Personal injury settlements are allowed under New York law to compensate injured victims for their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In relation to this, the legal battle to obtain the maximum settlement can be complicated because the insurance company or the defendants may not be willing to accept blame and make a fair settlement for your injuries and losses.
Personal injury settlements are allowed under New York law to compensate injured victims for their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In relation to this, the legal battle to obtain the maximum settlement can be complicated because the insurance company or the defendants may not be willing to accept blame and make a fair settlement for your injuries and losses.
The entire legal process can be overwhelming and tedious, particularly when you are trying to recover from your injuries caused due to another’s fault. While it may not be possible to eliminate the trauma of suffering injuries in an accident, knowing what factors determine the value of your claim is one of the key steps in your pursuit of settlement negotiations with the insurance providers.
Although each situation is different and requires an in-depth analysis of the facts and circumstances of each claim, the following steps will make you better prepared to maximize your personal injury settlement.
Seek Proper Medical Care Immediately After Your Accident
After an accident, it’s essential to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Most people don’t realize how much of a difference early medical care can make in the outcome of your case. A big part of calculating a personal injury settlement involves determining the extent of your injuries and how long it will take for you to recover.
If you wait too long to seek medical care, your injuries could heal or worsen until negotiations start. Therefore, it’s best to see a doctor as soon as possible after being in an accident, even if you feel well enough to continue with your day and don’t have any symptoms. The longer you wait, the less likely a doctor will be able to give an accurate diagnosis because your symptoms may disappear before they can perform tests.
Gather and Preserve Evidence from the Accident Scene
When you’ve been injured in an accident and are considering filing a personal injury claim, it can be hard to know where to start once the adrenaline wears off. So while you’re still amid the incident, gather as much information as possible. This includes taking pictures, making notes about your injuries, and documenting everything from the accident scene.
You should also try to find witnesses and follow up with them later so they can corroborate your story. The more people who observed what happened, the more likely your claim will be validated. Keep records of all medical treatment and expenses, including bills from doctors and hospitals, receipts for prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, and so on. You should also keep a log of how your condition changes over time—the more detailed and thorough your documentation is, the better off you’ll be.
Evaluate Your Injury Claim with a Trusted Lawyer
Before deciding how much money your case is worth, you need to consider everything that would be treated as financial damages if your claim went before a judge. This includes medical bills that have already been paid—or at least an estimate of what they will be—along with any future bills that may arise from an ongoing condition caused by the accident. You also need to factor in lost wages and non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, and emotional anguish.
Every dollar that counts as the damage has a real value attached to it, so adding up all of this will give you an idea of how much money you could potentially receive in the final payout. Once you determine an approximate compensation estimate during an initial free consultation with a personal injury lawyer in New York City, you and your lawyer can start focusing on what factors could potentially raise or lower that number.
The severity of your injuries sustained will be the most important factor taken into account when considering how much your claim is worth. If there are any long-term effects that impact your quality of life, or you have to take time off from work for recovery or are unable to work and earn as competently as prior to the accident, these factors could raise the value of your claim.
Avoid Lying About Anything
The legal system can be filled with grey areas, but lying is a definite no-no because you will always get caught. In fact, if you are caught lying, the judge and jury might think you are a habitual liar, making it very difficult for you to win any sympathy from them. It’s difficult enough to fight an insurance company and prove that you’re injured.
Don’t make it harder for yourself by lying about how you were injured or how long the injury has been bothering you. There’s no reason to lie about anything related to your accident or your health. Be completely honest and tell the truth about everything, so your claim will have the best chance of winning in court.
Don’t Sign Away Your Rights
Insurance companies are notorious for lowballing their estimates of how much they believe your injuries warrant. So, you must be very careful about what you agree to when dealing with them. They might try to get you to sign away your right to sue for more money later. And if you sign a release, you may lose your right to sue or bring any legal action against anyone involved in causing your injuries, even if they later admit fault for what happened.
If you decide to settle, make sure you get as many details as possible about the money before signing any documents that would prevent you from getting more later on. The terms should include how much the company is giving you and how they’ll be doling out your payment. You’ll want to know if there are any clauses attached or if there’s an expiration date on when you can file suit against them again or claim further compensation.
Hire a Top-Rated Personal Injury Attorney
It’s no secret that having a strong and established personal injury law firm in New York City dramatically increases the odds of receiving compensation and the amount of money you’ll receive. Because a top-rated attorney brings years of experience to each case, they can negotiate your settlement much higher than if you went through this process alone.
