Bronx Personal Injury Lawyer
Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond Your Bronx Injury Accident Law Firm
A personal injury, especially a severe one, has an enormous impact on many aspects of your life. The injury and its aftermath and consequences can affect you physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. It’s hard to say which effects are the hardest to bear, but the financial impact can everything feel so much worse.
Financially, you will likely have spent some significant sums of money getting treatment for yourself and any injured family members. More than that, you may well have had major downtime from work, so that income is as adversely affected as outgo. Finally, the accident may have left you in a physical or mental condition such that you can no longer engage in the kind of employment that you did previously.
Other physical after-effects can also limit your ability to work, think, and even enjoy life and your relationships with others. These lead to the emotional aspects of your injury. You may have scarring or other injuries that leave you reluctant to engage with others. You may have post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders.
All in all, a severe personal injury can utterly destroy the life you had and leave you seeking compensation for those changes.
A Skilled Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You
If you or a loved one has experienced such an accident, recovering compensation for your injuries often begins by contacting and retaining an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer.
Ivan M. Diamond, a life-long New Yorker, was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Manhattan, and today works in the Bronx. Ivan attended New York City public schools, graduating from Stuyvesant High and Hunter College. Attending Brooklyn Law School at night while working and supporting his family, Ivan was awarded a “best in class” title in the subject of Torts, which most of us recognize more easily by its other name, personal injury law.
Since 1995, Mr. Diamond has assisted victims of negligence, malpractice, and wrongful death in obtaining valuable cash compensation for their damages and injuries and the resulting pain and suffering. He concentrates his practice solely on personal injury, negligence, wrongful death, and medical malpractice law.
By focusing on these claims, he can bring decades of concentrated experience and knowledge to his clients’ cases. Mr. Diamond’s tenacity, courtroom talents, and brand of New York street smarts work together to bring his clients the best possible result in their situations.
Mr. Diamond has litigated numerous successful trials, negotiated outstanding settlements, and even won appeals, some of which legal journals and other publications published. Bringing this experience and respect to the table can help your personal injury case.
Where Mr. Diamond Can Help
Licensed as an attorney in the State of New York, Mr. Diamond handles cases in the five New York boroughs and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland Counties. Mr. Diamond is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York County Lawyers Association. He is an avid reader of history, particularly the history of New York City, and is married with two children. He loves to play and watch basketball.
Mr. Diamond also serves clients in Spanish. Desde la admisión inicial hasta el juicio, el abogado Ivan. Diamond te representa y lucha personalmente por tus intereses. Los resultados hablan por sí mismos. Es por eso que somos una “pequeña empresa con grandes resultados.”
Your Injury Risks in the Bronx
The late 20th and early 21st centuries have been exciting times for the Bronx, with a growing, ethnically mixed population and the revitalization of its thriving cultural institutions. This new growth has contributed to a matching increase in the rate of accidents and other problems arising out of living in a big city. In other words, living in the Bronx presents some risks, and we will discuss some of them below.
The Bronx has a lot of traffic, largely representing commutes into and out of Manhattan. This heavy traffic concentrated during certain times of the day and on certain predictable routes makes for greatly increased accident risks.
According to the NYPD, certain Bronx roadways are particularly dangerous for drivers, walkers, and bikers.
Some of these, which have had eight or more accidents in a single month, are:
- Major Deegan Expressway and West Fordham Road
- Bruckner Boulevard and Tiffany Street
- Bruckner Boulevard and East 144th Street
- 3rd Avenue and East 163rd Street
- Cross Bronx Expressway and White Plains Road
- Bellamy Loop and Coop City Boulevard
- Bronx Boulevard and East 233rd Street
- Mosholu Parkway and Southern Boulevard
- E 168th Street and College Avenue
- Field Place and Creston Avenue
- E 196th Street and Valentine Avenue
- Goble Place and Inwood Avenue
- East Mosholu Parkway North and Hull Avenue
Drivers who can avoid these roads or intersections during their commutes may significantly reduce their risks of a collision.
Commuters are not the only ones in the Bronx at risk on the borough’s roads. Pedestrians face tremendous risks in some areas with White Plains Road between East Tremont and Birchall, where there are more deaths and injuries than on 90 percent of other Bronx roads.
