May 15, 2020 | By Anthony Ferrante | Read Time: 2 minutes
If you ever get into an auto accident in New York City, you should obtain a copy of your NYPD accident report as soon as possible. Your accident report from the NYPD recounts the events leading to your accident, the aftermath of the crash, and usually identifies the responsible party. Accident reports serve as strong evidence in your claim, especially if you decide to file a lawsuit. If the NYPD responds to your accident, there are three ways you can get your NYPD accident report: in-person, by mail, or online. However, the fastest way to get the police accident report following a car accident in New York City is to go to the precinct who took the report and pick up a copy. It can take up to a week to be available, but it is the easiest and most fool-proof way to get a copy. Getting Your NYPD Accident Report In-Person If you want to pick up your NYPD accident report in-person, you must fill out two copies of a Police Collision Report and drop them off at the precinct where your crash occurred. Keep in mind, NYPD precincts only hold on to accident reports for 30 days after the officer files them. Afterwards, they send the report to the New York State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Getting Your NYPD Accident By Mail To obtain your NYPD accident report by mail, you must send two copies of the Police Collision Report to the precinct where your accident took place. Visit the NYPD’s website to find a list of all NYPD precincts and their addresses. If you can’t get your accident report within 30 days, fill out form MV-198C and send it to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Reports from the DMV cost $25 for one copy. Getting Your NYPD Accident Online Police reports are sometimes available online through the Collision Report Retrieval Portal, but not always. It takes approximately two weeks for them to be uploaded and available. Speak With an Experienced New York Personal Injury Attorney Today If you suffer from injuries in a car accident in New York, give attorney Anthony A. Ferrante a call today. Anthony A. Ferrante, Esq. partners with Levine and Wiss, PLLC, serving clients all over New York City from offices in Brooklyn and Long Island. He dedicates his career to seeking justice for those injured due to the negligence of another and has recovered millions of dollars for his clients. If you have any questions about requesting your NYPD accident report or need a lawyer who can help you establish a stronger claim, give Attorney Anthony A. Ferrante a call at 646-450-4110.
Keep Reading May 15, 2020 | By Anthony Ferrante | Read Time: 4 minutes
How long will my personal injury case take to settle or resolve at trial? This is one of the questions that New York accident lawyers field more than any other. The truth is there really is no one answer, and the best estimate is that a case can last anywhere between 6 months and 6 years. Every case is completely different. It is important to remember that at the center of every claim for personal injuries is a real person who is now forced to live with the effects of those injuries on a daily basis. And a big component of the “value” of this claim comes from how well that person recovers from the injury. So before you can settle any claim, it is in the injured person’s best interest that they have a good handle on their prognosis, which is the likelihood of recovery. Every injury case is completely different, and depending on who and where you must sue, the statute of limitations must be kept in mind. As long as these time limits are followed, a case can be resolved early on in the process, deep in the litigation, or at points along the way. Typical Timeline of a Personal Injury Case While every case differs in how long it takes to settle, the timeline for a personal injury case is usually the same. It generally goes as follows. After an Accident, Seek Medical Treatment After any accident, you must seek medical attention as soon as possible. Even if you do not think you have been harmed, some injuries may not be evident right away. Receiving medical treatment not only helps your wellbeing but also provides evidence to be used for your personal injury case. Consult with a New York Personal Injury Attorney Meeting with an attorney gives you a chance to ask questions and get all of the information you need. This also allows the attorney to learn about your case to provide you with the best legal advice. If your attorney feels you have a strong case, you may proceed with a representation agreement and start working on your case right away. Your Lawyer Prepares and Files Your Personal Injury Lawsuit Your attorney will draft and file a formal complaint and submit it to the court. The defendant will then be served with the paperwork and has a limited amount of time to file an answer to your complaint. Discovery Begins After you file your lawsuit, both parties begin the discovery process. Discovery allows both parties to investigate the other side’s legal claims. The discovery process includes: Interrogatories, Depositions, and Requests for documents. The time discovery takes can vary depending on the type of case and how much information is sought. Mediation Once all discovery has concluded, both parties may attempt to settle. This typically leads to mediation, where both parties meet with a mediator to try to reach an agreeable settlement. The mediator goes back and forth between both parties until you reach a settlement. If both parties agree, the settlement will be put in writing and presented to the court to conclude the case. If you don’t reach an agreement, your case will go to trial. Trial At trial, all of the information gathered during discovery will be presented to a jury. The jury will then deliberate and decide on an award amount. After the trial, your case will be concluded. Cases Resolved in Claim Some cases can be resolved in claim, which is early on in the process and before a lawsuit is started. Even these cases can take at a minimum 6 months up to 1 year or more to settle because, as