Leading personal injury attorneys know what evidence needs to be collected, how best to present and negotiate your claim, and how much others in similar circumstances have received after filing lawsuits.
Here’s how an attorney can help maximize your personal injury settlement:
Prove Negligence and Financial Liability
To receive compensation, you need to be able to prove that the insurance company has a responsibility to pay you. Insurance companies may try to avoid paying you by arguing that their insured was not negligent or reckless in causing the accident or even claiming that they are not liable for the accident.
Proving negligence requires proof of duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. Establishing this duty requires evidence of the defendant’s responsibility for the victim, the defendant’s awareness of the risk, and the reasonable probability that the defendant’s actions would harm the victim.
A New York personal injury attorney will gather all the proof necessary for your case before going into negotiations, which means they’re prepared for any eventuality. And you can focus on getting better instead of worrying about your finances or taking time off work.
Negotiate Strongly with the Insurance Company
Insurance companies are notorious for being stubborn and uncompromising in their negotiations. This is because they are trained to be nimble navigators of policies and procedures and have every intention of maintaining their profits by keeping as much of your money as they can.
While this is not necessarily an illegitimate behavior, it does make negotiating with the insurance adjusters difficult. You, however, may want a sizable settlement for your injuries because you have bills to pay, medical expenses and lost wages due to your injury.
A personal injury lawyer will send a demand letter to the defendant’s insurance company. The letter will state that they are responsible for all past and future losses caused by their driver’s negligence. It will also ask for a specific amount that you need to cover these losses.
In most cases, the insurance company will disagree with the amount asked for in the demand letter. They’ll probably respond by offering a lower settlement amount. Your lawyer will go back and forth negotiating with them until they either agree on a settlement or refuse to negotiate further.
In the event the insurance company doesn’t budge and offers no counteroffer, your lawyer may file a personal injury case against them. This can be intimidating for them because it means they’ll have to pay expenses such as court fees and even the lawyer’s fees. The pressure of a lawsuit will often make the insurance company reconsider its offer or even come up with a better offer than initially planned.
Choose Our Dedicated Personal Injury Attorneys in New York to Obtain Maximum Compensation
When you hire the right attorney, your chances of receiving a fair injury settlement increase exponentially. Our experienced personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP, have helped countless clients obtain the compensation they deserve.
We are well-versed in all aspects of New York personal injury law and have experience with all types of cases. As a result, we know how to get the most out of your case and ensure you get all the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Our legal team’s hard work and dedication has secured some of the largest verdicts and settlements in New York. No matter how complex your personal injury claim might be, our attorneys can work to get you what’s rightfully yours. So, give us a call today at 212-344-1000 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation.
Types Of Damages In a Personal Injury Lawsuit
If you’ve been injured in an accident, your life has probably changed drastically. An injury can affect your career and future earning potential, your ability to care for your family, and the things you usually enjoy. Medical bills, physical therapy, long-term rehab, lost wages, and pain and suffering can cost enormously in financial terms, making it difficult for many people to afford the care they need.
It is often difficult for people to absorb these financial damages and losses without obtaining financial compensation. A skilled New York personal injury attorney can work with you to prove that you were injured due to another’s negligence and help you achieve your rightful financial compensation.
This monetary compensation is legally referred to as damages that an injured victim receives for a personal injury. The idea of damages is based on the premise that the victim suffered some sort of financial and/or non-economic loss as a result of being injured. There are generally two types of damages within a personal injury case in New York: compensatory and punitive.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are monetary awards intended to cover the legal and economic losses suffered by plaintiffs. They can be divided into two categories: Special Damages and General Damages
Special Damages (Economic Damages)
Special damages are also called “economic damages” because they can be quantified in dollar amounts. These include:
- medical bills (past and future)
- lost income, including time taken off work and loss of future earning potential
- the expense of repairing or replacing damaged property
- housekeeping services for the duration of the plaintiff’s recovery
Medical Bills include:
- Emergency room visits
- Tests and procedures performed in the ER
- X-rays
- MRI or CT scan
- Hospital stays
- Surgery, especially if complications arise
- Physical Therapy – exercises to keep your body from getting stiff and painful.
Be sure to keep track of all the expenses you incur as a result of your injury and submit accurate bills for reimbursement.