Despite many recent modifications to deal with this problem, the road remains highly dangerous, and drivers should be careful when using it. Also to be avoided are the high accident occurrence location of Grand Concourse Street and Broadway in the Bronx.
Finally, bike riders also have to take care. All of the above areas are dangerous for them, but some locations are more dangerous than others for bike riders.
These include:
- E 149th Street and Morris Avenue
- E 161st Street and Morris Avenue
- Brook Avenue and E 138th Street
- 3rd Avenue and 149th Street
A Typical Bronx Accident Month
In December 2021, a fairly typical month, the Bronx experienced over 1,500 motor vehicle collisions involving almost 3,000 motorists. Seven people died in Bronx car accidents that month, and more than 700 were injured. Also involved were 33 cyclists and 156 pedestrians. By far, the highest contributing factor was driver inattention, followed by failure to yield the right of way.
Common Bronx Accidents
Nearly 10 percent of New York’s auto accidents each year happen in the Bronx. Most of them are, like accidents everywhere, prevented accidents resulting from one or more driver’s negligence. Some of the more common auto accidents in the Bronx are:
Head-On Collisions
Although head-on collisions occur, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more often in rural than urban environments, they still do happen in the Bronx. Because there are many major roads and one-way streets in the Bronx, drivers don’t lack opportunities to run head-on into one another by crossing the centerline or going the wrong way down a one-way street. Speed is often a factor in these accidents and can increase the potential for severe damage in these cases.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions are common anywhere there is traffic congestion and, as a populous city, the Bronx has its share of congestion. The NHTSA says that one in three accidents is a rear-end collision; that number is probably higher in the Bronx.
T-Bone or Broadside Collisions
T-Bone collisions happen when one car hits another, most often on the passenger side, at a 90-degree angle. These highly dangerous accidents often cause catastrophic injuries. They usually happen in intersections when one vehicle has either failed to yield or ignored a traffic signal or sign. The passenger side door doesn’t usually have much protective equipment built-in, and when struck by an oncoming vehicle, often at some speed, the passenger can be severely injured.
Multi-Vehicle Collisions
Usually, a chain reaction crash begins with a rear-end collision. These accidents can involve dozens or hundreds of vehicles and lead to a great deal of ugly litigation.
Even under New York’s no-fault insurance laws, most collisions with significant damage or injuries can result in litigation. Ivan Diamond’s experience and knowledge with these accidents can help you better resolve your claim.
What to Do if a Bronx Accident Injured You
If you or a loved one is in an accident in the Bronx, there are steps you should take to protect yourself and any potential recovery down the road. You can do some of these things at the scene, if possible, and do others later.
Since you probably aren’t reading this while at an accident scene, those items will remind you to do them as soon as possible.
- Get medical attention and follow any treatment plan you receive. Ignoring medical advice or, worse, not getting any can indicate that the accident didn’t injure you.
- File a police report if required and get a copy.
- File a report with your insurance company. If your insurance company asks for a recorded statement, you have to do it. If any other insurance company asks you to do a recorded statement, you should decline to do so. An attorney can help you tremendously in dealing with the other insurance companies and their lawyers.
- Find out if you meet the conditions to sue. Again, an attorney can answer this question because New York’s no-fault insurance law does allow suit under certain severe injury conditions. If you meet any of those conditions, a lawyer can work with you to file a lawsuit.
- It will likely be in the police accident report if you didn’t get it at the scene. Get contact insurance information for all other parties to the accident.
- If you took any pictures of the scene or have dashcam footage, keep them. Give them to your attorney when you hire one. If you didn’t take any pictures and it’s still very near the time of the accident, you may want to take some now.
- Retain an experienced and knowledgeable car accident attorney at The Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond to take over this process from you when you are neither physically nor emotionally capable of handling it as well as you should.
Can I Afford a Bronx Personal Injury Lawyer
The short answer to this question is yes. Our Bronx personal injury lawyer handles cases on a contingency fee basis. This means we won’t charge an hourly rate.
Rather, after evaluating the likelihood of a successful outcome for your case, The Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond will take the case under an agreement that you will only pay if the case ends in your favor by settlement or litigation.
The agreement, which must be in writing per American Bar Association, will lay out the terms of your payment and how to pay expenses and other costs. If Mr. Diamond does not obtain a successful outcome for you, you will not pay any attorney’s fees.
