Legal Hub

Hurt in some sort of non-traditional activity? Don’t just assume that New York accident lawyerscan’t assist you. Motor vehicle accidents and slip-and-fall cases may be the most common form of injuries handled, but they are far from the only ones. Keep reading and learn what a Long Island personal injury attorney can help you with:

Construction Accident Attorney. Construction ain’t easy.  It’s actually extremely dangerous, even with all of the safety standards we have today. If you have been hurt on a construction job, tell it to expert construction accident lawyers.  Once they know the circumstances behind the injury, they can inform you on how best to proceed.

Boat Accident Lawyer. Company fishing trip leave you dripping? Thrown from a jet ski? Any kind of boating accident is a serious one, and if you or your property has been injured you should seek some kind of settlement.

Bike Accident Lawyer. Knocked off your bike after someone hit you? You could end up badly hurt from something like that. Should this occur, consult a lawyer and see what can be done.

Bicycle Accident Lawyer. Just as dangerous as riding a motorcycle, people often discount injuries that can occur on a bicycle. Bicycles cannot keep up with motor vehicles, which makes it more dangerous than riding a motorcycle in the street. If you or a loved one is injured while riding a bicycle, talk about it to a lawyer and find out who is really liable for your injury.

Bus Accident Attorney. Was your bus driver a little too reckless? Were you or any other passengers injured as a result of an accident caused by the bus driver? Or were you driving a vehicle that was struck by a reckless bus driver? This happens so often in today’s world.  Companies repeatedly hire drivers who are not qualified.  They should be held fully accountable for the actions of their employees! Speak to an attorney and let them help you go after the company responsible.

These are just a few of the areas that you should consider getting a New York injury attorney for. Any time you are injured and it is the fault of another you should consult with an attorney.

The law offices of Charles R. Gueli staff some of the greatest New York accident lawyers available. Go to his webpage to get a bike accident lawyer to assist you today.

It’s highly likely we’ll all be involved in some sort of car accident at one point or another in our lives. It could be anything from a minor scratch to a major wreck. There are several steps you should take, no matter how big or small the accident is and no matter if it’s your fault or the other guy’s. Before you call up that New York injury attorney you know, follow these steps:

1.  Check Yourself for Injury - always look to yourself before you go to help any passengers you have with you. Having you bleed to death because you’re too focused on everyone else’s injuries will not help them at all. First see if you’re injuries aren’t life-threatening, then you can assist others. Call the paramedics if anyone is badly hurt. Wait until after you and your passengers have been checked out by a medical doctor before you call a motor vehicle accident lawyer.

2.    Check Your Vehicle for Smoke and Fire – if your vehicle slammed into something in front of you, chances are you’ll notice a fire in the engine right away. If you were rear-ended you may have to get out to determine if smoke or flame is coming out from under the vehicle. Once you’ve learned the status of everyone in the vehicle you should determine if it’s safe for them to stay in the vehicle or if they should be evacuated. If you detect fire or smoke you should get everyone out of the car immediately.  Take special care with anyone suffering from broken bones.

3.  Follow Steps 1 and 2 for Other Parties - after everyone with you has gotten to safety you should check out the other vehicles involved in the accident. Only assist removing them from the vehicle if they are able to give you permission and do so. God forbid they get hurt in the process and they blame you. Then you’ll be the one hearing from their New York accident lawyers. Assist them out of any danger after they’ve given permission or you discover they’re incapacitated.  Then let them know that an ambulance is on the way.

4.    Exchange Insurance Information – without laying the blame for the accident either on yourself, the other party, or anyone else, simply exchange insurance information and phone numbers with the parties involved. This will help speed up the back-end paperwork that has to be done with insurance companies and other parties and will help you get your claim faster. Try and record what they say about the accident if you can, especially if they’re being apologetic. This will be of tremendous help to your Long Island personal injury attorney.

5.  Take Photos if Safe to Do - if you’re physically able and you have the time, get photos of the crash scene.  The more you can get of your vehicle, the other driver’s vehicle, and anything else relevant to the accident, the better. If you or your loved ones have suffered any injuries, try to get pictures of those as well. This will be of tremendous help to both your insurance company and your automobile accident attorney.

Following these steps will make it easier for the police, the paramedics, and your insurance company to sort things out as each respective group arrives on the scene. This will be of great help to your car wreck lawyer if you find you need one.

Charles R. Gueli has the best New York accident lawyers on his staff. Visit his webpage and have a Long Island personal injury attorney assist you today.

Following are several actions you should be careful with following an accident and after you’ve hired New York accident lawyers to represent you in court. Failure to follow these could result in your New York injury attorney having a weaker case, which could result in you losing any potential claims you might have.

1. Contacting the Legal Eagles Before the Medical Saint Bernard is Even There. Come on, how badly could you be hurt if your first thought is to call an attorney before getting medical help? A defense attorney worth his salt is going to jump on this if he discovers that you hired a Long Island personal injury attorney before going to a doctor.

