Smithtown residents and visitors value community and a peaceful way of life. However, even small Long Island towns have hazards, and unexpected injuries happen. Some injuries are avoidable, such as when someone’s carelessness causes an accident or injury.
If you are injured due to another person’s carelessness on Long Island, you are entitled to seek compensation from the person who caused you harm. Fortunately, you do not have to figure out the legal compensation process on your own. A Smithtown personal injury lawyer at TonaLaw can help you understand your rights, including your potential right to compensation. We have decades of experience representing Long Island injury victims. Contact our office today.
Practice Areas Our Smithtown Personal Injury Law Firm Handles
When you turn to TonaLaw, you’ll find a law office with extensive experience that we use to benefit our clients. The TonaLaw attorneys have represented clients on Long Island in many different types of personal injury matters, ranging from insurance claims to complex civil litigation. Some of the most common issues we handle include:
- Motorcycle accidents,
- Car and motor vehicle accidents,
- Rideshare accidents,
- Premises liability issues,
- Poor security issues,
- Construction accidents,
- Pedestrian and bicyclist accidents,
- Slip-and-fall accidents,
- Boating accidents,
- Defective product injuries,
- Bus and truck accidents,
- Accidents at bars and nightclubs, and
- Wrongful death claims.
Even if you don’t see your personal injury issue listed above, we may still be able to represent you on your claim. Contact a Smithtown personal injury lawyer from our office to see if we can help you.
What Can a Smithtown Personal Injury Attorney Do for Me?
You may believe that handling your personal injury claim on your own is easy. However, New York law and procedure can be very complicated. Courts require you to follow strict rules. If you don’t, you risk having to re-file your claims, which wastes time and money or you can lose your case outright based on not following certain rules. If you miss deadlines, a judge can dismiss your case entirely. Added to this stress is the fact that insurance companies employ a team of attorneys to fight each claim, including yours. Navigating the stresses and complexities of a claim or lawsuit can be overwhelming, especially if you are still recovering from your injuries.
A knowledgeable and adept Smithtown personal injury attorney can take this burden off your shoulders. An attorney from our office typically takes the following actions for clients:
- Collects and gathers evidence;
- Investigates the accident and injury;
- Interviews witnesses;
- Negotiates with insurance companies or the at-fault party;
- Assesses the potential compensation amount;
- Handles all claim and court filings; and
- Litigates the case in court, if necessary.
An experienced attorney knows the law and can explain your potential remedies and options before you take unnecessary action or settle for less than you deserve. The attorneys at TonaLaw, for example, will apply the relevant law to your case to fight for all of your available remedies.
Who Is Liable in a Personal Injury Claim?
An injured person should not have to bear the financial burden of their injury if someone else is liable for that injury. An injury victim can obtain financial compensation if they can prove liability. Generally, most personal injury claims use the legal negligence standard to prove liability. To prove negligence, you must demonstrate the following four elements:
- Duty of care. People owe others a duty to act reasonably safely under the circumstances. This generally means they should avoid causing foreseeable harm, and should follow the law.
- Breach of duty. A person breaches their duty of care when they fail in their duty to avoid causing harm to others. For example, if they act carelessly, they breach this duty.
- Causation. The breach of duty must cause the accident or injury.
- Damages. There must be some resulting harm, like an injury or property damage. If there’s no damage, there’s no case.
Negligence and its elements are complex legal concepts. A Smithtown personal injury lawyer can better explain these to you and explain in detail how negligence applies to your situation.
What is Contributory Negligence?
Sometimes the injured party is partly to blame for an accident. Fortunately, New York law doesn’t prevent injury victims from obtaining compensation if they played a role in their accident or injury. However, the court will reduce the amount of compensation based on the percentage of fault.
For example, if a court finds that you are 40% at fault for the accident, and the total compensation you can recover is $100,000. The court will reduce your compensation by 40%, and you’ll receive $60,000.
How Much Is My Personal Injury Claim Worth?
Every personal injury claim is different. Thus, it is difficult to determine the value of your personal injury claim without fully understanding the specifics of your claim. A Smithtown personal injury attorney can examine your case and give you an estimate of your potential compensation.
Generally, the value of a personal injury claim depends on several factors, including:
- Injury severity—a person with a fractured arm will generally have fewer medical bills and missed wages than a person with a spinal fracture;
- Ability to prove the claim—a case with lots of evidence has a higher likelihood of success and this will settle for more than a similar case with little evidence;
- Insurance limitations—some insurance claims have limits that can make any payout amount larger than the limit difficult to obtain;
- Absence of insurance—if the responsible party doesn’t have insurance, you may have to collect against them individually, which can be difficult if they have no assets; and
- The injured party’s involvement—if the injured person is partly to blame for the accident or injury, their compensation will be reduced.
Many other factors impact the value of your potential claim. Speak with a Smithtown personal injury attorney from our office today to get an accurate appraisal of your case’s value and potential settlement amount.
Contact TonaLaw’s Smithtown Personal Injury Attorneys for Help
TonaLaw has represented Long Island’s personal injury victims in many cases for over 20 years. Our advocates are compassionate towards clients and aggressive towards opposing parties. We also pride ourselves on our accessibility. Our team will promptly return phone calls and emails from our clients to keep them updated about their claims. Most importantly, we’re client-centered, meaning we treat our clients as individuals and strategize according to each client’s needs. The over 300 five-star reviews from clients show that we take our client satisfaction seriously. Contact a Smithtown personal injury attorney from our office to experience the TonaLaw difference.
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