Rochester Car Accident Attorney

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If you have been injured in a car accident, it is important that you speak with an experienced Rochester car accident attorney as soon as possible. Whether the accident was caused by a negligent driver or a defective car part, your injury lawyer can inform you of your rights, explore your options with you, and help you pursue a claim to help you cope with your losses. To get started, just call the Rochester car accident lawyers at King Law. Our attorneys can work with you to create a strong claim aimed at maximizing your compensation.

Some injuries may not show up immediately, so it is important that you see a doctor immediately. Many victims are often left dealing with mounting debt from missing work, ongoing medical treatment, and more. You should not have to pay for the negligence of another. Allow the firm to seek compensation on your behalf. Victims injured in car accidents are eligible to receive compensation for medical bills, diminished earning capacity, rehabilitation expenses, and pain and suffering.

Some of our firm’s recent recoveries include:

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Should I Get a Lawyer For a Car Accident?

Most car accident lawyers in New York work on a contingency basis.  This means that you do not have to pay the attorney you choose to represent you unless you receive a settlement or are awarded compensation. Typically, you will be required to compensate your attorney with a percentage of the settlement you receive. Our contingency agreement is one-third of the recovery, or 33.33% It is also important to keep in mind that some costs are not factored into this percentage and it is not uncommon to compensate your attorney for the additional expenses that routinely occur throughout the course of their legal representation. Some examples include filing fees, expert witnesses, travel, and obtaining specialized services. In addition to these considerations, it is important to keep in mind that attorneys’ fees could fluctuate.

If you are asking yourself this question, chances are, you probably should. After a car accident the best evidence to help you is available. There is no guarantee that the evidence will be available in the future. There are also strict timelines for submitting information after a car accident. Medical payment claim forms are due within 30 days. Attorney representation at this stage in a proceeding is paramount. More often than not, insurance companies often choose to settle to avoid the more extreme cost of ongoing litigation and the potential excessive cost of losing at trial. However, experience is necessary in settlement negotiations to determine what your best course of action should be.With these things in mind acquiring attorney representation for a car accident settlement ensures that:

• Your rights are protected;
• You are not being taken advantage of;
• You receive just compensation for the damages and/or losses you sustained;
• All the options available to you have been fully explored and understood;
• The terms and conditions of the settlement are being negotiated with your best interests in mind.
  

Immediately after a car accident, seek medical treatment. Having medical records and a full body examination can actually help to maximize the value of your claim. Many injuries are also not immediately visible, so getting regular checkups to monitor the progress of your injuries is also crucial for your health and your claim.

In any car accident claim, the extent of actual damages will set the initial recovery value. This means fixes or medical attention with values that can be written down in dollars and cents. The more damage and harm done to you and your vehicle, the greater your recovery value. The total potential of your claim can also increase due to punitive damages – monetary penalty often associated with criminal driving behavior, such as DUI – and nominal damages – financial rewards granted in response to your own emotional trauma experienced. The actual compensation you receive will depend on the severity of your accident.

Liability also plays a major role in how much you can hope to be compensated. The less liable you are for your car accident, the more you should be able to collect from insurance companies or the other driver. Determining liability is a multi-step process that involves any insurance providers individually investigating the details of the collision to try to pinpoint who was doing what at the time of the crash. This can be a challenge in apparently simple cases, such as rear-end accidents, as well as in complex, multi-car pileups.

Photos from a car accident scene can show proof of the cause of the collision, what contributing factors are involved in the crash and the full extent of damages that victims suffered. These pictures can show property and vehicle damage, injuries, and details that can help your claim.

Since memory can be considered unreliable at times, having photographic proof can help remind you of the details which you may have forgotten. During negotiations with insurance providers, your car accident pictures can be used as evidence to substantiate your injuries and the fault of the other party.

In the end, car accident photos can help you develop a successful claim and recover the financial compensation you deserve.

The following are helpful tips on taking car accident photos:

When you are involved in a car accident in Rochester, seeking compensation for your losses should be among your first considerations once you have received the medical care you need. Yet obtaining compensation from an at-fault driver in Rochester can be complicated given that New York is a no-fault state.