Contact Ivan M. Diamond Today
A personal injury can be a tragic or catastrophic change in your life. Your injuries and damages mean that extraordinary bills and costs hit you when you are at your physical and emotional lowest. Further, they may seem endless since you have little idea what your case may ultimately cost.
Meanwhile, you are probably also experiencing lost or reduced wages with a limited ability to work resulting from your injuries. Finally, you are probably also dealing with insurance company lawyers and adjusters offering you settlements that you don’t understand but think are probably far less than you expect.
Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by this kind of situation. Contact Ivan M. Diamond today or call (718) 588-2000 for a no-cost initial consultation and case evaluation. Mr. Diamond even makes hospital and home visits (at your request only) and is available on evenings and weekends.
A Track Record of Success Aiding Accident Victims
Not all injury and accident attorneys are created equal. When looking for the right injury and accident attorney in the Bronx, take a look at my proven track record of success representing accident victims. Of course, my past results are no guarantee of recovery in any future representation, but I am committed to working my hardest for every personal injury client I represent. To demonstrate that commitment, I am available for appointments on evenings and weekends. I am even available for home and hospital visits if necessary.
Common Types of Injuries I Handle
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 30.8 million hospital emergency department visits for injuries and 146,571 deaths due to unintentional injuries in a single recent year in the United States. The majority of these injuries were from slips and falls, motor vehicle accidents, truck accidents, and unintentional poisoning.
When potential clients call our office, they are often struggling with traumatic physical injuries of varying types and severity.
I help people with many different injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injury – Any direct head trauma or violent jolt of the head can cause damage to the brain tissue. TBIs are always serious injuries that need immediate medical attention, even if the symptoms do not seem that severe right away. What appears to be a milder TBI can worsen and result in long-term effects and impairments, which can impact a victim’s cognitive, behavioral, and physical abilities.
- Spinal cord injury – With your brain, your spinal cord is one of the most critical parts of your body that facilitates bodily functioning. When your spinal cord suffers trauma, it can result in paralysis below the point of the injury. In instances of complete spinal cord injuries, paralysis is permanent, and it will completely change your life, often requiring long-term care and assistance.
- Burns – Burns are extremely painful injuries, and severe burns can be catastrophic. Third-degree burns damage all layers of your skin and possibly tissue below the skin. Victims often need to spend weeks in burn centers for infection preventing and healing. They likely need multiple skin grafts and other painful procedures. Also, even with proper treatment, burns can leave victims with permanent scars, disfigurement, or amputations.
- Broken bones – Often, people consider broken bones to be relatively minor injuries, but this is a mistake. Fractures always require immediate medical treatment and, without it, they can heal improperly and cause permanent impairments and chronic pain. Many broken bones, such as compound fractures, require emergency surgery, and multiple procedures over time. If an older adult sustains a broken hip, they often cannot return home and need to move to an assisted living facility.
- Amputations – Amputations are highly traumatic injuries, both physically and mentally. Amputations can happen in the course of an accident or might be surgically necessary due to crush injuries, burns, and more. Losing a body part is permanent and prevents many people from living life as they once did. Prosthetics can be costly and need replacement regularly.
- Internal injuries – These injuries are not visible, but they are often life-threatening and some of the most serious types of injuries. Internal organ damage or hemorrhaging needs immediate trauma care, including surgery, time in the intensive care unit, and more. Recovery time from these injuries can take a long time.
- Soft tissue damage – Sprains, strains, and tears need ongoing treatment and possible surgery to heal. These injuries cause pain and mobility issues, which can prevent you from working or participating in your everyday activities as usual.
When you suffer injuries because someone else was negligent, there are two options available to you. You can try to work with an insurance company to settle a claim yourself or work with a Bronx personal injury lawyer who can negotiate for you.
Insurance companies almost always attempt to settle claims for less than what you deserve. However, once you have the right legal representation, they know they cannot use their usual tactics to limit your settlement. Attorney Ivan Diamond knows how to stand up to insurers to get our clients the full amount they need to cover their losses and move forward following an injury.
Personal Injury Lawsuits
When you are injured because someone else was negligent, there are two options available to you. The first is working through an insurance company to settle a claim or to work with an Bronx personal injury lawyer. Insurance companies nearly always attempt to settle claims for less than what you may obtain by filing a personal injury suit.
