Queens Personal Injury Attorney
Home to over two million people, Queens is home to people from all walks of life. The geographical information would tell you that Queens is New York City’s second most populous borough or the most linguistically diverse city in the world.
But wherever people go about their lives, they face everyday tragedies and struggles. From Belle Harbor on the Rockaways to Flushing and Jackson Heights, people go through the motions of their lives, including the injuries and accidents that can upend life.
Jacoby & Meyers, LLP has been there for our clients for decades, with a team of Queens personal injury attorneys and paralegal professionals who fight diligently for the compensation our clients deserve for their accident injuries. If you are injured in Queens, contact us for a free consultation to see how we can work towards setting things right.
Why Jacoby & Meyers LLP
Since 1972, Jacoby & Meyers, LLP has specialized in representing clients in personal injury cases. Our attention to detail and focus on our personal relationships with clients sets us apart from other law firms. With free home visits and meeting with clients in the hospital, we know that our clients are people, not just faceless names and numbers in a ledger. Our 100 percent secure online system allows free access to your case file to ensure transparency as your case progresses.
Unlike many of our competitors, we aren’t afraid to take on big cases, whether big corporations, utility companies, or even the government. We have brought in millions of dollars for our clients over the years. Though there is no guarantee of what money you will recover with each case, with an attorney’s help, awards for damages are significantly higher than the insurance company’s initial offer.
So if you are in a personal injury accident, contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP before accepting any offer. We will provide you with a free claim evaluation today and ensure you receive fair compensation.
Queens Personal Injury Guide
- What Type of Compensation Can I Recover for My Queens Personal Injury?
- Substantial Experience Across Injuries
- What Is a Personal Injury?
- Fighting Insurance Companies
- What Do I Do After an Accident?
- Queens Personal Injury FAQ
- Contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP Today
What Type of Compensation Can I Recover for My Queens Personal Injury?
Many factors determine compensation. Losses from injuries can range from minor to financially crippling. These costs can add up whether you have medical expenses for a broken bone, a concussion from slipping on an icy sidewalk, or whiplash after being rear-ended. You might also have property damage to consider. Pain and suffering resulting from your injuries is difficult to put a price on but important to reach full compensation.
Negligence is often the cause of accident injuries. Dangerous behavior, poorly trained staff, lack of safety equipment, or insufficient signage marking a dangerous area are all examples of potential negligence resulting in injuries at someone else’s expense. Proving negligence is key to recovering compensation.
We can seek the following damages in your injury case:
- Medical costs, such as surgery, hospital stays, ER bills, and ambulance expenses
- Lost wages from time missed at work
- Damages for loss of property
- Expenses due to continued treatment
- Future lost wages due to partial or permanent disability
- Vocational retraining
- Full-time care
- Pain and suffering, whether it is physical or psychological
- Death: cost of burial, providing for your loved ones to support them
Substantial Experience Across Injuries
Whether you are in a car accident on the Van Wyck Expressway, a loved one in a nursing home has been the victim of elder abuse, or you are hurt on the job, Jacoby & Meyers, LLP has experience covering these cases.
We know that from the moment you are hurt, it is a race against time to recover and ensure you file your claim within the statute of limitations for your specific accident. We have secured various successes for our clients from a wide spectrum of personal injury cases.
Here are some examples:
- $8,323,000 settlement for a birth medical malpractice case due to the doctor’s failure to perform a C-section in a timely fashion.
- $4,200,000 settlement for an infant burned due to an unstable stove due to the building owner’s negligence.
- $3,500,000 settlement for a driver who sustained a traumatic brain injury after a collision with a commercial vehicle when the employee fell asleep at the wheel.
- $2,000,000 settlement for a pedestrian who suffered a dislocated knee, elbow, and other complications at a Bronx train station.
- $2,000,000 settlement for a subcontractor who fell 25 feet after a roof collapse and was not provided appropriate safety equipment.
What Is a Personal Injury?
Typically a personal injury is when someone is injured due to no fault of their own and often due to another liable person’s negligence. The injuries resulting from these accidents are typically preventable with adequate training, warning signs, safety equipment, or safe behavior.
Types of Accidents
Here are some types of accidents considered personal injuries:
- Slip and fall accidents: From icy roads and sidewalks in the winter to spills and loose floor surfaces inside businesses, slip and fall accidents account for some very serious injuries. From broken bones to traumatic brain injuries and even death, proprietors must mark off hazardous areas, remediate dangerous conditions, and ensure the safety of their visitors to prevent these sorts of injuries.
- Motor vehicle accidents: Motorcycle accidents, car accidents, truck accidents, and bus accidents are common ways people find themselves injured on the roads. Due to the size, velocity, and mass of the vehicles involved, accidents can lead to serious injuries and may be fatal.
- Pedestrian accidents: Pedestrians almost always lose when it comes to traffic accidents. Whether an impaired or dangerous driver or faulty traffic lights, pedestrians face an uphill battle to regain their health and quality of life following a pedestrian accident.