Under New York Insurance Law § 5104, in order to be eligible to file a lawsuit against an at-fault driver after a car accident, you must meet the “serious injury” threshold established by New York law. To be clear, simply being able to prove that the other driver was at fault is not sufficient to file a lawsuit against that driver. Rather, in order to be eligible for compensation through a civil lawsuit, you will need to be able to show that you also suffered a “serious injury” as it is defined by New York law in addition to providing evidence of the other driver’s fault. Assuming that you are in fact able to show that your injury meets the “serious injury” threshold, the following information can help you to understand how you might be able to prove that the at-fault driver is liable in various types of common car crashes.

Rear-End Auto Accidents

Rear-end collisions frequently happen because the driver in the rear is negligent. Even if the driver in front stops suddenly, any driver following has a duty to leave sufficient following space as opposed to tailgating or following too closely. While there are some situations in which the driver in front is responsible for a rear-end collision (such as when that driver failed to replace burned-out brake lights, for example, in order to alert any following drivers to braking), a majority of rear-end collisions result in the rear driver being at fault.

Intersection Crashes

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), intersection accidents can happen for a number of different reasons. In some cases, a driver will run a stop sign or a red-light traffic signal. When a motorist fails to stop for a red light or a stop sign, it may be relatively easy to assign liability. However, intersection collisions can also be more complicated. In some cases, more than one motorist will bear responsibility for the collision if, for example, a driver is speeding while going through the intersection when another runs a red light. Or, for instance, a driver might turn left on a green yield without accurately judging the distance of an oncoming vehicle while that oncoming vehicle is speeding.

In situations where more than one motorist is at fault, New York’s comparative fault law can come into play.

Multi-Car Pile Ups

Multi-vehicle pileup accidents often involve more than one driver who is at fault. These kinds of collisions often result in rear-end crashes, yet they tend to involve three or more vehicles, sometimes resulting in a dozen or more cars being involved in the accident. Each of the motorists may have been following too closely, and it can be difficult to determine which drivers bear responsibility for the collision without assistance from a car accident lawyer.

Sideswipe Collisions

Sideswipe accidents, like many of the other types of collisions we have described, can have many different causal factors. For example, a motorist might attempt to change lanes without realizing another vehicle is in her blind spot. Or, for instance, a motorist might fall asleep at the wheel and drift into another lane, causing a sideswipe collision. Your car accident attorney can assess the specific facts of your case and gather evidence to help prove that the other driver was at fault.

Parking Lot Accidents

While parking lot accidents frequently occur at low speeds, they can still be deadly, particularly when a pedestrian is injured. How do parking lot accidents happen? There are many examples. A driver might be driving too quickly through a parking lot to be safe, or a parked motorist might back out of the space without seeing another vehicle or a pedestrian behind the car. Or, for instance, two vehicles might attempt to grab the same parking spot. Since fault can be complicated in these collisions, it is often critical to have a lawyer on your side who can help to prove your version of events.

In many car accidents, your greatest opposition is not the person who struck you but actually your own car insurance provider. In order to keep their own profits high, an insurance adjuster may attempt to give you a small payment under New York car insurance laws, an amount which may be less than you could recover with the help of an accident lawyer. You should not accept any initial settlement offer from any insurance company without first allowing a car accident attorney to review your claim. It could be possible that there are damages you have not considered or calculated, and which require a much larger settlement amount to cover.

If you suspect that your insurance provider is using insurance bad faith tactics, be sure to also let your lawyer know, as this can also be addressed in a personal injury lawsuit. Other insurance problems you may need to address include recovering compensation from a driver who is underinsured or uninsured. Because auto insurance in New York follows a no-fault policy, you will always be eligible to recover compensation for an accident. The question we can help you answer is whether the amount offered is sufficient for your needs.

If you were hurt in a car crash in upstate New York and want to learn more about your options for seeking compensation, you should seek advice from a Rochester car accident attorney as soon as possible. Beyond filing an auto insurance claim through your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, you could be eligible to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver if you have sustained a serious injury and can prove that the other driver is responsible. Our attorneys can walk you through the claims process and protect your rights along the way. We can also help you determine whether or not your injury meets the “serious threshold” requirements. If an insurance company is refusing to settle your claim in a fair manner, we will not hesitate to litigate aggressively on your behalf.

Attorney Robert King is a former prosecutor and seasoned trial attorney who has proven himself time and again in jury trials. Contact King Law to learn more about how we can help.