General Damages (Non-Economic Damages)
General damages, or non-economic losses, are harder to quantify than special damages. They compensate victims for pain and suffering that is difficult or impossible to measure in monetary terms. These include:
- Physical or emotional pain and suffering.
- Emotional distress and mental anguish, including feelings of anxiety, fear, loss of enjoyment of life, and humiliation.
- Damage to reputation or standing in the community (if your identity is revealed).
While it is easy to say an injury is worth $10,000, it isn’t so easy to put a precise value on how much suffering someone has endured over the course of their recovery from an accident. In cases such as these, judges and juries might look at several factors to determine how much someone deserves for their pain and suffering:
- The nature of the injury
- The severity of the injury
- Any permanent impairment caused by the injury
- Whether there was any intent to harm on behalf of the defendant
- The age, background, occupation, and mental state of the plaintiff
- The financial situation of both parties
- Any other extenuating circumstances related to each individual case
Wrongful Death Damages
If a loved one is killed in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation for financial loss. Wrongful death damages are monetary awards intended to compensate surviving family members for the pain and suffering caused by their loss. Examples include:
- funeral and burial expenses
- the amount of money required to cover medical costs and pain endured by a deceased person before their death
- The deceased person’s lost earning capacity
- The value of the services a person would have rendered had they not died.
- Loss of companionship, love, affection and moral support from the deceased spouse or child
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are a form of punishment given to a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit. They work as an additional deterrent to prevent the defendant from committing similar wrongful acts. Sometimes punitive damages are awarded when the plaintiff has suffered no actual physical or economic harm but has been emotionally damaged.
These damages are not awarded automatically in all cases, but the plaintiff must prove that there is sufficient evidence to support their claim that punitive damages are warranted. To determine whether punitive damages should be awarded, New York courts consider several factors, including:
- The nature & extent of the harm caused by the defendant’s actions
- The degree of reprehensibility of the conduct
- Whether or not there were prior instances of similar wrongful conduct
- The financial position of the defendant
- The intent of the defendant when committing those actions (i.e., was it intentional or reckless)
The number of compensatory damages would be determined by multiplying the number of medical bills and lost wages by a percentage factor (usually 1/3) representing their value relative to the total compensatory award.
Caps on Damages in New York
New York is one of the few states that do not put a limit on the amount of compensation a person can receive in a personal injury case. Moreover, this does not mean that an injured person will receive an award that is greater than their actual damages.
In New York, you can receive the entire amount a jury awards for your case or negotiate any amount for a personal injury settlement agreement. There is no cap on punitive and compensatory damages in New York. This means that there are no limits or ceilings on the compensation that may be awarded, although you may need to wait until the end of the trial to find out what amount you will actually receive.
If a judge grants a huge verdict, either party can appeal. The court of appeals decides whether the original award was correct and then can choose to reduce it, increase it, or even reverse it.
Compensation for Shared Fault in New York
New York follows a ‘pure comparative negligence’ rule in shared-fault injury cases. This rule means that the amount of compensation you’re entitled to receive will be reduced by an amount that is equal to your percentage of fault for the accident. Pertaining to this, whether you’re trying to recover damages for medical bills or lost wages or pain and suffering, you won’t get as much money if it turns out that you were more at fault than the defendant.
New York’s No-Fault Insurance for Car Accidents
New York has a “no-fault” insurance system for car accident cases. This means that regardless of who was at fault in an accident, each driver’s insurance company must pay for their medical expenses and lost wages up to certain limits. To get this coverage, drivers must obtain personal injury protection (PIP) insurance.
If they have PIP coverage, they can receive this no-fault coverage regardless of who was at fault for the accident (unless they were driving without insurance). Based on this, if it’s unclear who was at fault for the accident, then each driver’s PIP provider will ultimately decide whether compensation will be paid based on their investigation into the incident.
How to Collect Compensation in a Personal Injury Case?
Collecting damages after a lawsuit can be complicated. You may have to wait for a long time before you receive payment. Moreover, if an insurance company is involved, it can make the process more complicated and drawn out.
Gaining full compensation can be a challenge if the insurance company has limited assets or if the defendant is broke. Some defendants might not be able or willing to pay anything at all. In those situations, an attorney can help you collect by trying to find undisclosed assets or placing a lien on the non-exempt property—in other words, property that isn’t protected by law from creditors (like a house).