- Workplace injuries: Whether working construction or driving a forklift in a warehouse, your employer must provide appropriate safety equipment, training, and a safe work environment. Cutting corners or hiring cheap, unskilled labor puts workers at risk for injury, and workers should be compensated for injuries.
- Medical malpractice: When you put your life and health in the hands of a doctor, you should be able to expect them to honor their oaths to do no harm and provide you with treatment to the required standard. However, medical professionals can still injure people they were supposed to help, and doctors and hospitals must be held accountable.
- Swimming pool accidents: Swimming pools can be afternoons of fun on hot summer days, but with insufficient safety equipment, poor lifeguard training, dangerous activities, and many other hazards, a pool can create a significant risk of injury. Drownings, paralysis, and other injuries can become life-changing events for the victim and their family.
- Many others: If you are injured due to someone else’s negligence, speak with an attorney to protect your right to compensation. Recovering from your losses is important in taking back control of your life. No matter the injury, an attorney can help guide you toward the compensation you deserve.
Types of Injuries
Here are some common injuries following an accident:
- Cuts and bruises: Many injuries result in lacerations and hematomas, blood pooling beneath the skin surface. These injuries can result in infection, tissue damage, and surgery but could also indicate a more serious condition.
- Internal bleeding: Bruising might reveal internal bleeding or even damage to soft tissue and organs. A ruptured spleen, collapsed lung, bruised liver, and damage to the bowels can result in permanent injury. A doctor should examine any bruising.
- Concussion and TBI: Concussion happens when a sudden impact can jolt the body enough to cause the brain to strike the skull’s interior. Traumatic Brain Injuries are much more serious versions of this and result from the shearing of arteries and blood vessels carrying oxygen to the brain. The pressure these create on the inside of the skull can quickly cause brain damage, leading to permanent cognitive damage and even death if not addressed.
- Burns: These injuries can result in permanent disfiguration, tissue loss, infection, and even a painful death. Burns result from hot substances such as boiling water, burning fuel, or even steam, but can also come from chemical spills, radiation, or other sources.
- Whiplash: Common in rear-end accidents and slip and fall injuries, whiplash can lead to permanent nerve damage in spinal injuries and even broken bones in the cervical vertebrae. Severe whiplash can affect portions of the central nervous system, resulting in chronic pain, paralysis, and even death.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder: The effects of physical injury and trauma can debilitate mental health. PTSD can cause anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and severely limit the way someone interacts with their environment. It takes a lot of therapy to treat this condition, and often something a victim finds themselves struggling with for their lifetime.
- Wrongful death: When someone’s life is cut short, that tragedy leaves a hole in the lives of their loved ones. The survivors need compensation for their loss, not only because of their emotional attachment and pain and suffering but also because of the future financial support they no longer have. A Queens wrongful death attorney can help you if you suffered the loss of a loved one due to another’s negligence.
Fighting Insurance Companies
Insurance companies rely on facts and formulas rather than emotions. Too often, when they present the victim of a serious injury with a settlement amount, they only offer the bare minimum. Insurance companies are more concerned with their bottom line and saving money than compensating someone for future losses, lost wages, comprehensive medical bills, pain management, or pain and suffering over the long term.
Getting proper compensation can be difficult, especially without an attorney. Insurance companies usually offer a settlement, and you can negotiate if that amount is unacceptable. Negotiating is less formal than a trial, with evidence presented as bills, receipts, and anything reported during the investigation.
You can count on an insurance company showing evidence that downplays their client’s fault to lowball you in a settlement. If negotiations fall through, your lawyer can take your case to court, but this is uncommon, as insurers tend to want to avoid the uncertainty of trial.
Jacoby & Meyers, LLP acts as the voice of our clients throughout the settlement process. We gather evidence and conduct our own investigation to ensure our client’s claim is fully supported. We are not afraid to take the discussion to the next level and pursue a jury trial if necessary. We have experience presenting discovery, selecting expert and lay witnesses, and selecting jury members to fight a case in court if insurers won’t provide fair compensation.
“Great experience with skilled legal individuals that know what they are doing.” -Nesha G.
★★★★★
What Do I Do After an Accident?
After any personal injury accident:
- Admit no fault in the accident: If you or someone else has been hurt, remain calm and admit no fault. Chances are, you are agitated and confused by everything that has happened, and admitting fault might jeopardize your ability to be compensated for injuries that were not your fault.
- See a doctor: Some injuries can be very subtle, but no less deadly if left untreated. Concussions, internal bleeding, and infections from injuries that seemed minor at first can become life-threatening. Seeing a doctor also sets you on the path of documentation, which is important to use later as evidence.
- Document everything: Follow treatment plans, keep receipts, get police reports, and attend physical therapy sessions. All of these are necessary for your treatment and healing but also show that you are diligent in your recovery and establish a paper trail to validate your condition.
Call Jacoby & Meyers, LLP: After an accident, there are many details to remember, deadlines to keep, and legal complications that may arise. Right now, healing and recovery are your priority. Physical and financial strain can create a slew of challenges following your accident. An attorney can go a long way in relieving the stress you encounter during this trying time. We handle all the legal proceedings, and our personal injury clients do not pay any attorney’s fees unless we settle their claims or secure a verdict in their favor.
