Staten Island Personal Injury Lawyer

The outcome of your personal injury case can affect the rest of your life. Don’t leave it up to chance. Call a Staten Island injury lawyer.

When you get hurt with a personal injury, you want everything else to come to a halt. But life just keeps on speeding up. Your hospital bills can vary, but any trip to the emergency room can cost thousands of dollars. The accident wasn’t your fault. So you shouldn’t have to cover these costs without help from the parties that caused your injuries.

Winning a personal injury lawsuit on Staten Island requires the right lawyer. You need one who is compatible with you and familiar with the local judges, courts, defense lawyers, and insurance company reps. At Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP, you can find just such a Staten Island personal injury lawyer. We have the experience to guide your case to a successful outcome.

Staten Island Personal Injury Cases, Causes, and Fault

A personal injury can occur in a variety of ways. Each situation requires an individual approach. Your personal injury lawyer in Staten Island will work to discover the precise causes of your accident. This will usually lead us to the party to blame.

Most personal injury claims fit one or more of these categories:

Medical Malpractice Injuries

Medical malpractice covers negligent care. It might involve:

• bedsores
• incorrect medications
• objects left inside the body after an operation
• incorrect or delayed diagnoses
• drunk doctors or surgeons
• other situations

On-the-Job Injuries

Workplace and construction injuries usually fall under workers compensation. But that doesn’t always cover much. You may be able to file a personal injury claim if a party other than your employer was involved.

For example, you may have been a worker injured during a construction accident. But even as a worker, you may not be covered under workers comp insurance. You may be listed as an independent contractor, or your employer may have failed to get coverage. When this happens, you may be able to sue for your rightful construction accident funds.

Defective Product Injuries

Product liability is broken up into three classes of defects:

• Design – A product that is dangerous even when used properly, such as a teapot that scalds your hand when correctly used
• Manufacture – A product that is designed correctly but was manufactured incorrectly, such as a chainsaw with a production flaw causing the chain to dangerously flail
• Marketing – Poor, inadequate, or incorrect instructions, specifications, or safety parameters, such as a medication with incorrect dosage instructions

Property Hazard Injuries

Premises liability claims in Staten Island include any injury that occurs due to a property owner’s negligence. Claims often involve dog bites, unrestricted pools, collapsing stairs, and slips or trips-and-falls.

Car Accident Injuries

Car accidents are often due to distracted, drowsy, drunk, or drugged drivers; part failure; installer error; road hazards; and inadequate inspections. This category includes all kinds of vehicle accidents, including those involving 18-wheelers and motorcycles.

Personal Injury Conditions

The serious injury you sustained in Staten Island may just be the beginning of a lifelong affliction or condition. We will collaborate with your doctors to determine how extensive your damages are and how long any conditions might persist.

Your Staten Island injury lawyer has to be able to describe each injury you’ve suffered and how it’s connected with your accident in order to successfully include it in your claim.

Some of the most serious damages occur to the following parts of the body:

• Neck, back, and spine
• Head and face
• Internal organs and circulation system

The following are some common injuries listed in Staten Island personal injury claims:

• Burns
• Brain injuries
• Broken bones
• Poisoning
• Drowning
• Dog bites
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Compensation for Personal Injury Claims in Staten Island

The point of civil courts and personal injury compensation is to make you as whole again as possible. Often, the hard part is trying to accept that there is a monetary value for the loss of your legs or the brain damage your loved one suffered.

Your lawyer will treat you compassionately and honestly. We’ll have to connect each damage to an injury or affliction, then to the cause, and, finally, to the at-fault parties.

Depending on the details of your situation, you could be paid for the following damages in your Staten Island personal injury claim:

• Medical expenses
• Wage loss or reduction
• Disability accommodations
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Property damage
• Punitive damages
• Wrongful death

New York’s Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury

Personal injuries, whether due to a car crash or a slip-and-fall accident at the grocery store, have a three-year statute of limitations. Medical malpractice differs, with only a two-year-and-six-month time limit from the malpractice date or end of treatment.

