Page 1 Legal Terminology - Personal Injury Lawyer NYC

Legal Terminology

The process of filing a personal injury claim in New York can be somewhat difficult to follow, especially if you have never filed or have been involved in a personal injury claim before. Moreover, the legal terms associated with personal injury claims can be hard to understand for injury victims and their families.

“Negligence” is one of the grounds on which a personal injury case can rest. So it is imperative that you understand what “negligence” means and how it can affect the outcome of your case. In a nutshell, negligence means an act of carelessness that can lead to an accident that many injure another person for no fault of his. However, in the context of a personal injury case, negligence has subtle nuances and wider implications.

The following is some basic information about the clause “negligence” in a personal injury case in New York:

What is “Duty of Care” in a Negligence Claim?

A lawyer asks the judge to reconsider his ruling. The judge refuses and inform the attorney that if he does not like his ruling he can take it up on appeal. Can a judge say this?

The Judge can Refuse to Reconsider

The answer is yes; a judge can make a snap decision and stick to it such as this. For instance, your lawyer is questioning a witness, the defense objects to a particular question, the judge says, "objection sustained", and stops the witness from answering the question. Here the judge has made a snap decision about whether your lawyer can question the witness about a particular topic.

You are thinking of filing a personal injury lawsuit for the harms and losses you have suffered, and it could be an accident case, medical malpractice case, or even a wrongful death case. When you are choosing an attorney to represent your case, one of the key details you need to find out is how often the attorney will communicate with you.

Apart from extensive experience and a high success rate, your attorney should have an effective communication system which means they should phone or email you once in a while to keep you updated. In many instances, the client usually has to go around chasing the attorney to find how his case is progressing, since their attorney is not keeping them informed. Therefore, a lawyer who communicates with you on a regular basis is suitable and more professional.

Lack of Communication

When most lawyers are asked about how often they communicate with their clients, they say maybe once or twice a year, and some say that they expect clients to track them down. When you are recovering from an injury and trying to get back on track with your life, you do not want another burden of having to track your attorney down just to find out about the status of your case.

Personal injury cases can take a long time, and the trial may start several months after the deposition. Since your lawyer frequents the courthouse, he will have the information about the status of your case and if there are any changes. However, this information has to be communicated to you, so that you know exactly what is going on with your case. The top complaint of most people in New York is that their attorneys fail to communicate with them on a regular basis or not at all.

Can a Judge Express his Opinion to the Jury about What Your Case is Worth

If your personal injury case goes all the way to trial, whether it is a car accident case, medical malpractice case, or even a wrongful death case, does the judge tell the jury at the end of the trial, how much he believes you are entitled to receive as part of your damages and claims you are making?

The answer is no, the judge will never ever give his opinion to the jury, about what he believes what the jury should do. The judge cannot tell the jury what your case is worth because it is not the judge's function to tell the jury what he believes or insinuate what he thinks the victim should receive. The jury has to determine this on their own by adhering to the facts of the case.