Car accidents really can happen in the blink of an eye.
If you live in New York, no-fault insurance provides something of a financial cushion. However, a standard policy is rarely enough to cover all the costs of a life-altering accident. If you have sustained serious injuries in a crash that was not your fault, you could be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit against the person or party who caused your collision.
Here is what you need to know about:
A herniated disk is a painful and potentially life-altering injury.
If you have been diagnosed with a herniated disk after an accident that was not your fault, you could be entitled to take decisive legal action against the person or party who caused your injury. A personal injury lawsuit cannot undo an accident, but a successful settlement or court-ordered award could provide the compensation you need to start building back.
Herniated disk settlements often run into the tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes even higher, but there is no standard set amount for an award. Instead, your damages are calculated in accordance with the severity of your injuries, the extent of your financial losses, and the all-around impact on your quality of life.
You cannot always avoid adjusters after a car accident, but that does not mean you should ever let your guard down while talking to the defendant’s insurance company.
Here is what you need to know about:
The Insurance Company’s Motivations
If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, the prospect of spending months in court for an uncertain outcome could seem like a bad investment. Personal injury cases can take months to resolve, sometimes even years.
However, filing a lawsuit does not always mean committing to trial.
In fact, most lawsuits are never tried before a judge and jury. Instead, they are often resolved through negotiation. Settlements are not reached overnight, but compromise is sometimes preferable to the risk of a full-blown trial.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit is often a big decision.
If you are in a position to consider taking legal action, there is probably a good reason for it. However, not every accident is worth the time, effort, and energy. If you were involved in a fender-bender that was not your fault and need help with car repairs, you should not have to take on the expense yourself, but, it is often more prudent to work with your insurance than to spend months litigating a property damage case with an uncertain outcome.
This calculus changes considerably when and where serious injuries are involved.
Evidence can make or break a personal injury lawsuit.
If you sue, the burden of proof is on you. This means that, when you take your case to court, it is your responsibility to convince the judge and jury that another person’s negligence was the direct cause of your accident. Without the right evidence, your claim could collapse.
Sometimes judges let accident victims re-file, but making too many mistakes can come at a steep cost. In a worst-case scenario, a failed lawsuit could be dismissed with prejudice, preventing you from trying to take any further legal action.
You should not feel bound to pay the price for another person’s mistake.
In New York, accident victims have a legal right to file a claim for compensation against the person who caused their injuries. You can still sue even if you were partly to blame for the accident, and you do not have to have a rock-solid case to talk to a lawyer and schedule a consultation.
However, filing a personal injury lawsuit is often much easier than fighting one, let alone winning and walking away with enough money to begin building back.
Insurance is financial protection for the unexpected.
An insurance coverage is supposed to guarantee peace of mind. Even though no amount of money can undo an accident, a strong policy can, at the very least, ensure that victims have a way to obtain relief without having to hire a lawyer and take them to court.
If an insurance company wants to stay competitive and turn a profit, it cannot pay more in claims than it takes in premiums. The less money an insurer spends resolving claims, the more profitable it is.
Nobody doubts that Tesla’s Autopilot is an advanced piece of technology.
Since it was first released in 2015, Autopilot has only continued to expand its capabilities. Using a complex network of cameras, sensors, and computer processors, Autopilot in its latest form can help drivers parallel park, navigate cross-country, and even cruise hands-free at highway speeds.
However, even Tesla has been forced to admit that Autopilot is not perfect.
Buffalo’s roads are not always safe.
According to a recent Allstate report, Buffalo’s accident rate hovers more than 33% above the national average. In fact, crashes are so common that the New York Department of Health has identified motor vehicle collisions as a leading cause of preventable hospitalizations among Erie County residents.
Accidents can happen anywhere in the city, but some streets are more dangerous than others.
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