Injuries

After an accident in Upstate New York, you may be stressed and uncertain about your recourse. You may be able to bring a lawsuit for damages. Common injuries that arise from accidents include back injuries, brain injuries, burn injuries, herniated discs, knee injuries, and neck injuries. If you suffered injuries as a result of another’s negligence or wrongdoing, the stakes may be high, and you should seek experienced counsel. Call the seasoned White Plains personal injury attorney Mark A. Siesel. Mr. Siesel’s original experience representing defendants until the mid-1990s and representing injured victims of accidents for the last 25 years, he understands how defendants think and defend lawsuits.

Injuries arising out of an accident can range from minor to catastrophic. Minor injuries could include a simple broken bone, concussion, bruises, soft tissue injuries, and small lacerations on parts of the body that are not visible. On the other end of the spectrum, are catastrophic injuries, those that skull fractures, brain injuries, spinal cord damage, comminuted or complex fractures that don’t heal easily, and disfigurement.

The types and extent of your injuries after an accident will determine whether you can recover damages. In most cases, insurers for an at-fault party will look for ways in which you were at fault in order to shift blame and evade liability, even when you are catastrophically injured, and you have been irreparably harmed by another’s negligence.

In order to recover damages for an injury in a lawsuit, our White Plains lawyers will need to show it’s more likely than not: (1) you were owed a duty of reasonable care, (2) breach of the duty to use reasonable care, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages. The particular circumstances will determine what the defendant’s duty to use reasonable care was, and whether and how it was breached. For example, all drivers owe a duty to use reasonable care to avoid injuries to others with whom they share a road. This duty could be breached by speeding, tailgating, weaving, driving under the influence, racing, texting while driving, driving while distracted, or driving while fatigued.

New York follows the rule of comparative negligence. This means that your damages may be reduced by an amount equal to your degree of fault. For example, if you suffered paralysis in a car accident, and the damages were $1 million, but you were 50% at fault for the accident because you were speeding, you would only be able to recover $500,000 in damages.

In most cases, when our attorneys are able to establish liability, the damages we’ll recover for you will be compensatory. This means they are intended to put you back in the position you would have been in had there been no negligence. They can include both economic and noneconomic losses. If, for example, you fell off a balcony and suffered a spinal fracture and broken legs, you may be in pain and you may find yourself unable to work in the same job or do the activities you were able to do before. Damages we may be able to recover in a premises liability lawsuit include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, and loss of consortium.

In instances of egregious misconduct, our lawyers may be able to pursued punitive damages, which are damages awarded to punish the defendant and deter future misconduct.

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident caused by someone else, even in part, you should discuss a potential claim with White Plains personal injury attorney Mark A. Siesel. His prior defense experience gives him unique insight into how insurance companies and defense lawyers evaluate and defend cases. Mr. Siesel has decades of experience representing accident victims in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens, along with Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Sullivan, Rockland, Orange, and Ulster Counties. Please contact us at (914) 428-7386 or complete our online form for dedicated legal representation.