An attorney can also place a lien on the property that isn’t exempt but may be sold to pay down debt (like cars or jewelry). If a defendant owns a business, an attorney may also be able to garnish wages from that business for your benefit. While garnishing wages can take about three months, it’s sometimes more effective than placing a lien on the property because wages are often enough to cover the debt.
Our Experienced Attorneys Can Help You Recover Maximum Damages
When you’ve been injured in an accident, it’s natural to want to get compensated for the full value of your damages. But proving that the other party was negligent and is financially liable can be a long, frustrating legal process. And the last thing you want when you’re recovering from injuries is a prolonged, stressful legal battle with an insurance company or defendant who wants to avoid paying out.
At Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP, we understand how difficult it can be to face medical bills and other expenses after an injury. That’s why we’ll do everything we can to help you get back on your feet financially so that you can focus on recovering from your injuries instead of worrying about money problems.
No matter what type of accident you were involved in, our attorneys have years of experience handling cases like yours. From car accidents to slip-and-fall accidents and work injuries, we’re here to help. Contact the attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP to learn how much damages are applicable to your situation. You can reach us through our online contact form or call us at 212-344-1000 to schedule your free consultation.
Calculating Personal Injury Damages
What happens when a person suffers an injury in an accident, and it’s not their fault? The injured victim might be faced with huge medical costs, loss of income, and pain and suffering, but who pays for all these personal injury damages? In general, insurance companies do.
Once you file a personal injury claim, the insurance company has to decide how much to pay the injured party. Unfortunately, insurance companies are mostly only concerned about minimizing their payout so that their profits don’t get affected. Insurers typically apply a formula to calculate personal injury damages, but what if this formula isn’t accurate or fair? What if it inflates or deflates the number of damages to be paid out to you?
The formula for calculating damages in a New York personal injury case is complex, but it’s not impossible to understand. In this guide, we will walk you through the various steps of the equation and give you an idea of how different elements influence your final compensatory award for your personal injuries.
Key Elements of a Personal Injury Settlement
There are usually two types of damages awarded in a personal injury lawsuit in New York:
- Economic damages are also referred to as special or actual damages because they are easy to calculate and prove. They include medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses on which you can put a dollar amount.
- Non-economic damages, also called general or compensatory damages, including intangible things like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, physical impairment, disfigurement, and more.
To calculate your personal injury compensation amount, you must first add the total amount of special damages (economic damages). These would include:
- Current and future medical bills, including co-payments, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses.
- Current and future lost income or wages.
- Repair or replacement costs of the damaged property
- Loss of value of the damaged property
Medical bills will prove the extent of your injuries, and without this evidence, you cannot expect your claim to succeed. Taking this into account, all the bills should be specific and itemized, listing every service or product provided by a healthcare provider, including any consultations, tests, or procedures. In addition, some types of services may not be covered by your health plan at the time you received treatment but must still be included on the bill. These include emergency room visits, ambulance charges, and prescription medications.
Similarly, the loss of present and future income should include not just your wages, but also any overtime, side hustles, freelance work, professional practice income or business income that you might stand to lose because of your injuries. Your inability to earn a reasonable income in the future must also be taken into account to calculate future income losses.
When calculating a personal injury settlement, it’s important to remember that every case is unique—there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It takes a thorough accounting of all factors involved to come up with an accurate number for how much money a person needs to get back on track after an injury.
Compensation for Your Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering are entirely subjective and, therefore, not easily quantifiable. The amount of money you receive for pain and suffering depends on many factors, including your age, employment status, income level, and the severity of the injury.
It’s necessary to remember that two people with the exact same type of personal injury may experience pain and suffer differently. While there is no set rule for how much someone should be compensated for their pain and suffering, this compensation does not necessarily reflect how much pain or suffering an individual has experienced.
Pain & suffering can include the following:
- Loss of consortium
- Emotional distress
- Physical aches and pains
- Persistent sleep loss
- Anxiety and depression
- Inability to concentrate
To estimate the value of your pain and suffering, multiply the total for special damages by one to two. But remember that if you have no other actual damages, there is a maximum award for your pain and suffering.
Personal Injury Damages Formula Used by the Insurance Companies
Insurance claims for injuries don’t usually come with the same sort of specific dollar amounts as most other types of claims. Instead, they’re based on a calculation that uses the nature and severity of your injury to determine a “loss of use” value.
This number is then multiplied by a percentage representing how much it would cost to rest, recover and rehabilitate in an ideal situation—one where you aren’t taking days off work or losing any other benefits you’d be getting if you weren’t hurt.
