right away, as well as document your injuries and begin the appropriate treatment.

Second, document the condition that caused the injury. Take a picture of whatever it was that made you fall, whether it be a crack on a walkway or a slippery floor. Also take pictures of the scene. The goal is to make it clear in the photo where you were when you fell.

Third, collect the names of any witnesses and their contact information. Often, people will stay around and offer to help. Ask for their contact information right away because once they leave the scene of the accident their identity may be lost forever.

Finally, contact our Nassau County accident law firm right away. Insurance company representatives will try to get statements from you to protect their own liability. Make sure you have a qualified premises liability attorney representing you to ensure that these companies do not minimize the compensation owed to you.

It is the goal of any personal injury claim to gain compensation for the losses resulting from an accident. To put a number on how an injury affects your life can be difficult, and an experienced attorney can help put together those losses into a monetary figure. Calculating compensation involves summing up all economic and noneconomic losses, resulting in the total compensation you are entitled to.

Economic Losses:  Economic losses include medical bills, lost wages and other out of pocket expenses. In most cases your medical bills will be paid for by some form of insurance. However, any co-payments and unreimbursed medical expenses that you incur are reimbursable through your lawsuit. Sometimes, you may even be required to reimburse your healthcare provider for medical expenses that they have incurred if you do receive a settlement. In those instances, that amount of money will be passed onto the defendant in the case. For example, if you incur $15,000 in medical expenses that have to be reimbursed to your health insurance company, that amount of money would be added to your settlement so that the cost is passed on to the responsible party.

Also, many people have disability policies that pay them a portion of their salary following an injury. In a personal injury lawsuit, you are entitled to receive your total lost wages from the defendant. This does not mean that you will make a double recovery. If you received partial lost wages from a disability insurer, your total claim for lost wages will be subtracted by the amount of money that you have received from your insurer. If your insurer is entitled to reimbursement from your lawsuit, then you will receive the total amount of lost wages from the defendant and be required to repay the insurer the amount that was already paid to you.

In addition to these expenses, other out of pocket expenses may be added to your entitled compensation. For example, if you had any travel expenses due to the injury or if you had to pay for any modifications on your home or car. Even further, sometimes the seriousness of the injury results in lasting economic damages in the future. Sometimes, these losses are permanent. In a case where returning to your employment is no longer possible because of the injury, you are entitled to life-long wages. Our firm will sometimes hire an economist to accurately calculate the reimbursement for those kinds of future losses.

Non-economic Losses: Non-economic losses include your pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other emotional injuries. Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages are more subjective. Therefore, it can often be difficult to put a financial figure on such damages. The way it is usually done is by comparing people that have suffered similar injuries and seeing what juries have awarded them at trial. However, if a settlement cannot be reached then that amount of money is decided by a jury. This can often lead to a wide discrepancy from case to case.

Also, like economic losses, non-economic losses can also be permanent. In such cases that will have to be accounted for in the jury’s verdict or in the settlement.

Finally, perhaps the most important factor in determining the amount of money that you are entitled to following an accident is the amount of insurance the responsible party has to satisfy any judgment you obtain. For example, if your total losses equal $1,000,000 but the responsible party is only insured for $25,000, your only way of recovering the difference will be by personally enforcing the judgment you obtain at trial against the responsible party’s assets. In my experience as a Nassau County Personal Injury Attorney most people do not have assets to pay that type of judgment. Therefore, for most accidents your recovery will be limited by the other party’s insurance. However, there are situations where you can make an additional claim against your own insurance carrier if the responsible party is underinsured.