Law

A Motorist’s Encounter: What Do Car Accident Cases Involve?

One of the great joys of many people today is the ability to get in their favorite cars and drive around for many purposes. Some find this joy in practicality as it makes traveling to shopping malls and bringing home what they bought more accessible. Others find joy in using their vehicles for a lengthy road trip, including sightseeing sunsets, fields, and a long road. 

However, living in New York would lead you to use your cars, vans, and trucks for more practical purposes, including work. At least 1.4 million households own at least one car, which takes up about 45% of the population. With this statistic, it’s safe to say that New York does have its fair share of traffic. With this traffic, it’s also safe to say that a few million people are also at risk of car accidents.

Car accidents are simply a reality when it comes to any place with a few drivers around. For those living in the borough areas, Traffic Collision Lawyers in Queens, NY are precautions you must consider if you find yourself on the receiving end of a car accident.

Nevertheless, you need to know a few things before finding any personal injury attorneys.

What Is A Car Accident?

A car accident, or a traffic collision, is when one vehicle collides with another one. This is the definition that most people know very well. However, these accidents also include several other possibilities. For example, they could involve a vehicle colliding with pedestrians, animals, debris, or anything stationary such as a tree or a pole. As long as an automobile crashes onto something, it will be classified as a traffic collision.

While the definition may seem like it’s all the driver’s fault, there are times when the accident can be considered unintentional. For example, a resident of Queens just bought a new car, but they were involved in an accident. Upon further investigation of the vehicle, officials found that the brakes were defective. In this case, the blame is on the seller of the car. The same can be said about those who sell defective vehicle parts as well.

Nevertheless, intentional or not, this is still a severe occurrence as it endangers not only the driver but those around them as well.

What Are “No-Fault” States?

Some states in the country are considered to be “no-fault”, and this includes New York. The phrase determines the type of auto insurance one receives. What this insurance plan does is pay for the damage caused by car accidents.

Consequently, insurance companies will also consider paying for the damages and injuries caused by accidents. Of course, on the side of the other party, their insurance companies would do the same. But, of course, this is limited by the policy limit that each insurance business holds for you.

The state of New York mandates the amount, which covers car-accident related costs with a minimum amount of $50,000. People may use this amount of money for medical bills, lost incomes, and many other things.

However, there is a time limit when filing the insurance claim. To qualify for any “no-fault” insurance in the state, people must file the claim within 30 days of the day of the accident.

What Can Car Accidents Give You?

A car accident carries many possible injuries with it—these range from the quickly healable to the permanent and unchangeable.

One of the more common injuries that aren’t as serious would be cuts, bruises, and minor fractures. On both sides, the driver and the other person may escape the incident with only a few aches the following day of the accident. Cuts need to be disinfected and possibly stitched, but these will heal eventually. As for fractures, these only need a few bandages or a cast to form the arm back into place. At the very least, these will only be applied for a few months before you need to take these off.

One may argue that fractures are pretty severe, and it is true as this can change the way to live your life for a time. However, there is something more serious which are broken bones. Naturally, a broken bone will take more time to heal than a fracture. When you’re looking at times when broken jaws and ribs are involved, you may need surgery to fix all of these things.

Despite this, there are more severe consequences that could arise.

Disfigurement & Scars

Today, vanity for both man and woman isn’t frowned upon as it was in the past. On the contrary, people take their looks very seriously, and some take good care of their looks as they play a big part in their chosen jobs. Nevertheless, other people love to stay the same way they always have been, making them feel comfortable. That being said, disfigurement and scars aren’t the best things that can happen to people.

Although it isn’t as evident as you see, people will look at you as if you’re different. Consequently, this takes a toll on mental health. Especially for conscious people, you would demand proper compensation for these unfortunate events.

Amputation

It may seem like it’s impossible, but amputations can happen due to a car accident. It’s not so much about the amputation occurring at the incident of the crash. This is more common when arms, fingers, or legs get so damaged from the incident that surgical amputation is the only answer.

Whiplash

People don’t think about whiplash as much as they should. They only believe that this is the effect of braking suddenly or a collision. While they may be right, they don’t consider severe disk injuries or cervical dislocations that could come with it. These things can happen even at speeds of 15 miles per hour.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & Mental Distress

Of course, there are times when a car accident results in no serious injuries or consequences. However, these can have a severe effect on your brain, which will affect your daily activities. In addition, emotional distress and, most importantly, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder will change a victim’s life for the worst. With this, it will take months or even years of mental health treatment to solve these problems.

Death

The most painful thing that could result in a traffic collision is when the driver or passenger dies. Aside from the costs of the crash and other payments, you experience the loss of a family member or a close friend. This is something nobody wants to happen to them.

How Bad Are Car Accidents in New York?

You may think those car accidents could only happen in other places in the New York area. However, one should look at the general state of the entire site to better understand car accidents in the Big Apple.

From 2012 to 2014, statistics say that motor vehicle traffic crashes are the leading cause of injury-related deaths in New York. In those two years, there were 1,098 deaths each year due to unintentional accidents. The higher portion of these deaths were males aged 65 and up, while another part of these deaths were people aged 20 to 24. Despite this, these decreased from 8.4 per 100,000 residents in 2001 to 4.9 in 2014.

In the case of hospitalizations, 12,093 New Yorkers were admitted due to motor-related incidents. This is roughly 60% out of 100,000 New Yorkers. On this side of the spectrum, the young adults took the majority of the statistics. Using the same formula as they did with injury-related deaths, there decreased from 87.5% to 57% in 2014.

When looking at the emergency department visits of New York, this was at a staggering 136,000 people due to the unintentional traffic incidents, which is about 700 people per 100,000. Women took the majority of this number along with people aged 20 to 24. Those who followed ranged from ages 15 to 19, which is pretty disturbing. The percentage flickered throughout the last decade, but it still stands at 683 per 100,000 New Yorkers.

What Do I Do If This Happens?

If you find yourself or one close to you on the receiving end of the car accident, it would be best to contact an attorney specializing in this type of case. Car accidents are events that will change your life and the lives of those close to you. These will take you through a long and draining emotional journey. While any legal help cannot undo a permanent injury or the death of someone important, attorneys will do all they can to aid you through everything.

Things like medical bills lost income, and costs brought upon by death make these times doubly stressful for families and friends. Finding a traffic collision lawyer will take all of this pressure off your shoulders. They are determined to pursue the compensation that you deserve.

They will also do their very best to negotiate with insurance companies to maximize this compensation. Essentially, they are advocates for the victims’ health, which is something you should consider.

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