Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyer in Melville
After a serious crash, life can get complicated fast. You may be trying to keep up with doctor visits, figure out how to cover medical bills, and deal with missed paychecks, all while the insurance company is already asking questions.
A motor vehicle accident lawyer in Melville can handle the legal side of your claim and fight for the compensation you may be entitled to while you focus on your recovery.
At The Harrison Law Group, we help accident victims throughout Long Island deal with what comes next. With more than 30 years of experience, we know these cases and the local community. Our Melville personal injury lawyers provide direct access to attorneys who are prepared to challenge insurance companies from day one.
How Our Motor Vehicle Accident Attorneys in Melville Can Help
At first, you might expect a car accident claim to be fairly simple. Then the insurance company starts questioning what happened, who caused the crash, or how badly you were hurt. There may also be traffic camera footage, witnesses, or other evidence that needs to be found before it disappears.
Working with a motor vehicle accident attorney serving Melville gives you someone who can start answering those questions. We can investigate the accident scene, obtain the police report, speak with witnesses, review medical records, and preserve photos and videos.
We also deal directly with insurance companies. Our law firm will look at the entire accident, including roadway conditions, speeding violations, reckless driving, vehicle maintenance, and any other evidence that may help establish what happened.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Car Accident?
Every auto accident is different, so we don’t put a value on a case without knowing the facts. Serious injuries can affect much more than the medical bills sitting on your kitchen table. They can interfere with your work, your family, and everyday things you never thought twice about before the crash.
Depending on your injuries and circumstances, a personal injury claim or lawsuit may seek compensation for:
- Medical expenses: Compensation may cover qualifying past and future medical care related to the accident.
- Lost wages: A claim may account for income lost when your injuries keep you from working.
- Pain and suffering: Qualifying accident victims may pursue non-economic damages for the physical and personal effects of serious injuries.
- Property damage: Recovery may address damage to your vehicle and other property when legally available.
- Future losses: Brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, internal injuries, and other lasting conditions may create expenses and losses well into the future.
We pursue the maximum compensation supported by the evidence and applicable law. That isn’t always the first settlement an insurance adjuster puts on the table.
New York Law Can Affect Your Motor Vehicle Accident Claim
New York’s no-fault law makes motor vehicle accidents different from many other personal injury cases. Under New York Insurance Law § 5102, “basic economic loss” can include up to $50,000 per person for qualifying medical expenses, lost earnings, and certain other reasonable and necessary expenses.
New York Insurance Law § 5104 also establishes New York’s serious injury threshold. It generally bars recovery of non-economic damages unless an accident victim suffered a qualifying serious injury.
Because fault can directly affect whether and how much an injured person may recover, having a motor vehicle accident law firm serving Melville investigate the evidence early can be especially important.
Evidence Can Make a Difference in a Car Accident Case
Evidence has a way of disappearing. Vehicles get repaired. Witnesses forget details. Surveillance footage can be deleted. We encourage accident victims to get necessary medical care and speak with an attorney as soon as reasonably possible.
The evidence available after a crash won’t look exactly the same in every case. We’ll look for anything that can help us understand what happened and show how the accident has affected you. That may include:
- Police report: This can provide details about the drivers and vehicles involved, witnesses at the scene, and the circumstances surrounding the collision.
- Witness statements: Someone who saw the crash may be able to provide details that aren’t obvious from the accident scene alone.
- Photos and videos: Pictures from the scene can show vehicle damage, injuries, road conditions, and where the vehicles ended up after impact.
- Medical records: These records help document your injuries, the treatment you’ve received, and how your recovery is progressing.
- Electronic evidence: Dash cam recordings, surveillance footage, traffic cameras, and vehicle data can sometimes help piece together what happened.
There is also a deadline for taking legal action. Under CPLR § 214, many New York personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years. That doesn’t mean waiting is a good idea. Exceptions can change the applicable deadline, and evidence may become much harder to track down as time passes.
Why Choose The Harrison Law Group After a Melville Car Accident?
We don’t believe in treating personal injury cases like files moving through an assembly line. We’ll take the time to understand what happened, how your injuries are affecting you, and what you actually need from us.
Personal injury is all we do, and our entire team works together on behalf of our clients. We also have Spanish-speaking staff and understand the needs and frustrations of people living in the local community.
If you’re unhappy with your current attorney, talk to us. We may be able to take over your personal injury case at no additional cost to you. We’ve also successfully handled difficult cases that other firms worked on for months and ultimately dropped.
Talk to a Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyer in Melville
You don’t need to have every document organized before calling us. You don’t need to know whether your injuries satisfy a particular legal definition, either. If you were hurt in a car crash, motorcycle accident, pedestrian accident, bicycle accident, Uber accident, or another collision, we can listen first and explain your options.
When you work with a motor vehicle accident lawyer in Melville, you should know who is handling your case and feel comfortable asking questions. That’s the relationship we work to build with every client, regardless of the size of the claim.
Contact The Harrison Law Group for a free consultation. We’ve recovered more than $450 million for our clients, and we’re ready to put that experience to work pursuing the compensation your case deserves.