When you have to deal with expenses due to an injury caused by another party, you might be pressured to accept a smaller settlement offer. In some cases, you might be tempted to forgive and forget. Unfortunately, this means that there may not be a settlement offer at all.
While forgiving and forgetting may seem like the noble thing to do, it isn’t. Remember that depending on the extent of the injuries and their impact on your life, it is critical to recovering damages. The cost of treating your injury can add up very quickly. Further, it is not necessarily about the current cost of treating your injury but accounting for lost earnings and life alterations.
Plus, you might spend more time recuperating than you thought. This will significantly affect how you work, interact with others, and live your personal life.
As noted earlier, in some cases, the injury can cause permanent disability or traumatic injury that will require you to spend money on bills and affect your life forever constantly.
Thankfully, you don’t have to go through such a grueling experience without help. The law allows you to get sufficient compensation if someone else’s negligence injures you.
If you need assistance with personal injury matters and need an experienced personal injury attorney, reach out to our team at Gregory Spektor & Associates today. Our NYC personal injury attorneys would understand your personal injury claim matter and address it.
How Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Assist You with Situations Relating to Car Accidents?
A personal injury lawyer at Gregory Spektor & Associates will help you in the following ways:
- Help to guide you through the whole process
- Help you build a solid case
- Provide sound advice
- Help you get a reasonable settlement offer commensurate with the expenses you will likely encounter
Experienced lawyers know better than to accept an initial low settlement offer, especially when it is incommensurate with the degree of injury you suffered. They have access to medical experts, investigators, and other professional specialists.
So they can uncover all the short-term and recurring expenses related to your injury, like:
- hospital bills
- surgery
- physical therapy
They also consider needing special rehabilitation, continuous medication, and lifestyle changes. All of these are important in arguing for a reasonable settlement offer. The goal is to get just compensation that will serve you for the present moment and in the long term.
The fact is that those accident victims have quite a bit to deal with in New York City. These motor vehicle accident victims will have to restrict their regular activities in some cases. In other cases, they will have to alter their lives forever. It is quite necessary to move forward with the help of New York Personal injury lawyers at Gregory Spektor & Associates for full and fair compensation.
What Can You Expect from a Injury Attorney?
A personal injury lawyer should represent all kinds of personal injury claims. However, some firms consider some claims too large or minor to handle.
Here are some of the personal injury cases handled by most personal injury lawyers
- Train accident situations
- Auto and boating accident matters
- Medical Malpractice
- Workplace injury
- Animal attacks
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Personal injury protection
- School bus accident
- Bus accident
- Jet ski accident
- Slip and fall
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Burn Injuries
- Construction accidents
- Product liability
- Negligence claim
- Burns
If you were involved in a car accident or construction site accident, our personal injury law firm is here to help. We are pleased to offer the best personal injury lawyers at Gregory Spektor & Associates. Contact us for legal representation in your medical malpractice lawsuit or other personal injury cases.
Factors That Can Influence a Settlement Offer
There are so many factors that can influence the settlement offer you get in New York. Some apply to all cases, while others are related to specific topics. We will discuss some of the most common factors influencing personal injury claim.
Comparative Personal Negligence
New York is a comparative negligence state. This means the victim of an injury can also be held responsible for the damage. This happens in cases where it is proven that the victim is partially or fully liable for the injury.
The victim’s compensation will be reduced by a percentage proportional to the victim’s contribution to the injury. This applies to all personal injury cases. Insurance companies often use that to get victims to accept little settlement offers.
Permanent Injury or Significant Damage to a Body Part
After the incident has been sorted out, the next important factor is the degree of injury. Settlement offers are usually proportional to the severity of the injury.
Injuries confer permanent disability such as hearing loss, motion loss, or sight loss can warrant very high compensation numbers. The more severe the injury, the larger the settlement offer. The number gets higher if your disability significantly affects those dependent on you.
Medical Injury Uncertainty
An injury that can cause permanent disability in the future can also attract high compensation. This is because of the risk involved in managing the injury.
As such, most personal injury lawyers will fight aggressively for you so you can have something to fall back on if the injury leads to permanent damage.
Psychological Trauma or Scarring/Disfigurement
The mental effect of the accident can be as severe as physical injury. Sometimes, the accident might not impair bodily function. However, you can still get a hefty compensation if the accident caused you psychological trauma.
You can also claim psychological trauma if the injury leaves you scared or disfigured for life. This typically occurs from burns and animal attacks.
