NYC Car Accident Lawyers Serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens

Over 1,000 New Yorkers lose their lives in traffic accidents every year. Car crashes here send well over 100,000 individuals to the ER annually, and over 12,000 require hospitalization for their injuries. Car accidents are scary, painful, traumatic and expensive. New York’s no-fault insurance can help cover your expenses if you aren’t hurt too bad, but if your injuries are unfortunately very serious, you’ll need extra help getting the compensation you need to cover your expenses and make up for the harm that’s been done to you.

The Cohan Law Firm fights for car accident victims every day, helping ensure they get the care and compensation they need and deserve. Insurance companies want to avoid liability by saying their driver wasn’t at fault or your own negligence was to blame. Failing that, they’ll argue you weren’t seriously injured and aren’t entitled to all you are asking for. Our New York injury law firm is here for you, to make sure you get what you are owed and can recover to the fullest extent for the damages you’ve suffered. Call our office today for help with your car accident injury claim from a team of dedicated, experienced and successful New York car accident lawyers.

What to do After a Car Crash

There is usually a great deal of confusion after a typical car crash. If you were injured, one of the most important steps you can take in the days or weeks following a collision is to contact an attorney about your case. The New York car crash lawyers at Cohan Law Firm are here to help you financially recover from this ordeal.

Immediately After the Crash

At this time, if you are seriously hurt after a traffic collision, the only thing you can really do is wait for paramedics to arrive. However, if you are able to, you should complete as many of the following tasks as possible, so long as it does not cause you additional harm or put your life in further jeopardy.

Call 911
Check yourself for injuries and if you are capable of rendering aid to others, provide medical aid, or verbal and emotional support to any other parties who are seriously injured
Move your vehicle off the road, if possible and only if it does not put yourself or others in harm’s way
Get the name, driver’s license, address, phone number, and email of any other parties involved in the crash
Get the license plate number, make, and model of any other vehicles involved in the crash
Get the name, address, phone number, and email of any potential witnesses
Take photos of your car, as well as damage to other vehicles, as well as skid marks on the pavement and vehicular debris
Notify your insurance company
Seek medical attention, even if you feel that your injuries are minor

Throughout this time period, it is best to refrain from arguing about who caused the crash with the other driver. While it is entirely within reason to voice your opinion about what happened, it is fruitless to engage in a heated argument with the other driver, as this does no good in the long run and potentially puts yourself or others in danger of violence if the other driver loses their temper.

In the Days After a Crash

If you were injured, in the days after a traffic collision you will either still be in the hospital or will be focusing on your recovery at home. In either case, it is important to let your body do its job to heal by trying to get sleep, ensuring that you are well field and well hydrated, that you follow your doctor’s orders, and that loved ones are there to support you in the things that you cannot yet do, such as drive to get pain medicine or groceries if you are still concussed. If and only if you are well enough, you should contact your insurance company and notify them about the collision, as this step is often missed the day of the crash.

No-Fault Insurance Claims in New York – What They Cover and What They Don’t

The first place most people turn to after a car accident is their no-fault insurance policy, also known as Personal Injury Protection or simply PIP. A basic PIP policy pays up to $25,000 per person or $50,000 per accident to cover medical expenses and replace a portion of lost wages for a person injured in a car accident. You can file this claim regardless of who was at fault in causing the accident; fault won’t even be a question in paying the claim. This can be a relief if you worry that you might have been the one at fault but still need help paying your doctor and hospital bills.

As noted, however, PIP coverage is limited to only $25,000 per person. It pays for “reasonable and necessary” medical expenses, including doctor and hospital visits, medications, medical supplies, physical, therapy, emergency medical transportation, and related costs. Part of this $25,000 can also go toward your lost wages if you are thrown out of work due to your injuries, but these benefits are limited to the lesser of 80% of your wages or $2,000 a month, and only for three years, regardless of how much you used to make or how long you are out of work. Compensation for “pain and suffering” and related damages is not available through a PIP policy.

Because PIP coverage is no-fault, you do not have to sue the other driver to get your benefits. In fact, you could not sue even if you wanted to. In exchange for no-fault insurance, you do not have the right to file a lawsuit. While some see no-fault insurance as a benefit to consumers, others see it simply as a way to prohibit lawsuits and therefore limit how much insurance companies have to pay out. There is an exception to this rule, however; you can file a lawsuit if you suffered a “serious injury” as it is defined in New York law, in which case you could potentially recover a much larger amount of compensation for your injuries.

Car Accident Lawsuits and the Serious Injury Threshold

New York’s no-fault insurance law offers a way for people who are seriously injured to bypass no-fault PIP benefits and instead seek compensation from the other driver and their insurance company. This often requires filing a lawsuit against the other driver, although in most instances the case can be settled without having to go to court. The benefit of a lawsuit is that you can recover the full amount of your medical bills and lost wages, plus compensation for your pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages in appropriate cases. To be successful, however, you’ll need to prove you suffered a serious injury within the meaning of the law, and the insurer will likely try to dispute the severity of your injury and damages or the liability of their insured. The team at Cohan Law Firm can provide invaluable support in these situations. We have years of experience holding negligent drivers accountable for the serious injuries they cause in car accidents. We know the law and what it takes to put together a case that proves the facts necessary for a successful claim.

Meeting the “serious injury threshold” to step outside New York’s no-fault system requires that the accident victim suffer one of the following:

Death;
Dismemberment;
Significant disfigurement;
A fracture;
Loss of a fetus;
Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system;
Permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member;
Significant limitation of use of a body function or system;
A medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person’s usual and customary daily activities for not less than 90 days during the 180 days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

Call Our Dedicated New York Car Accident Lawyers Today

If you or a family member were seriously injured in a car accident in Brooklyn, The Bronx, or throughout New York City, the Cohan Law Firm is ready to help ensure you get the medical care and compensation you need and deserve. We’ll pursue justice on your behalf and hold the negligent driver accountable to you for the harm they’ve caused. Call our dedicated New York car accident lawyers today for a free consultation. There’s no fee until we recover for you.

Share This Page: