Jacoby & Meyers, LLP

26 Watchogue Rd Suite 1
Staten Island, NY 10314
(877) 488-1707

Staten Island Personal Injury Attorney

Many situations can cause a victim to suffer an injury because of someone else’s irresponsible behavior. Whether you receive substandard care at Richmond University Medical Center or St. Joseph’s Hospital, crash with a negligent driver on the Staten Island Expressway, or slip and fall on accumulated snow in Arden Heights, you deserve compensation for your losses. No matter how Staten Island residents get hurt, severe injuries can come with many major consequences that are potentially life-changing.

Along with the physical pain and suffering, most victims will face an overwhelming financial burden from medical bills, lost income, and out-of-pocket expenses. Some injuries are so severe that it won’t be possible to make a full recovery, leaving victims with a lower quality of life and permanent health problems. Getting the compensation you deserve is another major challenge, especially if the at-fault party refuses to take responsibility.

Having a knowledgeable Staten Island personal injury lawyer by your side can be the difference between covering your damages and losing out on fair compensation. At Jacoby & Meyers LLP, our team is dedicated to advocating for Staten Island clients who suffered harm due to someone else’s negligence. We have the resources and skills to help you gather evidence, build a solid case and protect your interest throughout the legal process.

Why Choose Us?

Personal Injury Lawyers in Staten Island You Can Trust

At Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, our personal injury lawyers have been fighting for the Staten Island community since 1976. Our professional excellence and compassionate service have helped our team become one of the borough’s largest personal injury law firms.

We pride ourselves on being able to take on even the most complex injury cases while still providing clients with personalized support every step of the way. Many injured Staten Island residents have reached out to Jacoby & Meyers, LLP during their most difficult moments.

Some examples of recent case results our team has been able to secure on behalf of clients include:

  • $8,323,000 for a client who developed cerebral palsy as a result of medical malpractice
  • $2,000,000 for a client who suffered injuries during a trip and fall accident
  • $1,036,000 for a client who suffered a birth injury at a New York City hospital
  • $950,000 for clients whose baby suffered burns in a fire because of a negligent landlord
  • $550,000 for a client who sustained burns as a result of a gas leak
  • $450,000 for a client whose doctor didn’t diagnose a mass that later developed into lung cancer
  • $200,000 for a client injured from a fall caused by a carpenter who performed sub-standard work
  • $175,000 for an elderly client who suffered neglect at a nursing care facility
  • $100,000 after a client suffered injuries from a head-on collision

Don’t believe you’ll need to drive to Brooklyn or Manhattan to find quality legal representation for your personal injury case. We have an office located directly in the heart of Staten Island at 26 Watchogue Rd Suite 1. Our office is in Meiers Corners, just off Victory Boulevard and a few blocks from Fairview Cemetery.

We offer free consultations and evaluations to help you understand your best legal options. We can also meet you in your home, in the hospital, over the phone, or with a virtual consultation.

You Need Money to Recover

Getting the Compensation You Deserve

Staten Island personal injury lawyerGetting hurt due to negligence often leaves victims and their families wondering whether they’ll be able to recover the money they need to get life back on track.

New York State’s personal injury laws provide a legal path to hold individuals and businesses accountable for irresponsible behavior. You can seek compensation for your damages by filing a civil court lawsuit or negotiating with the at-fault party’s liability insurance provider.

While money cannot undo the harm you suffered, fair restitution can ease some of your economic struggles and provide you with the resources you need to recover. Unfortunately, insurance companies are notorious for using unfair tactics to dispute their clients’ liability and offer as little compensation as possible.

The experienced Staten Island personal injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP can help you demonstrate the extent of your injuries, prove the at-fault party’s negligence, and maximize the value of your claim. Our team understands the struggles and financial challenges of suffering a severe injury. That’s why we’re passionate about helping clients on Staten Island and throughout the Tri-State area protect their legal rights.

The damages you can pursue in a personal injury claim include:

  • All current and future medical expenses that resulted from your injuries, like hospital bills, prescription medications, home health aides, physical therapy, and mobility devices.
  • You can claim reimbursement if you lose income because of your injury. In catastrophic cases, such as those involving permanent physical or cognitive disabilities, victims can also file for the financial help they’ll need due to leaving the workforce.
  • In a personal injury claim, you may also include non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. Although challenging to appraise, courts in New York State recognize the significant impact of these emotional and psychological damages.

What Types of Personal Injury Cases Do Jacoby & Meyers, LLP Handle?