No Fee Unless Successful
Common Types of Accidents That Cause My Clients’ Injuries
Injuries can result from a wide variety of life events, many of which are wholly unexpected. An accident can happen in an instant and have lasting physical, mental, and financial effects.
Many types of accidents result in serious injuries and lead to insurance claims or lawsuits. While we handle many traffic cases, that is far from all we do, 0ur firm frequently represents clients injured:
- Employer negligence or misconduct
- Nursing home neglect or abuse
- Slip and fall accidents
- Subway injuries
- Accidents from defective products
- Dog bites
Below is some additional information about complex injury cases we take on.
Traffic Accidents
If you have ever driven a vehicle in the Bronx or anywhere in New York City, you know about the risks of accidents. With traffic, aggressive drivers, drivers who are unsure of where they are going, and more, there is no surprise that these crashes happen regularly.
Following a Bronx car Accident, always get the medical help you need, and then call injury and accident attorney Ivan Diamond. The aftermath of a car accident can be just as stressful as traffic in the Bronx, but we are here to help you take the right course of action to hold others responsible for their negligence and your losses.
We handle all types of car accident cases, including:
- Rear-end collisions
- Head-on collisions
- Red light accidents
- Distracted driving crashes
- Drunk driving crashes
- Motorcycle collisions
- Truck accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Reckless driving accidents
- Multi-vehicle pile-ups
- Single car rollovers
- Scooter accidents
- Uber and Lyft crashes
- Taxi accidents
Medical Malpractice
We rely on doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other medical professionals to help us when we’re sick or injured, assuming our conditions will improve. We trust them to take care of us, and in many cases, we put our lives in their hands. However, sometimes, these healthcare providers betray our trust and their duty of care when they make serious medical errors.
When doctors, hospitals, and others in the medical field make grave mistakes, catastrophic, even deadly, consequences can result.
Thats when speaking to a experienced Bronx medical malpractice lawyer can help determine your recovery options, some cases we handle are:
Birth injuries
Failure to diagnose cancer or other serious illness
Surgical errors
Medication and prescription mistakes
Hospital-acquired infections
Delay of treatment
Our small firm, big results approach to medical malpractice is client-centered and targeted to achieve maximum compensation for our clients. Because of this, our Bronx-based lawyer serving the five boroughs of New York City has achieved multiple million dollar recoveries in all types of medical malpractice cases. We face off against hospitals, doctors, and their insurers to protect your rights.
Workplace Injuries and Accidents
Many injuries happen on the job and for many reasons, such as a crush injury that happened after an employer failed to implement appropriate safety measures for his employees, or failed to maintain work equipment in safe conditions. These injuries can require medical treatment, time off work, and have lasting consequences, and you may not know the right avenues to seek compensation.
Our firm helps injured workers obtain workers’ compensation benefits following an injury on the job, but our representation does not stop there. Often, a workplace accident happens because one or more third parties were negligent or violated safety regulations and standards. This can give injured workers the right to file injury claims against third parties, which can cover all of their losses.
Construction Injuries and Accidents
Some work sites can present specific and increased hazards, such as construction sites. Construction is one of the most accident and injury-prone industries, with common accidents resulting in catastrophic or even fatal injuries regularly. This is especially true in the landscape of New York City’s five boroughs.
Victims of scaffolding accidents, slip and fall accidents, or ladder-related accidents often need a personal injury attorney to treat them fairly and help them recover financially from the high cost of medical treatment, lost wages, and more.
The Personal Injury Process
When you or a loved one has experienced a personal injury, you can become overwhelmed with the whole process of dealing with that injury and its aftermath. Whether you were in a car accident or fell at work, an attorney can help get you through the process of making claims and recovering compensation. The following material will walk you through the potential process.
Steps to Take Immediately After Your Injury
Immediately after your injury, you should take certain steps to protect your rights and help you recover any compensation you might recover.
Some of these important steps follow.
- Call the police if your injury or accident requires it – most auto accidents do require it.
- If officers file a police report, obtain a copy (or have your lawyer do this).
- If the accident happened at work or on the property of another, report it to the employer or owner.
- Seek prompt medical attention—either at the scene or on your own
- Take photos of your injury, any property damage, and the scene.
