- Do Your Due Diligence
You could be entitled to file a product liability lawsuit if you have been injured by a product that was in some way defective. However, your rights come with certain stipulations. In New York, the state statute of limitations dictates how long you have to lodge a legal claim against the person or party who caused your accident. If you wait too long to contact an attorney and begin putting your case together, the statute of limitations could lapse, and once it does, you may not be able to file a lawsuit at all.
- Save Your Medical Records
If you are planning to file a personal injury lawsuit, your first priority should always be ensuring that your injuries are treated and documented. You should typically:
- See a doctor at the earliest opportunity;
- Follow all of your physician’s recommendations for treatment;
- Collect and preserve all of your medical records, including X-rays, diagnostic reports, test results, and referrals; and
- Keep receipts for medical expenses and associated costs, ranging from paid co-pays and deductibles to the money you had to pay to park at the hospital.
Insurance companies, judges, and lawyers use the term “damages” to describe the physical pain, financial hardship, and general duress caused by an accident. To obtain compensation, you need to be able to establish that you have sustained damages. Your medical records help prove that you have been injured, detail the costs you have incurred as a result, and can help the court understand the type of treatment and support you will need as you start moving forward.
- Do Not Rush Into A Settlement
If you have a strong case and compelling evidence, there is a chance you could hear back from a manufacturer, an insurance company, or a defense lawyer sooner than you expect. They might even offer an early settlement. However, it pays to remember that most companies are primarily concerned with profit and loss, and it is rarely profitable to offer a fair settlement to somebody who has not filed a lawsuit and does not yet have an attorney.
Similarly, if you are asked to provide a recorded statement or share your version of events, it is best to hold off until you have retained experienced legal counsel, if you make a minor mistake or use the wrong turn of phrase, that could easily be used as evidence that you were, at the very least, partially at-fault for your injuries.
- Explore Your Options
Even if you have a strong claim, product manufacturers and retailers often fall back on a common argument: the failure to mitigate damages defense, which suggests that accident victims have a responsibility to take reasonable measures to avoid incurring further harm as a result of an accident. Most people mitigate their damages by taking common-sense steps like:
- Seeing the doctor;
- Taking prescribed medication;
- Undergoing medically-necessary procedures;
- Following through on physical rehabilitation; and
- Going to therapy.
Of course, these expectations can be problematic. If you do not have insurance or your policy has already reached its limits, getting the right kind of care can be difficult, maybe even unaffordable. This does not mean that you have to choose between filing a lawsuit and paying off medical debt. In fact, you could have more options available right now than you expect.
Since our founding in 2005, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has helped clients in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and throughout Upstate New York build back better after an accident. We could help you, too. Call us today at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a personal injury lawyer and schedule your risk-free, no-obligation consultation.