The personal injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP understand the burden that getting hurt can cause you and your family. We’re here to help you hold the responsible parties accountable. Our team has experience handling a wide range of situations where negligence causes serious harm, but some personal injury cases are more common than others. The cases we routinely handle for clients throughout Staten Island include:

Motor Vehicle Collisions

According to the New York State Department of Health, traffic accidents are the number one cause of injury-related deaths and the second highest cause of hospitalizations. The Health Department also reports that car accidents lead to three fatalities throughout New York State daily and generate about $1.1 billion in medical expenses yearly. Many accidents are caused by driver negligence, such as speeding, driving under the influence, or violating traffic rules.

Car accidents can cause horrific injuries, such as:

Accidents Involving Injuries or Fatalities Citywide


Source: https://www1.nyc.gov/

Motorcycle Collisions

Cruising on a motorcycle is a great way to get around New York City, including Staten Island. However, many factors place motorcycle enthusiasts at risk of serious injuries in an accident, especially in heavy traffic.

Even if bikers wear helmets and all the proper gear, they don’t have the same protection as motorists in cars and trucks. When drivers break traffic rules, such as not checking their blind spots, they can cause serious motorcycle crashes with potentially deadly consequences.

New York’s Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR) estimates more than 3,400 motorcycle crashes occurred on New York State roads in 2020. These crashes led to 180 fatalities, almost 40 percent higher than in 2019. Nearly 100 motorcycle accidents happen in Staten Island alone yearly, with a higher concentration during the summer months.

Truck Crashes

Truck crashes and collisions with other large vehicles, such as New York City buses, are among the most serious and deadly of all traffic accidents. A heavy truck can generate enormous force during impact, especially when fully loaded with cargo. Semi-tractors can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, compared to less than 4,000 pounds for the average passenger vehicle. This dangerous discrepancy leads to the occupants of smaller vehicles sustaining severe, potentially catastrophic injuries when crashing with a truck.

According to ITSMR, heavy truck accidents cause over 4,000 serious injuries annually on New York State roads. On Staten Island, around 400 people get hurt in truck accidents yearly, with some suffering catastrophic injuries.

Truck-related tragedies can happen for many reasons, including careless truckers that drive too fast for the conditions, fail to respect traffic rules, or get behind the wheel despite being overtired or impaired by substances.

Commercial trucking companies can also be held liable for the systematic problems that create the conditions for a bad accident. These problems include hiring unqualified drivers, not providing adequate training, or ignoring their obligation to inspect their trucks and provide proper maintenance.

Pedestrian Accidents

Whether taking a stroll, going out for a run, or walking from the ferry terminal, pedestrians in Staten Island are at risk of getting hit by a motorist, especially during heavy traffic. Pedestrians are incredibly vulnerable in these situations, and pedestrian accidents have inflicted severe or fatal injuries.

A pedestrian knockdown can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), leading to permanent health challenges that make it very difficult to live a normal life. Victims might also suffer debilitating spinal cord injuries, which rank high among the most expensive and disruptive injuries anyone can suffer and often require years of physical therapy.

Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

Staten Island personal injury attorneyWhen parents or other aging family members can no longer care for themselves, moving them to a trusted nursing home may be considered the best option to keep loved ones safe.

Families expect these facilities to provide high-quality care and treat patients with dignity and respect, but this doesn’t always happen. Nursing homes are notorious for being short-staffed, which can lead to heartbreaking situations of elder neglect or even abuse. These vulnerable seniors’ physical and emotional trauma should never be allowed to happen.

If you suspect a resident in a nursing home, rehab facility, or assisted living facility has suffered neglect, the compassionate nursing home neglect and abuse attorneys at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, will protect your loved one’s legal rights.

Premises Liability Accidents

Under New York Law, Staten Island property owners are legally obligated to maintain their premises in a safe condition for all legal visitors, like tenants, customers, or sidewalk pedestrians. This obligation includes both resolving a dangerous situation within a timely manner and posting adequate warnings about hazards. Owners who neglect their properties can cause a serious or even deadly accident.

Many different types of accidents can fall under the umbrella of premises liability cases, such as:

  • Slip and falls
  • Trip and falls
  • Playground and park accidents
  • Swimming pool accidents
  • Theme park accidents
  • New York City subway or Staten Island Ferry accidents
  • Shopping mall accidents
  • Office building accidents
  • Inadequate security resulting in injury

When property owners fail to provide proper maintenance and their negligence causes injuries, the victim may file a claim against those at-fault, such as individuals, businesses, or government entities.

Workplace Injuries

Accidents in the workplace can be debilitating, especially when they occur on construction sites or in other industries with heavy physical labor. In New York State, you cannot sue your employer for your injuries and must file a no-fault workers’ compensation policy. Unfortunately, the funds provided by these programs may not even begin to cover the losses that result from a severe injury. However, there may be a third party that contributed to the causes of your workplace accident.

