8 Tips To Maximize Your Personal Injury Claim in New York City

The steps you take after an accident could make it easier for you to collect just compensation from the at-fault party — but the wrong steps could hamper your legal action by allowing the insurance company to undermine your claim.

When you hire the Bronx personal injury attorneys at Oresky & Associates, PLLC, we will offer advice and tips to maximize your personal injury claim in New York City. We will also initiate contact with the insurer and the liable party on your behalf so you can focus on your recovery. Call (718) 993-9999 now for a free consultation.

What You Need to Know About Personal Injury Claims Value in New York

How much you should sue for in a personal injury case depends on many different factors, including:

• How serious your injuries are.
• Whether your injuries are temporary or permanent.
• How much money you have spent or lost because of the accident.
• How much money you are likely to spend or lose in the future.
• The amount and quality of evidence available to support your claim.

After your accident, the insurance company will assign an insurance adjuster to investigate. The adjuster is supposed to conduct a fair and honest assessment of your case’s worth based on the factors listed above.

Unfortunately, they often prioritize factors such as:

• How little the insurance company wants to pay.
• The knowledge that their employer has more resources than the average claimant, meaning they can afford to delay your claim until you accept a lower settlement.

You cannot depend on the insurer to offer an appropriate payout. Our New York law firm will help you fight back against the insurer’s tactics and figure out how to get more money from a car accident or other kind of personal injury accident.

How to Get More Money From Your Personal Injury Claim in New York: 8 Tips

The law is often complex and confusing, but there are straightforward actions you can take to protect your rights. Based on our 30-plus years of experience in personal injury law, our legal team recommends the following strategies to increase your settlement value:

1. Seek Immediate Medical Attention

Going to the emergency room or making an appointment with your doctor can prevent further harm and suffering.

It also demonstrates that:

• Your accident and injuries bothered you enough to get help right away.
• The accident is the true cause of your injuries: any gap between the accident and your first appointment could allow the insurer to argue that you were injured by some other event.

Follow all of your doctor’s instructions. This shows you are taking your injuries seriously and are entitled to compensation for all treatments your doctor says are necessary.

2. Document Every Detail of Your Injuries and Damages

If you are able to take cell phone photos and video before leaving the scene, do so. Try to capture your injuries, the general environment, the specific hazard that caused your accident, and, if applicable, damage done to all involved vehicles. Get contact information from the at-fault party and any eyewitnesses so it is easier for us to find and interview them.

Once you start seeking help from professionals like doctors or mechanics, keep hold of the materials (e.g., bills and receipts) they send you. Retain copies of emails and voicemails as well.

3. Hire Our New York Personal Injury Lawyers

You are still recovering from the physical and emotional shock of a personal injury. Instead of trying to face the legal system alone, let Oresky & Associates, PLLC, guide you through the process and warn you about the ways insurance companies often try to undervalue valid claims.

The sooner you contact our personal injury lawyers, the sooner we can determine what damages you are eligible for and figure out how best to pursue that money. Our only goal is to help both documented and undocumented New Yorkers pursue maximum compensation.

4. Identify All Liable Parties

Who owes you compensation after an accident? You have the right to sue anyone whose negligence contributed to your suffering.

Examples of at-fault parties include:

• Drivers of vehicles
• Owners of vehicles, even if they were not the operator of the vehicle
• Trucking companies
• Any employer whose employee is involved in a car accident on company time doing company-related business

No matter how many liable parties there are in your case, and no matter how powerful those parties are, our legal team will identify everyone who played a role in your accident so you can seek compensation from each of them. This allows you to get all of the money you deserve.

5. Be Patient and Ready for Trial

Obtaining just compensation takes patience. We might have to spend an extended time at the negotiating table, showing the insurance company our evidence and working to persuade them to pay what you asked for. Alternatively, we might have to take the at-fault party to trial and persuade a jury to award you the money you are eligible for.

While most cases do not go to trial, you should mentally brace yourself for this possibility. This way, you will be prepared to wait through the often lengthy process of seeking an appropriate award that will truly benefit you and your family.

6. Don’t Settle Too Early: The Risks of Quick Offers

If you accept the insurance company’s first offer, you could end up running out of money while you still have accident-related expenses to pay. The insurer is counting on your being eager for a quick resolution to your case, so they will likely offer far less than you are entitled to in the hopes that they will not have to pay what they really owe you.

When you allow our accident injury attorneys to negotiate for you, we will help you to determine which offers are worth serious consideration.

7. Consider Long-Term and Future Damages

Your settlement should account for more than your present losses. We often hire experts to review our clients’ cases and estimate how much physical, financial, and emotional suffering the accident will continue to cause over the client’s lifetime.

Such damages may include:

• Future pain and suffering
• Loss of earning capacity
• Loss of future job benefits, such as union benefits
• Permanent disability
• Future medical expenses

Once you settle your case, you cannot sue the same liable party again, so you must seek long-term damages now. Obtaining an estimate of future damages allows you to increase your pain and suffering settlement so it more accurately reflects your total losses.

8. Protect Your Case: Don’t Discuss Your Claim on Social Media

The insurer will hunt for any sign that your case is worth less than you say it is. They may even monitor your social media accounts for material they can use against you.

For example:

• If you post a photo of yourself doing physical activity, they could claim you have already recovered from your injuries.
• If you describe the accident in a way that does not exactly match your statement to the insurer or the New York City Police Department, they might say you purposefully hid information.

Our law office encourages you to let us guide you on what to say and to whom.

The Role of Evidence in Maximizing Your Settlement

The evidence you collect in the accident’s immediate aftermath is often crucial to settling a case. Accident scenes can change fast, so the more you can do to preserve what you saw, heard, and experienced at the time, the easier it may be to get compensation.

Additional evidence that our injury attorneys can pursue so you get more money from a car accident settlement includes:

• Interviews with witnesses
• Interviews with the at-fault party or parties
• The at-fault party’s criminal record or history of prior negligence, if applicable
• The official police report

New York Personal Injury Laws You Should Know

State laws like the following may also impact your settlement or jury award:

• CPLR 214(4): This is the statute of limitations that applies to most personal injury lawsuits in New York. It gives you a strict deadline by which to file your case.
• CPLR 1411: This law says you can still recover compensation if you are partly at fault for an accident. However, your share of liability will affect how much compensation you receive.
• VAT 310: Under this law, New York motor vehicle owners must carry insurance so victims like you can recover compensation after an accident caused by the policyholder.

Our attorneys in New York City will explain how these and other laws apply to your case and how you can use them to your advantage to get the most money from car accidents and other dangerous events.

Speak to a New York Personal Injury Attorney Today

Suing for an injury is not easy. Let Oresky & Associates, PLLC, review your situation, assess your damages, and fight hard to maximize your personal injury claim in New York City. Our bilingual law firm charges no upfront fees, so you do not have to worry about language or financial barriers coming between you and a satisfactory resolution to your case.

Call our New York personal injury law firm at (718) 993-9999 to get a free, confidential consultation today. We are available 24/7 and will remain available to you throughout your case.