New York City Personal Injury Lawyers

FIGHTING FOR NEW YORK CITY PERSONAL INJURY VICTIMS

Have you suffered an injury at the hands of a person, business or entity in New York City? Then read on — Richard J. Hollawell and Associates can help. Rick helms one of the most successful personal injury law practices in the New York area. If someone else’s negligence has caused you harm, our lawyers will know how to help.

A serious injury can affect every aspect of your life; you may not be able to work, you may have trouble with movement and daily tasks, and your relationships can be affected. It’s important that the party responsible for your injury be held accountable.

Personal injuries can also be difficult to measure. A moment’s mistake can make for a lifetime’s consequence — and without a skilled New York personal injury lawyer, you may be left shouldering the fallout.

Contact us today at 1-800-681-3550 for a free consultation.

Source: Wikipedia. Shared under CC-BY SA 2.0 license

WHAT QUALIFIES AS A PERSONAL INJURY CASE?

“Personal injury” is an umbrella term that refers to any lawsuit which causes physical injury to an individual. These cases harm a person’s health, as opposed to their property, livelihood, or reputation. However, an injury’s impact to a client’s livelihood and property will also be assessed in many cases and factored into any judgment.

Richard J. Hollawell and Associates has recovered over $50 million on behalf of our clients over the past 21 years.

These are some of the most common cases we see:

• Car accidents: Reckless, distracted, or negligent drivers, as well as roadwork maintenance crews and faulty vehicle parts, cause serious accidents that can leave people with major physical injuries and expensive property damage. These injuries can be life-changing, causing pain and potentially permanent injuries.
• Catastrophic injuries: Catastrophic injuries often require long-term medical care, prolonged absence from work, huge medical bills, and serious mental or emotional effects. Amputations, broken bones, paralysis, severe burns, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, wrongful deaths, and vision and hearing loss can all be considered catastrophic injuries. 
• Medical malpractice: A medical provider who fails to meet the standard of care and causes harm to the patient through their actions could be liable in a medical malpractice suit. These failures include incorrect diagnoses, treatment errors, and resultant injuries.
• Opioid overprescription: Our law firm is a major voice in combatting the opioid epidemic. Check out our press coverage here.
• Product liability: When products fail, they put their users at risk. When these failures are due to negligence or predatory calculations, consumers have a suite of protections available to them.
• Premises liability: All property owners and businesses are required to provide a safe environment for the people who visit their property. If you have been injured due to premises liability negligence, you may have a case.
• Slip and fall: Slip and fall injuries are the most common type of premises liability case. They are often caused by insufficient lighting, uneven walkways, accumulations of snow and ice, slippery floors, unsafe structural conditions, and other factors that are within the property owner’s control.
• Workplace injury: New York City has a workforce of nearly 5 million — over 20% of which commute into the city every day. 

HOW DO I PROVE A PERSONAL INJURY CASE IN NEW YORK CITY?

It is important to know exactly how to proceed with your personal injury claim in New York State. Each state has different rules surrounding personal injury cases — without a lawyer familiar with these rules, you risk compromising your case.

In a personal injury case in any state, you must prove both negligence and damages. Proving negligence will determine who is liable for the injury, and will include demonstrating that a level of carelessness was shown by the liable party and resulted directly in your injury.

WHAT TYPE OF DAMAGES CAN I GET FROM A PERSONAL INJURY LAWSUIT?

Damages can be calculated in a few different ways, depending on the type of case you are filing, and each type of case has different rules regarding what type of damages can be awarded and in what amounts. Damages that can be awarded include:

• Emotional distress: Sometimes, damages can be claimed for emotional distress if the injured party’s mental health was demonstrably affected by their injury. This may include a PTSD diagnosis or depression, and the cost of medical treatment for these issues caused by the injury.
• Loss of companionship: Awarded to the partner or spouse of a victim, these types of damages serve to make up for the costs associated with the financial expenditures that become necessary when the victim can no longer perform certain tasks after their injury. Damages can cover child care, home maintenance, and even the emotional wellbeing of a spouse.
• Loss of wages: Awarded to compensate for the money that you would have been earning had you been able to work, due to either missing work because your injury made work impossible, or missing work because of medical appointments and treatments that became necessary after your injury.
• Medical care: Medical care costs are one of the most commonly awarded damages, as they are easy to prove and occur in almost every personal injury case. If you are injured and seek any treatment for your injury, you are likely eligible to receive compensation for the costs of your medical care. This may include diagnostic tests, nursing care, hospital stays, medication, rehabilitation and physical therapy, surgical costs and more.
• Pain and suffering: While pain is subjective and difficult to ascribe monetary value to, you could be compensated for the pain sustained after an injury. This can include lasting general discomfort and aches, limited mobility or ability to perform activities, emotional pain as a result of disfigurement or scarring, and mental anguish.
• Punitive damages: Punitive damages serve to punish the responsible party, by making them pay for the problems that their negligence has caused to you. The intent of punitive damages is to dissuade them from acting negligently again, as well as to dissuade others from doing the same. These types of damages are only allowed in specific types of cases.
• Wrongful death: In a wrongful death case, the eligible beneficiaries of the deceased can claim financial damages to essentially replace the money that the victim had been providing to the family.

WHEN TO CONSULT WITH AN EXPERIENCED PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

Again, each type of personal injury case has its own set of rules, procedures, and allowed damages. All of the aforementioned damages may not be an option in your specific case. Knowing what compensation you are eligible for can help you plan for the future and move forward in your case.

If you or a loved one have been injured due to the negligence of another party, please contact us right away. In New York City, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury claim is three years — medical malpractice claims must be filed within two-and-a-half years. We’re here to guide you through the process and ensure that you are compensated properly. Call us at 1-800-681-3550 for a consultation.