Queens Personal Injury FAQ
Will I have to go to trial for my Queens personal injury claim?
You might go to trial for your claim, but it really depends on your circumstances. Claims stemming from motor vehicle accidents typically settle out of court long before going to trial. In other cases, there is no way to say for certain either way whether you will need to go to court. Your attorney can review the event that led to your injuries and give you a better idea of what to expect, but you have a greater chance of going to court if your injuries did not occur in a traffic crash.
You should know that litigation is expensive and everyone involved has the motivation to avoid it. However, negotiations do not always go well, and your only choice might be to go to trial. Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution sometimes provide an avenue for resolution without litigation. Yet, you should always be prepared for the possibility.
Should I accept an early settlement offer after suffering injuries from negligence in Queens?
It’s always in your best interest to have a lawyer look over a settlement offer. The majority of personal injury cases involve an insurance company for auto insurance, commercial property insurance, homeowners’ insurance, etc. Insurance companies turn a profit by paying out as little as possible.
When they cannot legally deny a claim, they aggressively try to reduce the amount of a claim. Early settlement offers are predatory offers to entice injured people to sign away their right to seek further compensation. The offer is often tempting but typically far less than what someone deserves for their injuries.
Accepting a settlement offer too soon after suffering injuries creates potential problems. Knowing the full potential value of your claim means you have to know the full scope of your injuries. If you have permanent damage or a disability, this will certainly impact the value of your claim. Early offers typically come before doctors can give a long-term prognosis. When you accept a settlement offer, you also give up your right to seek additional compensation for the same injuries. This can leave you without money to pay for additional medical bills, especially if you cannot return to work.
How long will it take to resolve my Queens personal injury claim?
Many things impact the length of time you will have to wait to settle or litigate your personal injury claim. You might settle in a few months, or you might have to wait a few years after going through lengthy litigation.
Some factors that often affect the timelines of a personal injury claim include:
- Disputes over liability. Some situations are clear that the other party is liable for your injuries. However, when the other side puts their feet down and refuses to acknowledge fault, negotiations take longer and sometimes fail.
- Multiple parties. If your injuries occurred during an event that involved multiple people, it could lengthen the timeline of your claim. More parties mean more paperwork and also typically mean multiple insurance companies trying to pass blame.
- Availability of witnesses. Your attorney needs to take statements from eyewitnesses and might also call upon expert witnesses to support your claim. Coordinating schedules can be difficult and force negotiations or the trial to take longer than it would otherwise.
Your Queens personal injury attorney can evaluate the circumstances of your injuries and identify any issues or challenges that could lengthen the time it takes to resolve your claim.
How can a Queens personal injury attorney help me?
Sometimes people suffer injuries and forego hiring an attorney because they do not have a strong understanding of what a lawyer can do. Lawyers draft legal documents and file paperwork with the court, but this doesn’t even scrape the surface of how an attorney can help you with your personal injury claim.
Four benefits of hiring legal counsel include:
- Investigating your claim. Attorneys need to diligently investigate the event or events that led to their client’s injuries to uncover facts to support a claim. This entails different things depending on your circumstances but could include gathering police reports, requesting cell phone records, requesting logbooks, or requesting criminal history. Lawyers also take witness statements and consult with experts when applicable.
- Communicating with the other side. Insurance companies sometimes try to elicit statements from injured people to twist and use to devalue a claim. Letting a lawyer handle all communication protects clients from saying something that might adversely impact their case. Additionally, when clients do not have to worry about appointments and phone calls with the other side, they have more time and energy to focus on recovery.
- Negotiating with the other side. Personal injury lawyers have extensive experience negotiating with insurance companies and anticipating their questionable tactics. In most cases, a personal injury lawyer can negotiate a higher settlement agreement for their clients than what they could get for themselves. This often occurs because insurance companies take negotiations more seriously when the claimant has legal representation.
- Litigating your case. Sometimes insurance companies deny claims, or they are not willing to offer fair compensation for injuries. Of course, the goal is to reach an agreement before going to trial, but sometimes litigation is the only option. Personal injury attorneys fight for their clients in the courtroom to obtain the best financial outcome possible, even if that means advocating for their clients in the courtroom.
Contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP Today
Jacoby & Meyers, LLP has been fighting personal injury cases like yours for over 50 years. We have a nationwide reputation for getting our clients the settlements they need to regain their lives. We offer knowledge, experience, empathy, and affordable legal representation. We handle a wide variety of cases, not only in Queens, but New York, New Jersey, and Boston. Our team will do everything in our power to fight for you and recover the compensation you deserve to move forward after your injury. Personal injuries can be devastating to you, your family, and your future. Do not try to face this daunting process alone. Contact us today or call (212) 445-7000 for a free consultation and get started on putting the pieces of your life back together.
Client Testimonials
“If it were not for the integral legal team of experts at Jacoby & Meyers I would not be where I am today with my recovery. I highly recommend hiring Jacoby & Meyers should you ever find yourself injured in an accident, and an individual or company needs to be held accountable for their negligence.” – C.J.
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