Northern New York Lawyers Share Essential Legal Steps to Take After a Motor Vehicle Accident to Protect Your Rights
Motor vehicle accidents are one of the most common causes of personal injuries in the United States and in New York. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are between 6 and 7 million car accidents annually in the United States, resulting in almost 40,000 fatalities and nearly 2.4 million injuries. In New York State alone, statistics reveal there are approximately 1,200 traffic fatalities every year with the fatality rate to be the highest in the North County (12.9). The experienced personal injury lawyers at Carrothers & Clough know that thousands more are seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents involving cars, tractor-trailers, snowmobiles, and other types of vehicles. These statistics underscore the unfortunate reality that most New Yorkers will likely experience or witness a motor vehicle accident at some point in their lives. This means everyone should know the essential legal steps to take after a motor vehicle accident in New York to protect their rights to compensation.
If you or a loved one has been injured in any type of motor vehicle accident, securing experienced legal representation should be a top priority. The attorneys at Carrothers & Clough have over six decades of combined experience representing injury victims throughout New York, including in the North Country, Seaway Valley, Fort Drum, Watertown, Massena, Malone, and other areas in upstate New York. To learn more about your legal rights after an accident, contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your case and hear how we can help protect your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve.
Basic Steps to Take After a Motor Vehicle Accident
Following a motor vehicle accident in northern New York, there are several important steps to take to protect your health and your rights to compensation under the law. Although some of these steps may be intuitive, other steps which can help protect your claim are not. Yet, they are extremely important for your case and can even impact the total amount of compensation that you may be entitled to under the law.
Some of these important steps include the following:
Prioritize Safety and Medical Attention
The moments immediately following an auto accident are crucial for both your health and your legal case. Your first priority must always be safety. If you can move and it is safe to do so, relocate to the shoulder or sidewalk away from traffic. Turn on your hazard lights and set up flares, warning triangles or glowsticks if you have them. Your goal is to be as visible as possible to alert oncoming traffic, as well as first responders, to help them see where you are as they approach.
Once they arrive, even if you feel fine initially, seek medical evaluation from an EMT or paramedic who responds. Follow their directions and do not be a hero; tell them everything that hurts, even if just a minor ache. Adrenaline can mask serious injuries, and conditions like internal bleeding, traumatic brain injuries, or spinal damage may not present immediate symptoms, but could result in permanent and even life-threatening situations later on (especially a brain bleed). If first responders recommend that you get evaluated at a hospital, go and follow all physician orders and treatment.
Document As Much As You Can at the Scene
While waiting for first responders to arrive, if you can, begin gathering crucial evidence of the accident scene. Use your smartphone to photograph or video all vehicles involved from multiple angles, capturing damage, license plates, and their positions on the road. Take wide shots showing the entire accident scene, including traffic signs, signals, road conditions, debris fields, and weather. Photograph any visible injuries, skid marks, debris, and property damage. If safe and able to do so, record the other driver or drivers if their behavior appears to suggest they are drowsy, intoxicated, or under the influence of a drug. This documentation becomes invaluable evidence that cannot be recreated later.
Interact Carefully with Others at the Scene
Exchange basic information with other drivers involved, including names, contact information, insurance details, and vehicle registration numbers. However, limit conversation beyond these necessities. Never admit fault or apologize, as these statements can be misconstrued as admissions of guilt, even when you are simply being polite.
Conversely, if the other driver admits fault, try to record this statement or have witnesses present. Be especially cautious if involved in an accident with a commercial vehicle, as trucking companies often dispatch rapid response teams to accident scenes to protect their interests by minimizing your claims.
Legal Steps to Take After a Northern New York Motor Vehicle Accident
In addition to the basic steps to take after a New York car accident, there are several important legal steps in the process which you will need to initiate soon after an accident. Part of this is because of the auto insurance requirements in your policy, which often require notice of an accident within 30 days. There is also a larger statute of limitations period, or time limit set by New York law, which a victim of a personal injury accident will have to commence an action within such time period in order to recover compensation.
Some of the important legal steps to take after an auto accident in northern New York include the following:
Giving Notice to Your Auto Insurance Carrier
New York operates under a no-fault insurance system, which significantly impacts how accident claims proceed. Under this system, your own insurance company covers your medical expenses and lost wages up to policy limits, regardless of who caused the accident. Basic no-fault benefits include up to $50,000 for medical expenses, 80% of lost wages up to $2,000 per month, and certain other reasonable expenses.
However, this system has important limitations you must understand. To step outside the no-fault system and pursue a claim against the at-fault driver, you must meet the “serious injury” threshold defined by New York Insurance Law. There are several types of injuries that meet this “threshold,” which commonly include fractures or injuries preventing you from performing normal activities for at least 90 days within the first 180 days after the accident.
Understanding whether your injuries qualify is crucial for determining your legal options, because being able to state a serious injury will allow you to recover significantly more compensation for your injuries from the defendant’s insurance carrier.
Gathering Records Evidence
The start of nearly all documentary evidence in a motor vehicle accident is an MV-104 accident report form. This is the law enforcement-generated report outlining the basics of the accident, often with a description and sometimes with a picture/diagram. Sometimes it also indicates which driver or drivers were ticketed, and for what violations.
Equally, if not more important, after a personal injury accident, your medical records will help support your case. This includes the admission and discharge information, as well as any surgical reports, medical procedures (such as cortisone injections), physical therapy records, and other medically-related services you receive.
Relatedly, employment records can also help support a 90/180-day serious injury claim, as well as other claims related to your continuing disability following a motor vehicle accident. Your experienced northern New York car accident lawyer can help you recover these medical records to help build your case.
Contacting a Car Accident Attorney in New York
One of the most important legal steps after a motor vehicle accident in New York is to contact a personal injury lawyer. Although there is no requirement to have a lawyer to resolve your personal injury case, victims and families who forego legal representation often also forego recovering the full amount that their case may be worth. That’s because, even though New York is a no-fault state, once the other party’s insurance carrier gets involved, the stance changes to “serious injury” and is very much about proving liability, causation. and damages. Without an experienced lawyer on your side, you may not know the going rate for your injuries in your locality, as well as what an insurance adjuster would really pay for your claim.
Ask the Attorney at Carrothers & Clough for Help With the Essential Legal Steps to Take After a Motor Vehicle Accident in New York
The decisions you make following a motor vehicle accident can profoundly impact your physical recovery and future recovery in a car insurance accident claim. Understanding your rights under New York law, taking appropriate immediate actions, and securing experienced legal representation are essential steps toward obtaining fair compensation. Whether your accident involved a car, motorcycle, commercial truck, or snowmobile, each type presents unique challenges requiring specialized knowledge and strategic approach.
Do not let insurance companies take advantage of your vulnerable position or inexperience with the legal system. Protect your rights and your future by consulting with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney who can guide you through this difficult time and fight for the compensation you deserve.
The attorneys at Carrothers & Clough have over six decades of combined experience representing victims of injury-causing accidents in New York. To learn more about how they can help you and your family recover compensation following an auto accident in New York, contact them today by dialing (315) 393-2222 or by using the contact us box available here. There is no upfront cost or obligation to sign up either, and their legal fees are only paid from a percentage of what they recover for you – and only after they recover it for you.