- Obtain contact information and insurance information on any other involved parties; if it happened at work, obtain Workers’ Compensation carrier information.
- Obtain contact information from any potential witnesses
- If applicable, file a claim with your insurance company or your employer’s Workers’ Comp carrier.
- Consider contacting a lawyer to handle your settlement and any necessary litigation.
Auto Accident Reports
New York law might require certain reports if your injury resulted from a motor vehicle accident, such as:
- Immediately contact the police if there is an injury or death in a motor vehicle accident.
- Property damage to the property of any one person (including yourself) over $1,000 requires a report to the DMV within ten days.
- Report the accident to your insurance company as soon as possible, but within 30 days
- If the other driver was uninsured, report the claim to the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC)
- If a government vehicle was involved, file a notice of claim within 90 days.
Be sure to keep copies of any of these reports that you file. If you are working with an accident law firm, it will help you make all these reports.
Reporting Accidents on the Property of Another
If you have an accident on someone else’s property, the reporting requirements are somewhat different from those relating to car accidents.
Be sure to:
- Report the accident to the property owner or business operator
- If the owner or operator is your employer, report to the designated person at your firm
- Report to your insurance company or your employer’s Worker’s Compensation carrier, if applicable
Once again, be sure to keep copies of any reports you file in writing. If you made reports by phone, make notes that you did file; print out any digital reports.
Get Medical Attention
Whenever you suffer injuries and think another’s negligence may be the cause, you should be sure to seek immediate medical attention. If you were in a car accident, emergency personnel might offer you medical care and transport you to a local medical facility, depending on your condition.
Or you may take yourself to an ER or your doctor. In any case, regardless of how or where you were hurt, you should seek immediate medical attention. Once you have done so, you should also be sure to follow and complete all of the treatments that your health care professional assigns to you.
If your injury occurred at work, you will need to use whatever physician your employer or the Worker’s Compensation requires you to use. There, too, you must follow all of the doctor’s instructions. You may, of course, also see your own physician if you want a second opinion. But in any event, you should be sure to follow all of the doctor’s instructions and complete any rehabilitation that the health care professionals prescribe.
You should also make sure to follow your medical professional’s advice and complete any treatments prescribed. The insurer can use your failure to do so to challenge the seriousness of your injuries later in the process of settling your claim. The other side may argue that you did not complete your treatment because you weren’t as seriously injured as you claim to be.
Make sure to retain all bills and invoices you paid for your medical care. They will be necessary as proof of your out-of-pocket losses on any insurance claims.
Working with Your Medical Team
Any time you experience an injury due to the negligence or misconduct of another, it is extremely important to seek prompt medical attention. Doing so will establish the level of your injuries. You should also make sure to follow your medical professional’s advice and complete any treatments prescribed. If you do not, the insurance company might challenge the seriousness of your injuries later in the process of settling your claim.
Document Your Accident
Use your cell phone and take photos of the entire accident. You will want to get pictures of the accident scene, focusing on any property damages. You will also want to take pictures of your injuries and any other injuries of others at the scene. If you have any dashcam footage of the scene or the accident, be sure to keep it safe.
Talk to anyone else involved in the accident. If it was a car accident, you should obtain names, addresses, insurance information, and contact information from any other involved drivers. For an auto accident and every other accident, obtain names and contact details from any potential witnesses at the scene.
Additional Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
The following are only some of the many questions our Bronx personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond can answer. For specific questions, please contact our office directly.
When can I seek compensation after a personal injury?
Not all accidents entitle injured victims to compensation. To recover compensation for your accident-related losses, your accident must have been the result of someone else’s negligence. Negligence occurs when a person fails to use the degree of care that would ordinarily be used by a reasonable person in the same or similar circumstances.
In addition, under a legal doctrine known as negligence per se, a person can be deemed negligent as a matter of law when they violate a safety regulation and cause the type of harm the regulation was intended to prevent. For example, if a person is violating the speed limit and causes an accident, the law may deem that person negligent.
What is my personal injury claim worth?
Every personal injury case is different, and there is no way to advise you on the value of your case without evaluating your specific injuries and losses. Claims stemming from relatively minor injuries will be worth significantly less than cases involving catastrophic injuries. That being said, if someone else’s actions led you to incur any losses at all, you deserve to receive compensation.
