car accidents If you are involved in a serious car accident, your first concern will usually be seeking immediate treatment for your injuries.  If you suffer serious injuries in a New York car accident, it may quickly become clear that car wrecks can result in significant financial challenges.  Many car accidents cause injuries that require a significant amount of medical care, which can easily reach into the tens of thousands of dollars.  Because you may be unable to work, these financial obstacles frequently are compounded by a loss of family income. Sometimes people even need to pay for in-home care child care services or cleaning services because you are unable to perform household chores.

At Cohen & Jaffe, we often receive phone calls from car accident victims who are anxious to know the value of their New York car accident claim.  Many times we are able to sit down with a prospective client and provide an initial estimate of the value of his or her car accident claim.  It can be frustrating for injury victims when trying to decide how to proceed in the wake of serious car accident not to have a more definitive statement about the precise value of their car accident claim. Sometimes it is easier to understand why this is not possible if one understands the many factors that may affect the value of your New York car accident lawsuit.

One of the first steps in estimating the value of a New York car accident claim is to determine the actual economic loss suffered by an accident victim.  Economic damages (called “special damages”) refer to the actual quantifiable economic loss suffered in a car accident. These types of damages include medical expenses, lost earnings, property damage and lost future earnings that result from your injuries. There are other types of economic damages that may also be relevant, such as costs incurred to hire someone to perform household chores because you are physically unable to perform the same domestic tasks while you are recovering.

Another important step in determining the value of your car accident claim is a full assessment of the extent of your injuries and need for follow-up care through the entire course of your recovery.  Depending on the type of injury you suffer, an experienced New York car accident attorney may be able to look at your economic loss (i.e. special damages) and the nature of your injury and provide a general estimate of the potential range of recovery.  Sometimes an attorney can look at similar types of cases and the amount of damages that were awarded for similar injuries in those cases.  Insurance companies often look at the amount of your medical bills and multiply that amount by a certain factor depending on the severity of your injuries and combine that total with your economic loss to arrive at an initial offer of settlement.

However, a skilled New York auto accident attorney is often able to obtain far more than this simple mathematical approach to determining the value of your claim.  This is why it is never a good idea to negotiate directly with the insurance adjuster.  The insurance company knows it has an advantage if it can settle the case quickly before the full extent of your injuries are completely known, or you have obtained legal advice from experienced car accident attorney.  Insurance companies make a point of knowing the skill level and past success of a particular car accident attorney in determining the risk of taking their chances at trial.  Because of this, it is important to retain New York car accident lawyers with the experience and expertise of our attorneys at Cohen and Jaffe so that you are negotiating from a position of strength.

Another reason that a New York auto accident lawyer cannot know the exact value of your car accident lawsuit at the beginning of your case is that there are other types of damages and factors that may affect the value of your claim. Two other types of damages that may be awarded in a car accident claim are loss of consortium and punitive damages.  The amount of pain and suffering and quality-of-life type damages that you recover will depend on the effectiveness of your New York car accident attorney’s ability to communicate to a jury the true impact of your injuries on your daily life.

Similarly, loss of consortium damages are based on evidence presented on the relationship between a husband and wife.  Because this type of damages is designed to compensate a spouse for the negative impact on one’s marriage, the amount of loss of consortium damages will depend on the evidence presented regarding what a marriage was like before and after the car accident.  Punitive damages are designed to punish particularly reckless conduct by the wrongdoer. These damages will not necessarily be awarded in every case, but a jury may have broad discretion in awarding this type of damages based on how deplorable they consider a defendant’s conduct.

On top of these factors, there are other relevant issues that may impact the value of your New York car accident claim.  A very important factor is the ability of your car accident lawyer to portray an appropriate picture of an injury victim and the defendant.  If an accident victim is more likable, the court is more likely to award more compensation.  By contrast, a court that finds a particular defendant particularly despicable may award substantially more damages.

There also defenses asserted in many New York car accident lawsuits that may substantially affect the value of your claim.  For example, a defendant may try to shift responsibility to the accident victim, which may result in a reduction in the amount of recovery by the percentage of fault attributed to the accident victim. This type of defense which is referred to as comparative negligence can have a substantial impact on the amount of recovery an accident victim receives. Our experienced New York car accident attorneys attack this type of defense tenaciously to protect the value of our clients’ car accident claims.

We often speak with prospective clients that face a very difficult situation because there is no insurance available to pay their car accident claim.  Even a case with clear liability by the other driver has limited value if there is no insurance or other assets available to satisfy a judgment.  In some cases, this can turn a potentially valuable claim into a claim with very little value.  Because we have many years of experience handling New York car accident cases, we are often able to find an alternate means to compensate a victim such as uninsured motorist (UM) coverage or identifying another potentially defendant, such as the vehicle manufacturer or public entity for failing to maintain a safe roadway.

If you have been involved in car accident in New York, Cohen & Jaffe provides a thorough investigation of the facts, extensive legal research, meticulously drafted pleadings and motions and compelling courtroom advocacy.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident in New York, the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe has effectively handled many car accident claims throughout Nassau, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Suffolk.  We have collected millions for our clients and we can do the same for you.  We invite you to contact us at (516) 358-6900 so that we can advise you of your rights and provide an estimation of the value of your car accident claim.