Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer
They're too busy dealing with pain, attending doctor’s appointments and physical therapy, and trying to stay on top of their finances to even realize how much it could benefit them to hire a personal injury attorney.
As time goes on and they continue to deal with the consequences of their serious injuries such as unpaid medical bills, physical pain, emotional suffering, and the inability to work full-time, they come to understand how much Long Island personal injury attorneys could help them.
At Raphaelson & Levine, our New York City car accident lawyers have provided injury victims — from motorcyclists and bicyclists to drivers and passengers — with hope for a better future.
Millions Won in Long Island injury claims
You deserve better.
Meet with our Long Island injury lawyers as soon as possible
Raphaelson & Levine, a plaintiff’s law firm located near Long Island, has represented the interests of accident victims for over 30 years. We invite you to become a personal injury client by contacting our law offices to request a free consultation today at 212-268-3222.
You must initiate your personal injury lawsuit within three years of the date of the accident or you forfeit your right to sue. Some situations, such as filing a wrongful death lawsuit or bringing a claim against New York City or another local government, offer people with serious injuries less time to initiate a personal injury case.
“Insurance companies that make a lowball offer hoping you will accept it and go away without a fight don’t intimidate us. Our accident lawyers also have decades of courtroom experience should the legal representation for the negligent party fail to negotiate to our standards.” — Howard Raphaelson, Personal Injury Lawyer, Raphaelson & Levine
While we strive to arrive at a fair settlement outside of court whenever possible, you can feel confident that we will represent you well in a New York courtroom by challenging every defense and false assumption made by the legal representation for the negligent party.
We handle all types of Long Island accident and injury claims
Perhaps you wonder what qualifies as a personal injury claim. Generally, you may proceed with a lawsuit if the negligent party caused you some type of bodily injury.
While a personal injury can happen in a variety of ways, including intentional actions, the following represent the most common reasons people file a personal injury lawsuit:
Car Accidents
New York is one of 12 states that enforce no-fault laws when it comes to serious injuries sustained in a car accident. That means your own insurance company bears responsibility for paying your medical bills and property damage up to the amount specified in your policy.
However, you can still file a personal injury lawsuit if you lost the use of a body part, had another significant consequence, or your expenses surpass what your insurance company will pay from the motor vehicle accident.
Construction Accidents
New York takes construction safety seriously by enacting several laws specific to the industry. Unfortunately, construction is still a dangerous occupation that can cause serious injuries or wrongful death.
You may initiate a personal injury lawsuit against any party responsible for causing construction accidents other than your employer since that falls under the state Workers’ Compensation system.
Dog Bite
Dog owners in New York have the legal obligation to prevent their dog from biting and injuring others, especially those considered a dangerous breed or that have bitten in the past.
Fall Accident
Tripping over an object that should never have been there in the first place is one type of fall accident. You could also experience a fall accident if something strikes you from above or you slip on ice.
Medical Malpractice
Because the burden of proof lies entirely with the person making a personal injury claim, medical malpractice can be challenging to prove. You must demonstrate that the provider acted in a manner inconsistent with his or her training and experience to the point that you received negligent care.
Motorcycle Accident
Some car and truck drivers still don’t see motorcycles on the road or give them the same consideration as other types of vehicles. This can result in serious injuries such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, burns, broken bones, and traumatic brain injury.
Premises Liability
New York law holds commercial and residential property owners responsible for keeping the surroundings at their business or home safe for visitors.
You may have a premises liability claim if you sustained an injury on someone else’s property, even if the owner didn’t know about the potential danger but should have according to the prudent layperson theory.
Truck Accidents
This category of personal injury typically refers to commercial 18-wheel vehicles. Truck accidents can cause significant injury or death due to the size of the vehicle compared to a passenger truck, car, or motorcycle.
Although commercial drivers must follow dozens of laws such as mandatory rest breaks and load sizes, some disregard them while others feel pressure from their employer to drive anyway. Another factor about truck accidents is that several parties can share responsibility for causing them.
Your Long Island accident attorney will research thoroughly and present each negligent party with your personal injury lawsuit.
Wrongful Death
Under New York law, you have two years from the date of death of a loved one to appoint a personal representative to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
If our personal injury law firm wins your case, you could receive payment for the medical bills of your loved one along with funeral and burial expenses, compensation for services your loved one contributed to the household, his or her wages, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is my Long Island accident case worth?
It’s common for people considering a personal injury lawsuit to ask how much money they might receive from the insurance company representing the other party.
While it’s impossible to give an exact figure upfront, we can tell you that the law firm of Raphaelson & Levine has a reputation for securing multi-million dollar settlements on behalf of accident victims.
Several factors play into what an insurance company or court might offer you, including the severity of your injuries and whether you contributed to the accident in any way.
If your actions did contribute to the accident, you should know that New York follows contributory negligence laws. That means a judge or insurance company representative can lower the amount of your settlement offer by your percentage of fault.
Because the percentage assigned to you can be highly subjective depending on who interprets the events leading up to the accident, it’s critical for at least one of our Long Island personal injury attorneys to be present to argue against any shared blame on your part.
At Raphaelson & Levine, we understand that everyone comes to us with a unique personal injury case. With personal injury one of our most popular practice areas, we have seen accident victims receive similar categories of compensation over the years. These include:
- Payment of medical bills: This compensation category includes expenses you have already incurred and those you reasonably expect to incur in the future due to your car accident or other types of personal injury. Since future costs can be challenging to determine, we hire medical experts with years of experience to testify as often as possible.
- Lost wages: This includes the actual amounts of paychecks you have missed from work and expect to miss in the future. Additionally, your personal injury attorney will argue for higher compensation if your serious injuries prevent you from returning to work full-time, force you to work a less challenging position for less pay or accept medical retirement because you can no longer work at all.
- Property damage: In a car accident, this could include the vehicle itself as well as valuable items inside of it like a laptop computer for work. Other types of personal injury cases may also be eligible to receive property damage compensation depending on the circumstances.
- Pain and suffering: Some accident victims never return to the quality of life they enjoyed before the negligent party caused the accident. This potentially means dealing with physical and emotional pain and suffering for a lifetime, which your personal injury attorney will argue should at least entitle you to fair compensation.
- Punitive damages: When the actions of the negligent party are reckless to the point that he or she showed little regard for your safety, a judge may attach punitive damages to your total settlement offer. The purpose is to punish the wrongdoer and send a clear message to others that New York law will hold them accountable for their reckless actions.
Get a free lawyer consultation today
Regardless of the type of personal injury claim you have, you must file a personal injury lawsuit within three years and even less in some cases to stay within the statute of limitations in New York.
Raphaelson & Levine invites you to request your free consultation and preserve your right to sue for the expenses of medical treatment, lost wages, and other financial and personal losses.
We proudly serve Suffolk County, Nassau County, and several other communities in the geographic vicinity of Long Island.
NEXT STEP: Call 212-268-3222 or complete our online case evaluation for a free consultation with a personal injury attorney nearby.