Wrongful Death
The death of a loved one is a tragic event that can be made worse when the dead person has dependents. You can sue for wrongful death if any of these factors caused the death of your loved one:
- Medical malpractice
- Drunk driving accident
- Workplace accidents due to negligence, and others
The Right Injury Lawyer
The kind of lawyer arguing for your claim makes a lot of difference. The right lawyer will:
- Thoroughly investigate your claims
- Evaluate the case of your case
- Gather evidence
- Develop a legal strategy
- Advise you on your best options
This is why the next section talks about how you can hire the right personal injury lawyer for your case.
How to Find The Right Attorney For Your Personal Injury Settlement Case
Consider hiring a good lawyer if you:
- were involved in a drunk driving incident,
- suffered from medical malpractice
- lost your loved one due to someone’s negligence
The right lawyer will help you secure an excellent settlement to help you bear the weight of medical bills and future expenses occurring due to your case. This is why choosing the right lawyer for your case is a critical decision.
In New York, there are plenty of lawyers to choose from. Some have large advertising budgets, so you have probably heard of them. However, popularity doesn’t equal excellent service.
On the other hand, you don’t want to work with an inexperienced and unequipped lawyer. That could create a world of further headaches and mental pain.
Understand the Nature of Your Injury Case
If you are involved in an accident and don’t know what legal services you need, you are not alone. The first step is to determine which area of the law your situation falls into.
For instance, if you were injured in an accident that was totally due to the negligence or wrongdoing of the other party (or parties involved), you need a personal injury lawyer. This is because the other party(s) is responsible for your injury.
Even if you have a role in the accident, you are entitled to a settlement if you can prove the other party’s role is greater than yours.
This is not restricted to driving accidents. You also need a personal injury lawyer if you suffer injury from:
- medical malpractice
- construction accidents
- accidents in the workplace
However, suppose you played a huge role or solely contributed to the accident based on misprision, wrongdoing, or negligence. In that case, you need a criminal lawyer or another type of lawyer instead.
Look for a Legitimate, Licensed Lawyer to Handle Your Case
Once you’ve ascertained you need a personal injury lawyer, the next step is to look for one. You should begin your search immediately, as building a personal injury case can take time.
You should focus on reaching out to five to ten lawyers as you start your search. It pays to have options. This way, you can compare them with the following criteria:
- Experience
- Pricing
- Judicial connections
- Available resources
- Review from former clients
- Your comfort level with each lawyer
Your final choice will be based on how the lawyers under consideration fare under the points above.
Make Your Searches Using The NYS Office of Court Administration Website
If you try to use Google to locate an injury lawyer, you might end up with a mixed result of qualified lawyers and unqualified ones.
Since you are looking for a lawyer with the skill set, credentials, and resources, it is best to search through the New York State Office of Court Administration website. There, you will find good lawyers who are bonafide members of the New York State Bar Association.
Additionally, you will be able to access discipline history and experience. This is especially important as you don’t want to deal with any lawyer with a history of discipline history.
On the other hand, you should also check other professional organizations. These organizations often have essential juridical connections and other resources to take on large companies and insurance firms. You need all the help you can get.
Check Out Key Features
When searching for lawyers, don’t be swayed by flashing suits or large billboard advertisements. Large firms with flashy ads often charge high fees and rarely offer personalized attention. Instead, focus on key features.
Some of the key features of a reliable law firm are:
- Firm size
- Firm age
- Experience
- Judicial connections
- Reviews within the legal community
- Network with professionals such as medical expert witnesses
If you are looking for help with a car accident and have suffered serious injuries, reach out to our law firm for a free consultation. Your personal injury matter is of the utmost importance to our team at the Gregory Spektor & Associates law group, and we are here to ensure you obtain the right financial compensation.
Reviews From Former Personal Injury Clients are Important
Reviews from former clients give you an idea of the lawyer you are dealing with. It might not present the full picture, but it tells you what you should expect (and what you shouldn’t).
A lawyer that fights with clients isn’t someone you want on your case. That is why you need to check out past clients’ reviews.
Focus on lawyers whose former clients are happy to recommend. Some former clients’ reviews will give you insights into the lawyer’s negotiation ability and judgment. At this point, you should narrow your list to three to five lawyers.
Meet with The Injury Attorney in Person
After narrowing your list to five or fewer lawyers, it is time for you to arrange a meeting. This first meeting allows you to get an up-close feel of the lawyers on your list and the quality of service you can expect to get. It also allows you to access legal advice on your case and how best to handle it.
