Car Accident Lawyers

In case you have a car accident in New York City your search for legal help must start with law firms that specialize in such cases. Start immediately after any emergency medical issues are addressed. Search for phrases like "personal injury", "injury & accident" or "car accident lawyer" in listings found in the phone book or on the Web. You may even jot down contact information in advance for car accident lawyers that you see advertised in public.

The number of motorists who experience car accidents yearly in New York City is 225,000 and this leads to having several lawyers who claim to be car accident experts. New York City has the boroughs of Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan and Brooklyn. When getting legal help, you should ensure that the lawyer helping you knows the area where you got involved in the accident and that the person has practiced law in the area.

Some specific highways and streets in the city if New York, are notorious "black spots". If a lawyer knows about those spots, it can be helpful. The other thing that can be beneficial is if a lawyer knows the people working in the local court system. Therefore, it would be recommended for you to seek the services of a lawyer who practices in the area where your accident took place. For example, if your accident occurred in Brooklyn, getting a lawyer who practices in Brooklyn will be beneficial for the lawyer will have familiarity with the roads, other attorneys and judges in the area.

Almost all of the lawyers who specialize in car accidents have a section that details the settlements and verdicts that they have encountered when solving cases on their websites or on printed material. Usually, lawyers list the financial settlements, which their law firms have won for the victims of car accidents. You may also find client testimonials but it is not possible to speak with their previous clients. You must try your best to find a lawyer whose firm has won such settlements before saying yes to use the legal services offered by that firm. This can help you in verifying whether such settlement claims are genuine.

Car accident lawyers may agree to waive their fee until you collect a settlement. Certain ones may declare that they will charge you nothing at all for their services in the event that they don't succeed to win any compensation for you. You should always ask to validate such promises in writing.

It is necessary for you to start legal action immediately in cases related to car accidents. The kind of claim, which you are filing can affect how much time you have to do so. In New York, people generally have three years in which they can file a claim but other case issues can affect this time.

The amount of money that you can expect your lawyer to take after subtracting the expenses charged for contingency fees or in situations where you had not paid your lawyer in advance is thirty three and a third percent. The lawyers can also deduct fees to recover monetary damages. As an illustration, if the amount you receive as net settlement is two hundred thousand dollars, the lawyer's fees cannot surpass 666,66 dollars. This is just an example because other issues can affect lawyer's fees.

Even if the state of New York were a "No Fault" legal authority area as regards to car accidents, you would still require a lawyer. The No Fault clause represents the idea that your insurance company will pay for the damages or injuries you incur due to an accident based on your policy limits. Your insurance company will compensate you without considering who caused the accident.

You might still need a car accident lawyer if injuries are serious and likely to be permanent or if the accident has led to a death. If the fault is not a clear-cut issue or if a police report is incorrect, you'll need a lawyer. Also there are times when you do not have proper insurance, the limits of your liability insurance are too low or your insurance carrier has involved its own legal help in the case.