The best way to know the potential worth of your claim is to consult with a Bronx personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond.
However, the following are some common damages that we can add up to determine the value of a claim:
- Medical bills for emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, medication, and more
- The estimated costs of medical treatment that doctors recommend for the future
- Lost income if your injury or treatment prevented you from working
- Lost future earnings if you can’t return to your previous job
- Physical and mental pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disfigurement or disabilities
Less serious cases will focus mostly on financial losses like medical bills and lost wages. Severe and long-term injuries can lead to many intangible losses, as well. Furthermore, if the at-fault party’s conduct was particularly egregious, you might even be entitled to punitive damages, which can increase the value of your case substantially.
Do I need a lawyer for your personal injury case?
Yes.
After an accident, you may wonder if you really need to retain an attorney to represent you, especially if the insurance company has indicated that it wants to settle your case. The fact is that insurance companies are highly incentivized to pay out as little as possible, and often take advantage of accident victims who try to represent themselves.
Some of the ways they may try to settle your case for less than it is actually worth include:
- Making an unreasonably low initial offer
- Making an offer before you have had a chance to speak with an attorney
- Misrepresenting your legal rights (for example, telling you you cannot recover for pain and suffering through an insurance claim)
- Waiting until your medical and other bills are piling up before making an offer
- Requesting overboard medical record authorizations to find a pre-existing condition
Call us. We can protect you from those tactics.
What is SUM Insurance, and should I purchase it?
SUM insurance is Supplemental Uninsured Motorist insurance. Your auto insurance carrier is required to offer it in amounts up to $400,000. You may purchase it to provide additional coverage for hit and run accidents or an accident where the other driver is uninsured or underinsured. You should know, however, that it will increase your insurance premiums.
How does the New York Workers’ Compensation system work?
The workers’ comp system guarantees that you will receive medical care and weekly cash benefits when you can prove you were injured at work. The cash benefits and medical care coverage come from your employer’s insurance carrier, under the supervision of the Workers’ Compensation Board.
Can I recover from anyone other than Worker’s Compensation when I suffered injuries at work?
Yes, you can if the facts and circumstances are right. Your employer will require you to go through worker’s compensation (if he carries it), and that will cover your medical expenses and lost wages. However, there may be third parties involved in the case whose conduct is also responsible for the damages. For example, if you sustained injuries due to industrial equipment, then the manufacturer or maintenance company responsible for the equipment may also be liable. Similarly, if you fell on a sidewalk or had an accident at a road construction site, those involved in the construction and maintenance of the roads and sidewalks may also be responsible. Because of the subtle and complex nature of the process of defining the potentially liable parties, a lawyer experienced in accidents can help you navigate this maze of liable parties.
Will my case go to trial?
Many people think that by calling a lawyer, it means that they are on the way into court. In reality, a very small percentage of personal injury claims make it to the trial stage. In fact, many claims do not even require filing a lawsuit in civil court. Instead, a personal injury attorney can often resolve the matter directly with the insurance company.
If an insurance company is willing to offer a settlement that covers your damages, you can accept the offer and move forward with your life. If you cannot resolve your case with the insurance company, your attorney might file a lawsuit, though this still does not mean you are heading to court. Instead, lawyers will negotiate through every stage of the litigation process.
Many defendants and their insurers want to avoid the uncertainty of trial. In a trial, the jury will decide who wins and what to award the injured plaintiff if they prevail. However, in settlement negotiations, the defendant and their insurer have greater control over what damages they agree to. For this reason, many cases settle out of court and with a favorable amount that covers your losses.
Should I accept an insurance settlement?
Whether you should accept an insurance settlement depends on whether the insurance company is making an offer that adequately compensates you for all of your losses, as well as other factors. Victims of accidental injuries are entitled to compensation for their economic and non-economic losses, including their medical expenses, lost income, property damage, physical and emotional pain and suffering, and lost quality of life.
You only get one chance to settle your case, so any settlement you accept should compensate you for your current losses and any losses you expect to experience in the future. That’s why you need to call us. We know how to handle personal injury claims and accurately value a case.
If you do not settle your case with the insurance company, your only recourse for recovering compensation will be going to trial. For this reason, another factor to consider when determining whether you should settle includes the relative strength of your case. In addition, keep in mind that what happens in court is a matter of public record, so if there’s anything about your injuries or medical history you would like to keep private, settling is probably your best option.
