Car Accident Legal Questions

If a driver causes an automobile collision that results in bodily injury to another person, the driver is legally responsible for reasonable and necessary medical expenses paid or incurred by the injured person.There are a lot of factors that may affect whether you ought to accept a settlement for less than the amount of expenses you have paid or incurred.  One is whether the other driver is solely at fault.  Another is whether the other driver has insurance and, if so, what are the limits of his insurance policy.  Another is whether the other driver has non-exempt assets which can be seized to satisfy a judgment.  Another is whether you have underinsured coverage to make up the difference between any gap in the other driver's insurance limits and the actual amount you paid or incurred in medical expenses.  Another is whether your healthcare providers are willing to compromise what is owed to them for your medical treatment (i.e. whether they may be willing to accept less than $60,000).  You indicate that your "litigator" has offered you $35,000.  Assuming you have hired a competent lawyer with experience handling automobile accident cases, you should consult your lawyer as to the pros and cons of accepting the offer as he/she will have more detailed knowledge of the facts of your particular case and should be able to explain in more detail to you the facts and legal issues which should affect your decision.... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to your vehicle.  Under New York General Obligations Law § 3-112, parents are responsible for the intentional acts of their children who are over the age of 10 and which result in property damage. New York Consolidated Laws, General Obligations Law - GOB § 3-112 | FindLaw  Parental Responsibility Laws in New York | Nolo Where the property damage was not caused intentionally, however, the parents are not responsible.  That said, a responsible neighbor should offer to pay for the damage, regardless of whether the law compels them to do so. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com ... Read More

There are very few attorneys that will handle cases for (only) property damage caused by a car accident but some will handle it in conjunction with an injury case. Keep in mind that you have 14 days from the date of the accident to seek medical attention, or else your PIP benefits will be forfeited. Many times, accident victims do not feel any pain until a few days or a week later. I have never understood this phenomenon (as it makes no sense to me) but it does happen to many accident victims. ... Read More

If you had insurance at the time of the incident, you should report the matter to your insurance company.  It will investigate the matter, hire an attorney to defend you, and pay any judgment obtained against you up to the limits of your liability insurance.  If you do not have insurance, you will need to hire a private attorney.  You can find many excellent attorneys using the Find a Lawyer tab on the Lawyers.com homepage. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

I would suggest that your daughter and/or her father contact her automobile insurance company/agent and do what is called "tender the defense and indemnity" to them.  Hopefully, the insurance company will assign an insurnce defense attorney to defend them and hopefully settle the case for them.   If the insurance company denies the claim please feel free to reach out to me to discuss.... Read More

Hello, I am sorry to hear about your accident.  I would urge you to consider retaining an attorney whose practice is focused on personal injury cases as mine does.  The other driver's insurance coverage will not cover your medical payments but your policy may pay a limited portion of your medical bills regardless of who is at fault.  Medical payments in some insurance policies require thatyou reimburse your insurance comapny if you later collect from the other driver. If I can help you in any way please feel free to contact me.  ... Read More

To make a claim you have to prove fault.  If the second vehicle was pushed into you, it is unlikley that you can make any claim against them.  You claims are 1: against the at fault party and 2: if the at fault party is uninsured or underinsured for your damages then agaist your own UIM insurance carrier if you have that type of coverage.    You need to reach out to an attorney in your area that handles these type of claims to see what is your best recovery avenue.    I wish you the best of luck . \... Read More

Juries tend to find in favor of the rearendee rather than the rearendor. But there are instances when the driver of the second vehicle immediately is not responsible, and the person whose car was hit is responsible. It all depends on the facts. Who was exercising reasonable care? Who was not? How fast were you driving? How slowly were they driving.  What was the speed limit? Were yur sweeherthn=Were there witnesses? If so, what do they say they observed? Was there a police report? If so, what did the officer conclude was the cause of the collision? Many more questions, but hopefully these will give you a bit to go on for now.... Read More

Hi James, First, when did your accident occur? You need to file a workmans comp claim. These are a special category of auto accidents. You have two different claims here. Your employers workmans comp is responsible for paying and then the other driver's car is also responsible. The time to file a workmans comp claim is much shorter than a traditianal personal injury claim. You absolutely should file a claim. If you don't you will end up waiving any claim against your employer and possibly the other driver. Let's see you start hurting or have issues a year or so down the road, there won't be anything you can do about it. Contact an attorney to assist you asap. ... Read More