Syracuse Car Accident Lawyers

Representing Victims Injured by Auto Accidents

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, you most likely have suffered serious injuries that may impair your ability to go to work, provide for yourself and your family, and enjoy the quality of life that you had prior to the accident.

Most individuals never imagine that they or a loved one might experience personal injury or even death due to a car crash. If you have been injured, you need an experienced car accident attorney who can recover fair compensation so that you or your family member can work to resume as normal a life as possible.

Contact the law firm of Passalacqua & Associates, LLC, to schedule a free strategy session with one of our highly experienced Syracuse personal injury attorneys. We will be happy to review your claim and advise you on how to best move forward with your case.

Why Do Most Car Accidents Occur?

Countless times a day, people are involved in car accidents. As the population increases and more individuals are out on the road, the chances of being involved in a car crash also increase.

As a consequence of our nation becoming increasingly mobile every day, we see more car accident claims. Motor vehicle accidents can cause catastrophic injuries due to several factors, including the following:

Speeding/reckless driving: This can result in injured pedestrians or bicyclists and rear-end collisions.
Distracted driving: In today’s world, we often attribute this type of driving to texting and driving, which does present serious problems. However, being distracted while driving can occur when your eyes leave the roadway to tune the radio or look in the rearview mirror.
Failure to obey traffic laws: Failure to use turn signals when merging or changing lanes, failure to yield, and failure to come to a full stop at stop signs are some of the most common traffic offenses that cause car accidents. In addition, motorcyclists are often injured or killed due to drivers not properly indicating lane changes.
Driving Under the Influence (DUI/DWI): Not only is this type of driving one of the main contributors to car accidents; but it can also be deadly or cause serious injury to you and to other drivers or pedestrians.
Driver negligence: Typically, most car accident cases are actually caused by a negligent driver, meaning that they acted in a careless manner when operating a motor vehicle. Failure to use reasonable control when operating a motor vehicle can result in various injuries with possibly life-altering consequences.

What Are the Most Common Types of Car Accident Injuries?

If you are ever involved in a car crash, be certain to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Some of the most common and serious injuries involve the following:

Spinal cord injuries: A car accident can result in a sudden or violent blow to the spinal cord and surrounding tissues, discs, vertebrae, and ligaments. This sudden trauma can be a contributing factor in causing vertebrae to break or sensitive tissues to become dislocated or crushed.
Broken bones: Some of the most common bones to be broken in car accidents include facial bones, collarbones, and arm and leg bones.
Head injuries: Car accident victims commonly experience head injuries, frequently referred to as closed brain injuries. This type of injury is caused by a rapid back-and-forth movement and shaking of the brain inside the skull. This results in bruising and tearing of blood vessels and brain tissue.
Internal injuries: Some of the most serious injuries that car accident victims can experience are internal injuries. Internal injuries are a common result of motor vehicle accidents. As a result of a car crash, you could suffer injuries to your internal organs, which, if not accurately diagnosed and treated, could lead to internal bleeding and even death. Some of the most common internal injuries include a punctured lung, abdominal aorta rupture, or ruptured spleen.

Any serious injury sustained as the result of a car accident can have long-term consequences for both your long-term health and your life. If you have sustained any of the injuries listed above or other medical trauma due to a car accident, you may be eligible to file a personal injury claim. Do not take a chance with inexperienced car accident lawyers. Contact our law offices and ask to speak with a member of our experienced legal team.

What Types of Damages Can I Recover From A Car Accident Claim?

New York law permits car accident victims to file a lawsuit to obtain compensation for various types of damages. If you have been seriously injured by a negligent driver, you need a law firm that has car accident lawyers with extensive experience in recovering damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, and lost income.

Economic Damages: After being injured in a car accident, you may sue for what is known as economic damages. Economic damages are awarded to the injury victim in order to reimburse the money that they have lost or will lose in the future as a result of their car accident case. Some of the more common economic damages that may be awarded in personal injury claims are as follows:

Medical expenses: You may sue to recover the costs involved in any medical treatment that you have received due to your accident.
Property damage: This is meant to reimburse you for any of your personal property that was damaged or destroyed due to a motor vehicle accident.
Lost wages: These damages cover salary or wages that you were unable to collect due to your sustained injuries.
Lost or diminished earning capacity: This type of compensation will assist you with any future loss of income if you need time to recover or never fully recover from your injuries.
Assistive services: This covers the costs that you may incur when hiring professional help if you need assistance to care for yourself.
Rehabilitation: This can cover any costs related to occupational, speech, or physical therapy if needed.

You may also be eligible for compensation for any other type of out-of-pocket expenses that become necessary due to your accident injury.

Non-economic damages: This refers to any non-financial type of damages that are related to your auto accident. Determining a suitable amount of financial compensation for a non-economic injury can be an extremely complicated and challenging process. Only an experienced personal injury attorney can help you make decisions regarding how much compensation you should seek for non-economic damages.

Some of the most common non-economic damages related to personal injury cases are as follows:

Pain and Suffering: This is meant to compensate you for physical pain or mental trauma sustained from your injuries due to the auto accident.
Loss of enjoyment of life: Compensates for losses when you are no longer able to participate in the activities that you enjoyed before the accident.
Emotional distress: You may be entitled to recover damages if you have suffered mental trauma as a result of your accident injuries.
Loss of consortium: You may be able to receive compensation if you have experienced changes in your relationship due to the injuries that you have sustained.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you may be able to pursue compensation for damages. You need the help of car accident lawyers who will not be afraid to stand up to insurance companies. Often the only way to hold negligent parties responsible is to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Before you file any type of personal injury claim, make certain that you have the legal representation that you need in order to be successful in obtaining compensation. Often, the insurance company will try to make settlement offers that are not in your best interests in the long term. Contact the law offices of Passalacqua & Associates, LLC, to consult with an attorney who can explain your legal rights and options before you agree to anything.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim After Being Involved in an Auto Accident In New York?

New York has specific laws in place known as statutes of limitations that limit the amount of time you have to file an injury claim in car accident cases. You have three years from the initial date of the accident to file a lawsuit. If you pass the deadline and wait more than three years to file a claim, the court will find cause to reject your case, and you will be prohibited from collecting any compensation.

There are certain exceptions to this rule, such as if the individual who is filing the suit is under the age of eighteen. The time limit for a minor to file a suit could be extended to three years from the time they turn eighteen.

An Individual making a claim who is considered to be mentally incapacitated may also have a time extension if they are later found to have better mental health. This time extension is granted so that both parties involved in the litigation can make sound decisions with regard to the lawsuit that has been filed.

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact the law offices of Passalacqua & Associates, LLC, as soon as possible. You only have a certain amount of time in which to file your claim. Regardless of whether you were a passenger in a car, a pedestrian, or a motorcyclist who was injured, our car accident attorneys are ready to represent you and fight for rightful compensation for your injuries.

When you decide to file a personal injury lawsuit, you need an attorney who will fight aggressively for your rights and your future. Do not trust your personal injury case to attorneys who may be inexperienced in dealing with cases such as these. Our law firm has a proven track record of success in recovering compensation for auto accident victims in Syracuse, NY, and the surrounding areas. Contact our law offices by calling (315) 500-6425 and schedule a free strategy session with one of our highly qualified car accident attorneys.