Many top attorneys in New York charge more than $1,000 dollars an hour. But a top personal injury lawyer in New York costs nothing, at least up front. Personal injury attorneys work on a contingent fee basis. Usually depending on how soon the case is resolved and the jurisdiction, the amount of this fee usually varies between 20 and 40 percent.
Additionally, most personal injury victim/plaintiffs do not pay costs upfront. Attorneys usually send letters of protection to medical providers. So, they hold their bills until the case is resolved. Roughly the same thing applies to other professional partners, such as expert witnesses or private investigators.
A partnership with a New York personal injury attorney does not just have immediate financial benefits. There are long term benefits as well, for victims and their families. Insurance companies have teams of lawyers which fight hard for them. Our attorney fights for you, to ensure maximum compensation for your serious injury.
Types of Personal Injury Cases
Some personal injuries strike suddenly and without warning. Others occur slowly over a long period of time. Some common personal injuries include:
- Vehicle Collisions: The cars and trucks people drive today are much safer than the ones people drove in the late twentieth century. Today’s cars and trucks are also bigger and faster. As a result, car crashes still injure or kill millions of Americans every year.
- Falls: Older adults are especially at risk for serious slip and fall injuries. The risk of a fall is higher, and the resulting injuries are often catastrophic. Landowners have a duty to keep premises safe, but they often ignore that duty.
- Dog Bites: These injuries are at the opposite end of the age scale. Child dog bite victims experience severe physical and emotional injuries. Some of these injuries are immediately apparent, and others become a problem later in life. Generally, these wounds get better, but they may never entirely heal.
- Misdiagnosis: Twelve million Americans are misdiagnosed every year, and a third of these incidents causes a serious or fatal injury. Many doctors misdiagnose patients because they do not listen to their patients and do not perform a full battery of diagnostic tests.
- Environmental Poisoning: Doctors misdiagnose patients because they do not care about them. They would rather make money. Companies pollute the environment because they do not care about the people they hurt. The company would rather make money by taking shortcuts.
As outlined below, compensation is available for the serious personal injuries these incidents cause. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages might be available as well, in some extreme cases.
Incidentally, personal injury claims do not “blame” people for these injuries. Legal claims simply hold people responsible for the mistakes they make.
What a New York Personal Injury Lawyer Does
Attorneys fight for victims. Many times in life, extensive preparation is the key to victory in a fight. That’s usually the case in these situations.
Initially, a personal injury attorney evaluates your case, identifying all possible claims and defenses. This evaluation is basically a roadmap, because at that point, the real work is just beginning.
Next, a personal injury attorney collects evidence which supports your claims. In vehicle collisions and many other personal injury claims, this evidence consists of medical bills, witness statements, and the police accident report. More complex claims, like misdiagnosis and environmental pollution claims, often involve expert witness testimony.
Evidence is important because victims must establish liability by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not. Evidence is also important because, in many cases, there is a direct relationship between the amount of proof presented and the amount of compensation jurors award.
In many ways, a personal injury attorney speeds personal injury recovery. For a free consultation with an experienced accident lawyer in New York, contact Marie Napoli.