There is also a rule for when you don’t discover your injuries until a later date. This limited discovery rule allows you a year from the date of your discovery to file a claim. One example of this is medical instruments or other objects being sewn up inside you after surgery and not being discovered until they start causing problems.

No matter how long it’s been, you should always consult with a professional injury lawyer in Staten Island to see what your options may be.

No-Fault New York Injury Law

When dealing with injury cases in Staten Island, New York’s no-fault law is an important one to keep in mind. This means you’ll file your personal injury claim with your own insurance company. You have to meet one of several criteria to press a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault people or businesses.

Along with the worst-case scenario of death, these are serious injuries that, if suffered, allow you to pursue personal injury compensation outside the no-fault insurance system. These include the following:

• Fetal death
• Dismemberment
• Permanent limitation or loss of use of a body organ, member, system, or function
• Consequential disfigurement
• A disability lasting no less than ninety days within the first 180 days after your injuries occur
• A fractured or broken bone

Shared Negligence in Staten Island Injury Claims

In many cases, you’ll have to go through your own insurance company first. This is why you should follow one important rule: Don’t blindly trust an insurance company—not even yours. They all want to save money. That’s why you must always be careful what you say.

The defense team or insurance negotiators involved in your claim may attempt to warp your words in statements, letters, calls, or any other communication in a way that sets you in a bad light. The goal is to get the blame shifted to you.

This is because of New York’s comparative negligence rule. On one hand, thus rule allows you to file suit even if you’re partially to blame. On the other hand, these rules reduce your compensation by the same percentage as the fault you bear. For example, if your compensation is $100,000, but you were also 10 percent to blame, then you’d only receive $90,000.

Fortunately, an experienced injury lawyer in Staten Island can help make sure that you aren’t left holding any undeserved blame for your injuries.

Staten Island Personal Injury FAQ

When people suffer through serious personal injuries, they may have important questions about their care, their funds, and the tools they need to recover.

That’s why you may need to seek out professional legal services for your claim. If you’re struggling to get answers after an injury, check out the questions below, then reach out for help with your claim.

How many years do I have to sue in Staten Island?

When you’re hurt, you don’t have long to get the rightful funds you’re due after an accident. In New York, you only have three years to get the compensation you deserve. If you don’t act by then, you may be barred from the funds you’re due. Because the at-fault party and insurance companies may try to drag out your claim, act quickly with a lawyer’s help.

How do I know if I have grounds for a lawsuit?

When you’re involved in an accident that resulted in injuries or expenses, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. For example, even if you suffered a motorcycle accident with no injuries, you may still be due funds for your motorcycle repair service.

Taking the right steps after an injury can be tough, and it may be hard to focus on the practical details when you’re hurt. Luckily, your lawyer is here to help you gather information and take action on your claim.

What if I can’t afford an attorney?

After an accident, it’s understandable to worry about the costs of your legal aid. Our clients, thankfully, don’t have to choose between paying for their injuries and paying for a lawyer. We work on contingency fees, which means our pay depends on the money we’re able to win for you. If the court doesn’t compensate you, you don’t have to worry about paying us.

Someone hurt me and went to jail. Can I still sue?

When you’ve been hurt by someone’s criminal activity, you may need to focus on more than their trial and criminal justice. You may need a lawyer to help you get the civil compensation that’s also needed in the aftermath of an accident.

There’s a distinction between civil and criminal litigation. Luckily, you can still sue even if they were tried and convicted for the crime (or if they weren’t convicted). You may be due funds for your medical bills and other damages. Talk to your lawyer about turning your attention to a lawsuit.

Meet with a Personal Injury Lawyer in Staten Island

You can’t afford to let responsible parties escape justice. A lawyer with access to investigators, auditors, and medical experts, as well as familiarity with the local legal players and insurance reps, can help you recover fair compensation for all you’ve suffered.

The lawyers at Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP have all these assets. You can schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a Staten Island personal injury lawyer by calling us at 1-800-VICTIM2 (842-8462) or filling out the form  below.