How to Guide Your Family Member Through Critical Injuries After a Brooklyn Car Accident

If your loved one suffered critical injuries in a Brooklyn car accident, they need you now more than ever. Contact Cohan Law, PLLC to learn how you can guide your family member through the process of filing an auto accident claim. Our firm has experience helping families pursue car accident claims for incapacitated victims, including cases that require guardianship issues, medical lien coordination, and communication with hospitals and insurers. We work with Brooklyn families from many backgrounds and can help connect clients with multilingual support when needed.

Determine Whether They Are Capable of Making Their Own Decisions

If your loved one was critically injured in a car crash, you might be reading this article while waiting in the hallway of a hospital. In Brooklyn, that might mean Maimonides Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn, or another trauma facility where families are trying to make urgent decisions with limited information. Although the next steps might seem uncertain, you can start by determining whether your loved one is capable of making and expressing their own medical decisions.

If your loved one cannot make these decisions, the medical term for this is “incapacitated.” For example, your loved one might be in a coma. Perhaps their head injury has affected their cognitive abilities and their ability to speak. Whatever the case may be, specific steps may be necessary if your loved one is medically and legally incapacitated.

Communicate with doctors to determine whether this is the case. Incapacitation can trigger advance directives, healthcare proxies, and similar medical documents. The family may need to adhere to these documents in order to determine what happens next. A health care proxy or advance directive may identify who can speak with doctors, receive medical information, or make certain treatment decisions if the injured patient cannot do so. The legal authority to make medical decisions is separate from the authority to file a lawsuit or settlement claim, so families should review both issues as early as possible.

Can I Contact a Brooklyn Car Accident Lawyer on Behalf of My Loved One?

If your loved one is incapacitated, you may be able to pursue a car accident claim on their behalf. For example, your relative might have designated you as their “agent” with a power of attorney. If your loved one did not create a power of attorney, you may need to obtain a guardianship before you can proceed. A Brooklyn car accident attorney can help your family determine who has legal authority to act, whether a guardianship petition is necessary, and how to protect the claim while the injured victim remains unable to participate.

You may also have the right to begin this legal process if your relative is under the age of 18. Minors cannot file their own lawsuits, so you’ll need to take the initiative regardless of whether they are incapacitated or not. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 208 also tolls many personal injury filing deadlines during infancy. In general terms, that means a minor may have additional time to file after turning 18. However, families should not wait. Evidence can disappear quickly, and special rules may apply if a government vehicle, public entity, school bus, or municipal defendant contributed to the crash.

What Cohan Law Can Do for Your Family After a Critical Injury Crash

A Brooklyn car accident attorney can file the claim on your loved one’s behalf when the proper legal authority exists, petition for guardianship when required, and coordinate with the trauma team’s medical liens. Cohan Law can also notify insurers, obtain the police accident report, preserve vehicle and video evidence, investigate all potentially liable parties, and document the full extent of the injury.

Critical injury cases require early organization. Hospitals may file liens. No-fault insurers may request forms and medical proof. Health insurers may assert reimbursement claims. At the same time, the family may be dealing with surgery, rehabilitation placement, missed work, childcare, and difficult medical updates. Cohan Law can take over the legal and insurance communication so the family can focus on the injured victim’s care.

Key Takeaways

• Visit your loved one often if they are confined to a hospital bed for a long period of time
• Communicate with doctors and advocate for your family member if necessary
• Consider contacting a Brooklyn car accident lawyer on behalf of your loved one
• Determine whether your loved one has capacity, a health care proxy, a power of attorney, or a need for guardianship
• If the injured victim is a minor, CPLR § 208 may toll the filing deadline, but families should still act quickly to preserve evidence and protect the claim
• Keep medical, insurance, and police documents organized from the beginning

Can a Brooklyn Car Accident Lawyer Help Our Family?

If your loved one is critically injured, a Brooklyn car accident lawyer can guide you through the next steps. An auto accident injury claim can help cover medical bills, lost future wages, and other damages that affect the whole family. In serious cases, the claim may also involve future medical care, rehabilitation, home modifications, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and long-term disability. Caring for a critically injured loved one after a car accident in Brooklyn? Contact Cohan Law, PLLC to discuss your legal options during a free consultation.