2. Going to a Doctor Other than a Medical Doctor I’m not slamming the use of chiropractors, physical therapists, and other professionals in the healing industry when I say this. They certainly have their place and can definitely help you when you’re in need. But, the gold standard of the medical industry has been - and always will be - the medical doctor. Your lawyer’s job is going to persuade jurors to believe that your injuries are real. Testimony from a medical doctor is persuasive; testimony from your chiropractor is not.

3. Always Take Photographs of the Accident. Remember to take as many pictures as possible of the accident. This should be simple with the way virtually everyone has a camera in their cell phone. If you sustained injuries, take pictures of them as soon as you can and while they heal. The more pictures the better. I have never heard an automobile accident attorney say “I wish I didn’t have so many pictures”. I did hear one insurance company lawyer say “I wish you didn’t have so many pictures”. Jurors are like the rest of humanity: we’re visual creatures, and base our judgments on what we see. Do this with pictures!

4. Record Statements at the Scene of the Accident. If you are injured, ask for an ambulance immediately. If you’ve uninjured, try to talk to the other drivers. However, if the other driver insists on talking to you or is apologetic or appears intoxicated, use your cell phone to record them. If your cell phone has a video camera feature, record the conditions of your respective vehicles. Look to see if the driver was distracted with things such as food and drink, make-up, newspapers, so on so forth. Ask for the cell phone number of the phone they have with them at the scene of the accident. Record when the accident occurred. Never give your health anything but top priority! If you’re injured, get another to gather all of the mentioned information. Once the ambulance arrives, go with them without delay and get to the hospital. Don’t think about hiring a car wreck lawyer until after you’ve been treated.

5. Never Avoid Follow Up Medical Appointments. Remember that the money you receive at the end of a case is dependant on how badly injured you were. The seriousness of injuries you sustained is determined by three factors: first, the pain of the injury itself. Any permanent effects of the injury will be the second factor, and these include such items as scarring, limited range of motion, total dismemberment, and so forth. Economic impact is the third factor, and this includes items such as lost wages or a lost job, damage to the property, etc. The economic damages are easy to calculate. However, without thorough medical records the first two factors will be impossible to determine. If you are claiming severe injury but you don’t bother with follow up appointments with your doctor, the credibility of your claim diminishes.

6. Loose Lips Sink Ships, and Lawsuits Too. Remember that you don’t have to talk to anybody when involved in legal proceedings. Don’t give statements to insurance adjusters or anyone else seeking information on your injury or legal proceedings. They want to undermine your case and get you to settle for a small amount of money. They’ll take down everything you tell them. Just remember that less is more in this case.

7. Exaggerating Your Injury, Claiming an Injury Which Cannot be Proven, or Worse, Claiming an Injury Which Never Happened. This is as bad as it gets. When you claim an injury, you have to show the jury proof it exists. If it can’t be proven, the defense will use this against you the rest of the trial. All of your injuries from then on will be brought into question, even the ones with substantial proof to back them up. Your motor vehicle accident lawyer’s job just became more difficult than before.

The law offices of Charles R. Gueli provide some of the best New York accident lawyers available. Go to their website and get a Long Island personal injury attorney to assist you today.

If you’ve hired a personal injury attorney and are in the midst of seeking damages, you should follow these ten steps.

1. Always get the permission - or better, the presence - of your Long Island personal injury attorney before making any kind of statement concerning your case.

2. Keep copies of any bills you receive that are relevant to your treatment, including any hospital or pharmaceutical bills.

3. If anything comes into your possession that could be used as evidence (Personal effects that were damaged, photographs, etc), notify your attorney.

4. Make sure you take photographs of everything involved in the case, including the scene of the accident, property of yours and the other party’s that was damaged, injuries you sustained, etc. Give these to your New York injury attorney.

5. Keep a detailed, written record of everything that occurs as a result of the accident, such as any treatment or physical therapy received, any illnesses you’ve contracted, or any disabilities you now find yourself suffering from. You’ll be doing your automobile accident attorney a tremendous service.

6. Let your motor vehicle accident lawyer know if you have any change in address, treatment status (Leaving the hospital, undergoing physical therapy, etc), employment status (Able to go back to work, terminated from work, etc), and any other changes.

7. Your attorney can help you determine what sort of report you should make to your insurance company concerning such issues as medical payment coverage, liability coverage, property damage coverage, as well as protection from claims against your own policy by a third party.

8. Please be advised that the representative of the other parties involved in the accident may have you on surveillance.

9. You may be wondering about the length of time it will take for litigation or settlement to end. This is going to depend on whether or not ligitation is required or if you can settle this out of court. 9. Once the attorney has finished his investigation he will do everything in his power to settle your case out of court for the highest amount of money possible. If your injury is very bad your lawyer may recommend holding off on settling until the full extent of your disability is known to everyone.

10. It is advisable to pay all medical bills through any health insurance available to you. In the case of an accident covered by either no-fault insurance or workers’ compensation, please use the no-fault or workers’ compensation coverage available to you.

The law offices of Charles R. Gueli provide some of the best New York accident lawyers available. Go to their website and get a Long Island personal injury attorney to assist you today.