Identifying and proving this element of your claim can provide injured workers with a potential source of additional compensation to help them get life back on track. If you suffer a serious injury in the workplace, an experienced State Island attorney can represent your interests, both inside and outside the workers’ compensation system.

Staten Island Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve suffered serious injuries due to another person’s negligence and have questions about your next steps, review the FAQs below or contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, to learn more about handling your specific claim.

Staten Island Personal Injury FAQs

The actions you take following an accident can determine how much compensation you can ultimately recover for your injuries. To help protect yourself, follow the steps below.

Seek medical assistance to treat any injuries sustained.

Seek medical help for any injuries. Do not ignore any injuries, including what you may perceive as relatively minor injuries. In many cases, the adrenaline from the accident can prevent you from immediately noticing the extent of your injuries. Ignoring your injuries could worsen them unintentionally.

Instances like bearing weight on a broken limb, for example, could lead to a longer healing time and a harder road to recovery down the road. Additionally, some injuries are not visible but extremely dangerous, such as a traumatic brain injury or spinal injury. A medical professional can diagnose these injuries immediately after the accident and ensure you receive the necessary treatment.

A professional medical evaluation also records exactly when your injuries likely took place. In some cases, that record can prove essential to your injury claim.

Report the accident.

Be aware of the proper channel for reporting an accident, depending on where the accident occurs. For example, if you suffer an accident on the road, you should report the accident to the New York Police Department. If your accident occurs in a store, you may want to notify store management about the incident.

Reporting the accident helps create an incident report. That incident report then allows you to refer back to any evidence and the narrative collected at the time of the accident.

Collect photographic evidence.

With most people now carrying cell phones wherever they go, collecting evidence may prove relatively simple. You can quickly photograph the accident scene, which will provide an easier look back at exactly what may have caused or contributed to the incident. You will also want to take photos of your injuries.

While at the scene, you may also want to get contact information for any witnesses. Witnesses can help provide an outside perspective on what likely led to the incident.

Get in touch with a personal injury lawyer to preempt and protect your injury claim.

Before you talk to the liable party’s insurance company, take the time to talk to a lawyer and ask questions about your claim. A lawyer can tell you what to expect as you manage your Staten Island injury claim. They will be able to advise what you should and should not say after your accident and other means of protecting your right to compensation.

As the injured party, and the one pursuing medical care, you will most often need to make arrangements to pay for your medical bills, even when someone else caused your injury.

While you may have the right to pursue compensation through a personal injury claim, the party that caused your accident will typically not have to pay your medical bills directly. Your claim may provide you with the funds to cover the medical bills after the fact. You will have to determine your options for covering and managing the often extensive medical bills that can go along with a serious accident.

A Note on Car Accidents: PIP Insurance in New York

If you register a vehicle in New York, you must carry personal injury protection insurance (PIP) in addition to your liability coverage. PIP insurance applies any time the insured suffers an injury in a car accident, regardless of who caused the accident. PIP covers the initial medical costs often associated with a serious accident.

While your PIP insurance may not cover the full cost of treatment for auto accident injuries, it can alleviate much financial strain. Contact your car insurance provider to learn more about your PIP coverage and how it can help you after a serious accident.

Sometimes, you may know that another party committed an act of negligence that led to your injuries. However, in other cases, you may not know who caused your accident or how to determine who bears liability for the incident.

A personal injury lawyer has experience collecting evidence necessary to determine who likely bears liability for your accident. A lawyer will ask several key questions in pursuing the at-fault parties.

A “duty of care” implies that the other party owed a duty or responsibility to keep you safe from potential injury. For example, Staten Island drivers bear a duty of care to others on the road. A property owner might bear a duty of care to anyone who legally visits that property—either public or private.

Violations of the duty of care usually involve some negligence on the part of the liable party. Negligence can be as simple as failing to clean up a spill or as complicated as ignoring the rules of the road while trying to reach a destination.

The other party’s negligence must have caused your accident and damages. You may have slipped and fallen due to a neglected spill or found yourself involved in a serious car accident with a driver who chose to text and drive and cut you off. If the other person’s actions caused or contributed to your damages, they are likely liable.

Sometimes, determining the factors that led to your accident may uncover more than one party bears liability for your Staten Island accident. If you discover that more than one party shares liability for your injuries, you may have the right to file a claim against each one.

You have the right to file a claim when you suffer damages due to the negligent actions of another party. Most often, damages include a serious injury sustained because of an accident that resulted from that party’s negligence. However, you may also claim damages when you suffer property damage in an accident. After a car accident, for example, you can claim compensation for the damage to your vehicle even if you did not sustain any injury in the accident.

In some cases, you may also have the right to claim compensation for emotional distress suffered due to an accident caused by another party’s negligence. You should, however, consult an attorney to determine whether you can claim emotional distress in your particular injury claim.

