Injured In An Auto Accident? Our NYC Car Accident Lawyers Can Help.
If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident that was not your fault, it can be tempting to consider handling the case on your own. After all, it would certainly make your insurance company happy. The truth, however, is that you never know what’s going to happen during a personal injury claim. By hiring a New York City car accident lawyer, you are giving yourself that extra protection you need, along with all of the benefits that go along with it.
In 2011, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles published a summary of motor vehicle crashes for the year, and the numbers were sobering. In total, the DMV concluded that 307,550 accidents occurred on state roads in one year alone. Of the collisions that were reported, 128,036 resulted in injury to at least one individual involved. There were 1,077 fatal car accidents in 2011, a number that would increase if pedestrians, bicyclists, and other bystanders were included in the count. These staggering numbers help to put in perspective the reality of motor vehicle accidents in our state and the need to respond appropriately.
Common Motor Vehicle Accidents In NYC
A personal injury lawyer at our firm can help you obtain compensation for your auto accident, no matter what type of collision it may have been. Below are some of the most common types of automobile accidents in New York.
- Head-on collisions typically result when one car is traveling the wrong way down a road or highway, thus allowing for it to collide head-on with another vehicle. How and why this happened will determine who was at fault for the accident.
- Multi-vehicle pileups involve multiple vehicles and are more likely to occur on roads with frequent and heavy traffic. This type of accident usually results from a domino effect caused by an initial collision between two cars. The number of individuals involved in a pileup can make it easier for the insurance company to overlook or even disregard serious injuries that resulted.
- Rear-end accidents occur when the front end of one car meets the backside of the car in front of it. Generally, New York traffic laws hold that the rear-ending vehicle will be held responsible for the accident, not the rear-ended vehicle. Exceptions to this rule are granted if the driver of the rear-ending vehicle has a reasonable explanation for the collision, such as sliding on black ice where there was no warning of icy roads.
- Rollover accidents occur when a driver loses control of the vehicle and the car rolls over on its side as a result. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rollover accidents claim more than 10,000 lives on an annual basis. The risk of rollover accidents is directly correlated with the height of the vehicle’s center of gravity. The higher the center of gravity, the more risk for rolling over when turning sharply or traveling at high speeds.
- Side-impact collisions (T-Bone crashes) occur when the front end of one car collides with the side of another car, forming the shape of the letter T. This type of broadside collision is usually the result of a driver’s disregard of directing traffic signs.
- Taxi accidents are involved in 13 percent of all serious crashes, according to a 2010 article from The New York Times. Earlier in 2006, The New York Times also shared that while taxis may have a lower rate of crashes than other vehicles, individuals who are involved in a taxi cab accident are more likely to suffer worse injuries; statistics showed that 21 percent of injuries from taxi accidents are either serious or moderate.
4 Reasons To Hire A Personal Injury Attorney
- An attorney has professional knowledge that is backed by years of legal education. To become an attorney, you need to go through extensive schooling. Most attorneys have an average of seven years of schooling, three of which were dedicated solely to the practice of law. You wouldn’t perform surgery on yourself, and you shouldn’t tangle with the law alone either. You need a professional on your side who can walk you through the legal process, help you complete important paperwork, look out for your rights, and secure a fair auto accident settlement or verdict.
- An attorney has hands-on experience. Our firm has more than 100 years of combined legal experience. That is nothing to take lightly. You’re not our first case; we know what we’re facing and will be able to apply our previous experience to you. Beyond our familiarity with the process, we have also developed multiple relationships throughout our careers which can be invaluable when expert resources are needed for your case.
- An attorney can effectively deal with the insurance company. Whether you’re dealing with your insurance company or the at-fault party’s insurance company, the process can be extremely frustrating. For example, if the other driver was found to be at-fault and totaled your car, you most likely need to have a rental car while you’re waiting for your vehicle to be repaired. In some cases, the at-fault party’s insurance company may ask you to pay for it upfront under the pretense that you will be reimbursed. Of course, this may not always happen, and the insurance company may later dismiss the reimbursement on a technicality. Your own insurance company might not be any better. An experienced attorney can put an end to such unethical behavior to make sure that the insurance company does not take advantage of you.
- An attorney can speed up the process. In some cases, the car accident claim process can drag on and on. Insurance companies can delay, paperwork can be fumbled, and deadlines can be missed. By working with a lawyer, you can have someone on your side who is interested in helping to expedite the process, thus ensuring that your paperwork is efficiently filed and keeping pressure on the other party to speed things up.
How To Find The Best Car Accident Attorney For Your Claim
After you’ve decided that you do need a New York City car accident lawyer you must go about finding the right one. The truth is that not every lawyer is made equal; in fact, there are often large discrepancies in the quality of one attorney from the next. Hiring a personal injury lawyer who is under-experienced, apathetic, or just clumsy could end up costing you. Therefore, your choice in a lawyer is incredibly important. In the end, it could be what makes or breaks your case.
Finding that right attorney, however, is not always easy. For this reason, the first thing that you should always do is reach out and talk to your friends and family. Some of them may have been in a similar situation before and may know of a good, trustworthy lawyer in the area. Online reviews can also be used to check out an attorney’s reputation; however, make sure that you take these with a grain of salt because they could be misleading.
Finally, you should not hesitate to set up an interview with any law firm that you think might be valuable. Meeting with an attorney face-to-face will allow you to decide for yourself how you feel about the lawyer’s skill set and trustworthiness. Ask questions such as how much experience they have. Ask how many cases they have successfully handled in the past. You can even ask how they would hypothetically handle your case. Other questions of concern should be how involved in the case they would keep you and their fee arrangement for legal services.
To learn more about auto accident claims in New York, read Attorney Kenny’s Ultimate Guide to Car Accidents in NYC.
Contact Us Today For A FREE Consultation With An Experienced Attorney
With over 100 years of combined legal experience, a New York auto accident attorney at our firm knows that filing a personal injury claim can be extremely intimidating. We’ve recovered more than $350 million in verdicts and settlements for our clients, and understand New York laws and will fully apply them to ensure you receive the maximum amount of compensation.
Insurance companies are intent upon finding the best way to grant the lowest amount of compensation possible, even when you played little or no role of fault. Simply put, the insurance company will fight to deny you an auto accident settlement. Contact The Law Office of Richard M. Kenny to learn more about what goes into a car accident claim and how we can help you obtain compensation for your injuries.
