No. There is absolutely no law that requires you to contact the insurance carrier of the person that you were in a car accident with. Nor, are you required to speak to them or fill out accident forms. Usually, when the insurance company of the other driver contacts you, they are looking to gather information to protect their financial interests. Even if the accident is clearly the other driver’s fault you should not speak to the insurance adjuster from the other side.

I always recommend contacting a qualified Nassau County Car Accident Attorney before speaking to any insurance companies. A car accident attorney can communicate with the insurance carrier on your behalf ensuring that your rights are fully protected. Even if you don’t hire a car accident lawyer for your case, it’s never a bad idea to speak to them first for advice on how to deal with the insurance carrier.

No. In fact it is fairly common following a car accident to not immediately feel pain due to the shock and adrenal that you feel in the moments following the car accident. Many of my clients report first experiencing pain in the hours, and in some cases, days following the accident. So, there is no set time in which you have to see a doctor following an accident.

However, I do recommend that as soon as you start to experience pain, you seek medical attention. Some people tell me that they starting feeling pain in the days following an accident, but held off on seeing a doctor because they thought it would go away. The longer you wait to see a doctor the more difficult it is for me to connect your injury to the car accident.

No-Fault insurance is an insurance program that is provides medical benefits, lost wages and other incidental expenses for victims of car accidents in New York. Every car insurance policy in New York is required to provide No-Fault coverage. The insurance policy of the vehicle that your occupying at the time of the car accident is the policy that is responsible for paying your No-Fault benefits regardless of fault. If you are struck while a pedestrian or riding a bicycle, the vehicle that struck you is going to pay your No-Fault benefits. The minimum amount of coverage that is required in New York State for No-Fault is $50,000. Once your benefits exceed $50,000 the No-Fault carrier will not be responsible for your medical bills, lost wages or other incidental costs unless you have purchased additional no-fault benefits.

Palermo Law is a Suffolk County Car Accident law firm that is fully familiar with all aspects of No-Fault car insurance. We will complete your No-Fault application, apply for lost wages, coordinate Independent Medical Exams and ensure that all medical bills are being paid by the insurer.

If you should suffer a serious injury in a car accident, it is possible that your No-Fault insurance will not be sufficient to cover all of your accident related expenses. If this should be the case, there are other options to get coverage for these expenses.

Once No-Fault is exhausted any additional medical bills should be submitted to your private health insurance carrier. If you are a Medicare or Medicaid recipient, your medical bills should be submitted to those agencies.

In certain situations, your private health insurance will be entitled to reimbursement for any costs related to your accident should there be a recovery. Medicare and Medicaid are always entitled to reimbursement for any expenses they incur should you receive a recovery for your accident.

Once your No-Fault insurance is exhausted, there are several possible ways to receive lost wages. First, most private disability policies will cover your lost wages following a car accident. Second, if you are disabled for more than twelve consecutive months, you can apply for Social Security Disability. Finally, you can include any lost wage claim into your bodily injury claim against the responsible party’s car insurance policy. Unfortunately, this will mean that you will have to wait until your claim is resolved to receive your lost wages.

There is absolutely no cost to hire our law firm. We work on a contingency basis. That means that if we are not able to win your case there is no charge. If we are successful in winning your case, we earn a fee of 1/3 of the recovery for your bodily injury claim. We never charge additional fees for handling No-Fault and property damage issues. We also will lay out all of the litigation expenses in the case. This way there is no financial risk to you.

Finally, we always offer a free initial consultation at any of our six locations throughout Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Further, we offer in home or hospital initial consultations for our Suffolk County Car Accident Clients and our Nassau County Car Accident Clients. It is always our goal to be the best car accident law firm in Suffolk County and Nassau County. Therefore, we’re always willing to go the extra mile for our clients.