You do not have the right to file an injury claim when you suffered no damages due to the other party’s negligent actions, even if you were in a very dangerous situation. Suppose, for example, that you narrowly missed a serious car accident with a speeding driver who looked down at their phone. While that driver may face criminal consequences for those dangerous actions, you would not have the right to file a claim against that driver since you avoided damages.

Most of the time, if you suffer any injury due to the negligence of another party, you should contact a lawyer to learn about your rights. Injury claims, even for seemingly minor injuries, can prove extremely complicated. While people can attempt to handle their claims independently, a lawyer is particularly necessary for the following circumstances:

The insurance company tries to dispute liability for the accident.

If you find yourself arguing over who caused or contributed to your accident, you should talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. The insurance company often has an extended legal team fighting to minimize the compensation it has to payout. A lawyer increases the odds of clearly establishing the other party’s negligent actions and contributions to your injuries.

The insurance company denies the extent of your injuries from the accident.

Insurance companies use a variety of strategies to deny the extent of your injuries from the accident and, therefore, the compensation you can reasonably recover. They may claim that your injuries occurred at another time and that you are using the incident to receive help for a preexisting injury. They may also insist that you did not suffer the full injuries you claim, that your injuries do not require the proposed treatment, or did not cause permanent limitations. If you find yourself fighting to prove when your injuries occurred or that you did suffer those injuries, you may need a lawyer to help advocate on your behalf.

The insurance company offers a low initial settlement.

Insurance companies will attempt to offer an initial settlement that does not consider the injured party’s real needs for their injuries. That initial offer might reflect only a small percentage of the medical costs you have faced, much less the costs you will likely face in the future as you recover from your injuries. A lawyer can help you review the offer, compare it to your real losses, and demand the compensation you deserve for your injuries.

You have questions about the claim process.

If you have questions about the claim process, consider talking to a lawyer about your case. A Staten Island personal injury lawyer can guide you through the claim process and help you feel more confident in each step. The insurer will take any advantage they can, but a lawyer can help keep an even playing field.

Personal injury lawyers understand that you may not have the funds available after an accident to handle legal fees up-front. At Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, we start with a free consultation to understand your claim and the steps needed to succeed. We take many of our cases on a contingent fee basis, which means that instead of paying up-front for legal services, our clients pay a percentage of their injury settlement but only if they receive one.

In many cases, working with a lawyer can significantly increase the compensation you can recover in a personal injury claim, even after you pay for your legal expenses.

Insurance companies typically want to avoid going to court. Taking an injury claim to court means increased legal costs, which the insurer likely wants to avoid, if possible. However, in some cases, your lawyer may recommend going to court to maximize the compensation you can recover for your injuries. You have increased odds of going to court if:

  • You have severe injuries that will require substantial compensation
  • The insurance company disputes liability for your claim
  • The insurance company heavily disputes the extent of your injuries

A lawyer can help discuss your odds of having to go to court and provide a better idea of what to expect. If your case goes to court, the personal injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, will prepare to represent you.

If someone else’s negligence injured you in an accident, contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, and let our attorneys fight for you. We have the experience to guide you through the claims process and implement the appropriate strategy to get you the maximum compensation you deserve.

Contact Us

Why Choose Jacoby & Meyers, LLP as your Staten Island Personal Injury Attorneys?

When you decide to take legal action against a business or individual that harmed you with negligent behavior, choosing the right attorney is an essential step. At Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, we know the stakes are incredibly high as you struggle with medical expenses, lost wages, and all the non-economic damages related to your claim, such as having a lower quality of life.

Reach out to a team of experienced personal injury lawyers with the skills to investigate your claim, gather relevant evidence, handle all communications with the at-fault party’s insurance company and help you pursue fair compensation.

We understand the financial stress a severe injury can bring to your life, which is why we handle personal injury cases under a contingency-fee agreement. That means you only pay our legal fees through a percentage of the money we recover on your behalf. Contact us online or call (877) 488-1707 to discuss the details of the event that led to your injury and devise a plan for moving forward.

Client Testimonial

“After my accident I contacted a law firm and explained the situation. They told me about cases they’ve had in the past and the most compensation they got for clients. They made me aware that they were not interested at the time but, I could contact them in the future if anything changed. After my surgery 2 years later my wife suggested I contact an attorney. Since it happened in a different state I contacted an attorney in that state and was told the statute of limitations was up. My wife told me not to give up, that’s when I contacted Jacoby & Meyers. They were able to figure out how to proceed with the case and settled it for 15 times the amount that the original law firm had said might be possible. I highly recommend Jacoby & Meyers, they were professional and kept me informed throughout the entire process.” -Charles D.
★★★★★

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