A multiplier of three or four is reserved for more severe injuries that result in permanent impairment, while a lower multiplier, such as two, can be used for less serious injuries with lasting effects, such as concussions and cut tendons. A committed and robust personal injury attorney, someone who has been through the legal minefields before and knows where to step and not to step, can help determine what multiple will be most effective in your case.
Factors that could Affect the Size of Your Final Compensation
- Policy Limit: This would mean whether or not the available insurance policy limits are high enough to cover the full extent of your injuries and other expenses stemming from the incident. If they aren’t, and you still wish to pursue a claim, you’ll have to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party for any amount that exceeds those limits.
- Injury Severity: The more severe your injuries, the more likely it is that the insurance company will be willing to settle for higher than policy limits to avoid paying for extensive medical care and time away from work. Permanent injuries such as paralysis, disfigurement, amputations, and other catastrophic injuries would result in a higher payout.
- Adjuster Bias: The settlement offer made by an adjuster is usually based on the likelihood of winning in court. Going to trial takes more time and money, so most cases are settled out of court. If a case goes to court, the verdict is based on what happened or what evidence there is. This means that if both parties agree on a certain version of events, there will be no dispute and no need for a trial—the case will be settled out of court instead. In some cases, that means the defendant offers a larger settlement than the adjuster would have offered to avoid going through litigation and risking losing in court.
- Attorney Skills: The most important factor that will determine the size of your financial compensation in a personal injury case is the skills, experience, and resources of your New York personal injury lawyer. Therefore, your focus should be on choosing a top-rated NYC law firm with a proven track record of large settlements and verdicts in personal injury cases.
Punitive Damages
When it comes to personal injury incidents, punitive damages are a separate amount of money awarded by a court that goes above and beyond the amount required to compensate the victim for their injuries. It’s meant to punish the at-fault party for egregious behavior. The logic behind punitive damages is simple: to make people think twice about engaging in dangerous or negligent actions.
Punitive damages have been awarded in cases involving drunk driving, assault, battery, and medical malpractice. In some cases, punitive damages can be granted without any finding of actual malice or intent. But generally speaking, there must be proof that the defendant engaged in gross negligence or malice with respect to the victim’s injuries.
Often, the court will order that the number of punitive damages awarded be equal to a multiple of the compensatory damages. A common multiple used in many jurisdictions is 2X actual damages. This means that if you win your case and are awarded $100,000 in compensatory damages, you will also usually win $200,000 in punitive damages.
How Can Attorneys Increase Your Personal Injury Compensation?
Most severe injury cases that go to court begin with a demand for compensation based on several factors, including the severity of the injury, the cost of medical bills, and the expected loss of income to cover your ongoing care. In many cases, however, it’s challenging to determine exactly how much money you’ll need to pay for your future care.
If a jury determines that you’re entitled to more than the insurance company offered, you could be in line for a windfall. In relation to this, there are no guarantees that this will happen—and even if it does, there’s no telling how big your award will be.
When personal injury attorney is involved in settlement discussions, they can draw upon their previous experience working with similar cases. They also have the resources necessary to secure expert testimony and investigate all aspects of the case.
Insurance companies are obligated by law to negotiate in good faith with lawyers representing injured parties. A hard-working and accomplished personal injury attorney will know how best to present your case and make the most persuasive arguments to get you the highest settlement offer possible.
Get Legal Help from Our Seasoned NYC Personal Injury Attorneys to Obtain the Compensation You Deserve
The process of pursuing your rightful personal injury compensation can be complicated, time-consuming, and stressful. You will have to communicate and negotiate with an insurance company and its lawyers, collect evidence, and stay prepared to go to trial if necessary. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when so many other things in your life need attention.
That’s why at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP, we’ve decoded these complicated calculations for numerous clients and have helped them receive their fair share after suffering devastating injuries. We’ve seen every angle there is to see when it comes to calculating damage awards. We will research every facet of your case to find any inconsistencies in the insurance company’s claims that could impact the level of compensation you receive.
In addition, we will use your medical records and other evidence to show how your injuries adversely impact your quality of life to prove that you deserve a large settlement. Our legal team knows how all the different factors come together, and we’re ready to help you understand what type of compensation you’re entitled to.
Let us guide you through this difficult time—we’ll ensure that your rights are protected under all circumstances. To set up your free consultation with our attorneys, you can reach us by calling 212-344-1000 or fill out our online contact form today.