When is it time to call a Bronx personal injury attorney?
Following an injury, it is natural that you are first focused on your diagnosis and treatment. Recovering from an injury can be an arduous process, and you likely do not want to add anything else to your plate. However, the sooner you can consult a Bronx personal injury attorney, the better.
New York law puts a three-year time limit on most personal injury cases. This might seem long, but the insurance process can take a long time, as can preparing a lawsuit. Additionally, evidence and witness recollections can disappear or fade, which can make it more difficult to prove your claim the longer you wait. Instead, speak with a Bronx personal injury lawyer at the Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond today.
How does the settlement process with an insurance company work?
The process begins with negotiations between the at-fault driver’s insurance company’s claims adjusters and lawyers. They will speak with you or your attorney (the better option) about your accident claim. You or your attorney will have submitted an initial demand letter, and in response, the insurance company staff will contact you or your attorney. They will likely make an initial offer to settle your claim. Since insurance companies are in the business of making profits, the offer will likely be as low as the insurance company thinks you will accept. This will begin a negotiation process between you or your attorney and the insurance company, essentially a bargaining process seeking to reach a number acceptable to both sides. An attorney used to working with motor vehicle accidents will be extremely valuable in this process because the lawyer will be familiar with the process and even possibly with the insurance company and its lawyers.
Do attorneys focus on particular kinds of cases like doctors focus on specific kinds of medicine?
Some law firms offer a wide variety of legal services spanning across all types of practice areas. Other attorneys decide to concentrate their practices in specific areas. Lawyers may, for example, work in criminal law. Others may do civil litigation (lawsuits) and can focus on either representing defendants or plaintiffs. In addition to which side they concentrate on, attorneys might focus on one area of civil litigation, such as personal injury law. Finally, some lawyers don’t engage in litigation at all but instead do wills and trusts, estate planning, transactional law, or regulatory law. Any time you look for a lawyer, you should make sure that the lawyer you hire is experienced and knowledgeable in the law that governs your particular case, such as personal injury.
Why Hire an Experienced Attorney Like Ivan Diamond
If you want to recover the maximum compensation that you deserve, you need an experienced personal injury attorney like Ivan Diamond on your side. Someone who understands the tactics insurance companies and opposing lawyers sometimes use to avoid liability and paying settlements.
Insurance adjusters, in particular, know that you’re going through a difficult time. They may try to take advantage by offering you a lowball settlement, hoping you’ll jump at quick money before you talk to a lawyer. Don’t help them out. Instead, let an experienced attorney handle the negotiations.
The same goes for preparing your claim. A skilled, knowledgeable litigator like me understands what facts and arguments are most important to prove your claim to a judge and jury, if it comes to taking a case to trial. I know how to guide my clients through depositions, discovery, and efforts by opposing lawyers to trap them into saying things that might undermine their case.
Contact A Bronx Personal Injury Lawyer Today
The Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond fully dedicate ourselves to our clients, who are injured accident victims just like you. If you’re wondering about your options following a serious injury, look no further. We’re here to stand up for your rights to insurance companies and fight for the full financial recovery you deserve. Contact us today to learn more!
If you were injured due to someone else’s negligence or medical malpractice, or if you have lost a family member in a wrongful death, act quickly. The law limits the time you have to file a claim. The insurance companies on the other side begin investigating immediately and they won’t hesitate to challenge your rights at every turn. They may even pressure you to accept a settlement worth far less than what you deserve.
If you were injured in a Bronx-area accident that wasn’t your fault, or you’ve lost a loved one to a tragedy, you may be entitled to compensation. Having an experienced injury and accident lawyer on your side can be your best shot at recovering the maximum you deserve. Don’t wait.
At the Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond, your Bronx-based, small firm, big results New York City injury attorney, we can help get your life back on track and obtain the full compensation you deserve.
Email the Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond or call us at (718) 588-2000 to schedule a free case review.
Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond
888 Grand Concourse #1L
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 588-2000
The Law Offices of Ivan M. Diamond
888 Grand Concourse #1L Bronx, NY 10451 Phone: (718) 588-2000
Ivan M. Diamond is available for home and hospital visits, as well as weekend and evening appointments.