After an accident leaves you hurt, you can bring a personal injury claim here in Nassau County, but there are deadlines. Talk to a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can to make sure you know what your rights are and protect them. From a Nassau County Personal Injury Lawyer: Deadlines and Other Issues What's a Statute of Limitations? This is a law that places a time limit on when you can bring a civil action in court. Once that period ends, you typically lose any right to sue for damages, no matter how strong your case might be. In New York, you have three years from the date of the accident itself to bring a claim in most cases of personal injury. The clock starts on the day the event occurs. For medical malpractice, you must begin the action within two years and six months of the act, omission, or failure that caused the harm or from the end of continuous treatment for the same condition. Wrongful-death actions must be filed within two years of the date of death. When the Defendant Is Government When the potential defendant is a city, county, town, village, school district, or similar public entity, you have to give notice of your intent to bring a claim within ninety days. That notice is a condition precedent, which means that if you don't get it done, you can't bring a lawsuit later. After the notice is properly served, the lawsuit itself must be started within one year and ninety days. Exceptions for Minors and Similar Minors and those with a qualifying legal disability at the time they are injured have more time to bring their claim. For as long as a person is legally disqualified from bringing an action (because of being under 18, for example, or because they are disabled), the clock on the statute of limitations is paused. It starts running only when the person becomes legally capable. For a child injured before age eighteen, the three-year period starts on their 18th birthday. For someone in a coma, the clock would begin as soon as they wake up and have the mental capacity to make decisions again. Other Exceptions If a defendant leaves the state to avoid the issue and can't be reached, the clock effectively stops until they can be reached. If it's discovered that the defendant fraudulently concealed their culpability, this can also sometimes extend the time. Exceptions are narrow, however, and it's never wise to assume that you will qualify for one. It's always best to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. If you have been injured, the safest course of action is to get a review of the facts while the records are still fresh. Contact us now at Miller, Montiel & Strano in Garden City, NY for a free consultation on your case. Our firm is one of just 5% across New York to have been named Super Lawyers, and we've been protecting victims here in New York City for over 50 years.
How Can You Recover Compensation After a Construction Site Accident?
After a construction site accident in Long Island, NY, there are things a personal injury attorney can do to help you recover compensation. How a Personal Injury Attorney in Long Island, NY Can Help You Recover Compensation After a Construction Accident Investigating Everything Your attorney will look at the full circumstances of the incident and identify every party whose actions or omissions contributed to the harm you suffered. That way, your lawyer will be able to see whether New York labor law provisions apply and what options there might be for bringing a personal injury claim. Because construction sites often have multiple contractors, subcontractors, property owners, and equipment suppliers involved, it's important to map out the relationships among them so that no potential source of recovery is overlooked.Workers' compensation may already be providing you with some limited medical coverage and partial wage replacement, but your attorney can evaluate whether a separate third-party claim can proceed against other entities besides your direct employer. Negligence by another contractor, a property owner, or a manufacturer of defective equipment can all be causes for bringing a claim, and a third-party claim like that can get you more than workers' comp allows, including full lost earnings and compensation for your pain and suffering. Managing Communications Insurers like to contact victims directly and ask questions or request statements that are designed to get you to make a mistake and say something they can use against you. Your lawyer protects you throughout the process by managing all communications with insurance carriers and opposing counsel. When settlement discussions stall, your attorney can also prepare and file a lawsuit if necessary and represent you in court. Collecting and Preserving Important Evidence Your lawyer will direct the collection and preservation of all evidence that could otherwise disappear once the work resumes. If you contact a lawyer quickly, they can arrange for photographs, measurements, and expert inspections of scaffolding, ladders, and machinery. They'll also collect any witness statements quickly and secure any OSHA investigation reports or citations. Assessing the Full Impact Another important way your attorney maximizes your claim is by calculating the full economic impact of the injury. This requires assembling all your medical records, projecting the cost of any future treatments, and calculating both your past wage loss and any permanent reduction in earning capacity you might suffer due to the injuries. Then they'll develop your non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life through detailed documentation of how the injury has affected you and all the relevant medical evidence. Talk to an Experienced Attorney Today Visit Miller, Montiel & Strano today to set up a free, no-obligation consultation, or call us at 516-363-5003. Partners at our firm handle every matter personally rather than delegating to junior staff, so you can be confident that an experienced attorney will be protecting your right to the full compensation the law allows you. We serve victims across Long Island and throughout New York City.
