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When an accident occurs that involves a personal injury, it is important that the injured person seeks help immediately. The laws of New York are truncated when it comes to personal injury. They have set limits on many of the areas that involve compensable injury. If a person does not file their claim within a certain period of time, they will be barred from recovering damages at all. By the same token, the person must prove that their injury is serious under the guidelines of the law. The law defines the guidelines that describe an injury as either serious or substantial. It also provides guidelines that establish what permanent loss of use relates to. For a person to recover damages based on these statutes, they must be able to establish that their injury falls into these categories.
A substantial injury is one that demands a change in the person’s lifestyle. A person who has suffered from a substantial or serious injury will have to stop doing many of the activities that they used to be able to do. If a person is able to continue performing their jobs, or handling their home lives in much the same manner that they were conducting themselves prior to the injury, then they have not sustained a serious injury in accordance with the laws of the state of New York. Generally, when a person makes a claim for personal injury as the result of an accident, they must bring forth expert testimony that will support their claim. A claim of serious injury that is not supported by medical evidence will fail. In fact, a claim of serious injury that is supported only by medical expert opinion and not supported by concrete medical tests will likely fail as well. When a person files a claim of this sort, it is critical that they are sure that they can present this type of medical evidence in court.
Sometimes, even having several doctors willing to testify in your behalf can be challenged. In one case from New York, a limousine driver was involved in an accident that resulted in his sustaining multiple injuries that he claimed were serious under the statute. In fact, some of his claims involved the fact that he was deprived the use of some body parts. He also claimed a serious spine injury and brain injury. He had no less than four medical experts testify on his behalf that he was unable to work or perform daily functions that he had once enjoyed based upon the injury that he had sustained.
The defendants in the suit, claimed that he had failed to present a sufficient case to show that he had sustained a serious injury by way of the legal definition of the injury. They brought forth their own doctors who testified that the man’s injuries were treatable. That would mean that the injuries were not considered permanent under the law and would prohibit the man from succeeding with his claim. The filed a motion with the court to enable them to obtain a summary judgment that would state that the man’s claims were not proved.
A summary judgment is a court action that provides a determination of liability to one party over another without going to trial. The action of a summary judgment is severe and most courts refrain from granting summary judgment in all but the most solid cases. Summary judgment precludes a trial and can limit the recourse that an individual has. In this case, the court denied the insurance company’s motion for summary judgment based on the evidence that the injured man provided. He had definitive test results from his doctors.
At Stephen Bilkis & Associates with its injury Lawyers, have convenient offices throughout New York and Metropolitan area. Our power of personal injury lawyers can provide you with advice to guide you through difficult situations. Without a brain injury Lawyer, you could lose precious compensation to help your family.