discussed above, you must have a good idea about the injured person’s recovery. It is often difficult to settle a case in claim because either the insurance carrier will make smaller, nuisance value offers of settlement or the injured person has not yet completed their course of treatment. Cases Settled During Litigation Other cases are settled during litigation. A “litigated” case is one that has gone through the court process: the opening “pleadings,” document discovery, depositions and motion practice, and up to trial. It is not uncommon that an insurance company will refuse to make any reasonable offers of settlement until you’ve gone deep into this process. A case that is litigated will last, on average, between 3-4 years, perhaps longer. Car accident lawsuits usually fit into the 3-4 year window depending on the County where the case is pending. More complicated matters, including any kind of premises matter – a trip and fall or slip and fall accident case – or construction site accidents, can extend longer. But it is also true that each of these types of cases can be resolved within 1-2 years. The length of a case depends on many different factors including: How extensive the injuries are; The amount of the insurance policy; The insurance carrier; The defendant’s attorneys; and The court you are in. For this reason the only answer to this question is that every case is different. Settlement Delays Usually, there are three main reasons why your personal injury settlement may be delayed: Your claim involves a large amount of damages and compensation; There are legal or factual issues with your case; or You have not reached maximum medical improvement. Maximum medical improvement simply means you have improved as much as you’re going to improve from injuries sustained during the incident. Achieving maximum medical improvement is imperative, as it allows your attorney to truly valuate your medical expenses and damages. What Should I Do If My Case Isn’t Receiving Adequate Attention? If you feel your current attorney is not giving your case the attention it deserves, reach out to your attorney and discuss this with them. If you still feel unsure, get a second opinion from a different attorney. Personal Injury in New York? Reach Out to Anthony Ferrante 24/7 for a Free Case Review Free Case Review ...
Keep Reading May 14, 2020 | By Anthony Ferrante | Read Time: 3 minutes
How long do I have to bring a personal injury claim in the state of New York? A statute of limitations puts a time limit on filing a lawsuit. This time clock usually begins to run on the date of the incident for which you are seeking damages for your injuries. This deadline applies to almost all types of personal injury cases, including negligence and intentional torts. If you are involved in an auto collision with a privately owned and operated vehicle in New York, the statute of limitations is three (3) years from the date of the accident. In other words, if your accident occurred on January 1, 2020, you would have until January 1, 2023 to file your lawsuit. Exceptions to the NY Statute of Limitations There are certain exceptions to the typical three-year statute of limitations. These exceptions may delay, pause, or shorten the time limitation imposed for personal injury cases. Legal Disabilities If the injured person looking to file a personal injury lawsuit is a minor under the age of 18 or of unsound mind, they are under a legal disability. In these cases, the three-year time clock will not begin to run until all disabilities are lifted. The clock will then start to run when a minor turns 18 or a person of unsound mind is declared sane. The Discovery Rule Under this rule, the statute of limitations will not begin to run until the injured person has discovered or should have discovered the injury. This can extend the statute of limitations when the injury or harm is not open and obvious. Municipalities This time frame is different when bringing a case against a municipality. A municipality is any local government entity. So, for example, if you are involved in a crash with a City of New York Department of Sanitation truck, a New York City Parks Department pick-up truck, or a New York City Transit Authority bus the statute is different – and shorter. All of these municipal entities are protected by stronger laws that shorten that statute of limitations. In most of these scenarios, you have ninety (90) days from the date of the accident to file a Notice of Claim. Certain Public Authorities, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Long Island Railroad, have different and shorter statutes. After filing a Notice of Claim, you must appear for a hearing and a medical exam, if requested. Only after you pass those hurdles, called “conditions precedent” to bringing a lawsuit, will you be allowed to sue the municipality. These rules hold true not only for the City of New York and New York City Transit Authority, but for all municipal entities inside and outside of the City of New York, as well as Towns and Villages in the surrounding counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester. Speak with an Attorney Right Away to Prevent Missing the Statute of Limitations Deadline If the three-year statute of limitations has run and you file your personal injury lawsuit, the other side, or defendant, will file a “motion to dismiss.” A motion to dismiss is filed when either party believes that the opposing party’s claim is legally invalid. In this case, the defendant would file a motion to dismiss, pointing out to the court that the statute of limitations has run. In most cases, this will end in your case being dismissed, and you will no longer have a chance to seek damages for your injuries. If you have been injured, it is wise to seek legal counsel as soon as possible. The sooner you contact a personal injury attorney, the sooner they can begin working on your case, ensuring your claim is filed timely. Injured in a New York? Reach Out to Anthony Ferrante 24/7 for a Free Case Review Free Case Review
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