You can call the office to schedule a consultation. Some law firms offer free case evaluation forms on their website. You have to input your contact details and necessary details about your case; a legal representative at a diligent firm like Gregory Spektor & Associates will reach out to you.
In some cases, you might not be able to arrange a face-to-face meeting. The appointment might be over the phone. This can benefit you if the office is too far from your location or you can’t agree on a time to meet in person.
Ask Questions
During the physical or phone conversation, you can discuss your case and ask questions. You should ask questions based on the lawyer’s strategies, fees, and if your case is viable. We have discussed some of the critical questions you should ask in the next section.
Rate the Meetings Based on Your Comfort Levels
At this point, the lawyers on your list:
- have good reviews from past clients
- are legitimate and do not have any discipline history
- qualify in key features such as experience and judicial connection
- answered your questions satisfactorily
It is time to rate the lawyers based on how comfortable you were with them. You need a lawyer you can trust and freely discuss with. The success of your personal injury case depends on your lawyer’s skills/experience and how well both of you work together.
Make Your Choice
It is time to review your choices and make your pick. Although you don’t want to spend weeks on this decision, sleeping on the decision might be beneficial.
After a day or two, you should make your decision based on what you have learned about the lawyers on your list.
Sign a Legal Agreement
Once you have made your selection, you should sign a contingency fee agreement with your chosen lawyer. The contract should include the terms of your working relationship and other agreements and fees.
Top Questions To Ask A Lawyer Before Hiring
Choosing a personal injury lawyer is not something you should do in a hurry. One of the steps you should take is arranging a meeting with the lawyer. This can be a physical meeting or phone conversation.
During this meeting, you should ask questions that decide if you should keep the law on your list.
If you don’t know what questions to ask, here are a few that should make your list.
Have You Handled a Case of This Nature?
Experience matters a lot in personal injury cases. That is why you need to ascertain the lawyer’s expertise in dealing with your case’s particular nature. If the lawyer has handled cases like your case, ask follow-up questions like:
- Were you satisfied with the settlement offer?
- Did the case go to trial?
- Are there alternatives to going to trial?
- How long do you spend on each case?
- What do you think of my case? Do I have a chance?
- Do you have time to deal with my case?
What Strategies Do You Have in Mind for My Case?
You should ask the lawyer about the strategies they intend to use for your case and why they choose it. You should also ask for other options and discuss the pros and cons of each of the strategies.
What Are Your Fees?
In most cases, you don’t need to ask as the lawyer will outline this during the meeting. You can ask questions for further clarification.
For instance, if the lawyer asks for a contingency fee, it means your lawyer will get a share of the settlement amount after a successful negotiation or trial.
Make sure you discuss other expenses such as investigation, obtaining records for evidence, and costs for other lawyers and professionals. You should also ask if you are required to pay an advance fee if the case doesn’t go through.
What Role Do I Play in The Negotiations?
Having a lawyer handling your case doesn’t remove you from the equation. There are times when you will be providing background information or evidence.
You might also have to recount the events leading to the accident and other information relevant to your case. Find out how you can help.
Your lawyer will also tell you how often they will update you on the case communication channels. They should also give you a way to contact them if you want updates or have questions or new information.
How Many of Your Cases Ended in a Trial?
There are three kinds of lawyers:
- Those who prefer going to trial
- Those who prefer reasonable settlement offers
- Those who follow the case wherever it leads
You should make your choice based on your personal preference. If you don’t want to go to trial, stay away from lawyers who go to trial for most of their cases. If you are open to trial, look for a lawyer with trial experience. If you are unsure, go with a lawyer with enough trial experience but is willing to negotiate for as long as possible.
The Gregory Spektor & Associates is Here to Provide You With Legal Representation in New York City
Every personal injury case is unique, so it is impossible to predict its end. However, having the right personal injury lawyer is the first step towards a favorable outcome.
In most cases, lawyers only make money when you win the case, so they are motivated to fight hard on your behalf. Therefore, you should focus on having the right lawyer on your side.
If you are in emotional distress due to a car accident in New York City or due to some form of medical malpractice, reach out to a personal injury attorney at the Gregory Spektor & Associates Law firm for a free consultation. Our personal injury attorney team is here to advise you on your personal injury claim.
We have significant experience working with cases related to automobile accidents, understand the nuances of New York law, and are pleased to present you with our experience, knowledge, and expertise.
Gregory Spektor & Associates
1 Cross Island Plaza Suite 203C,
Queens, NY 11422
+1-800-318-8888
