• Catastrophic Injury
• Medical Malpractice
• Wrongful Death
• Nursing Home Neglect

FAQs

I was injured. Can I file a lawsuit against the party that caused my injury?

In general, when a person is injured as a result of another person's carelessness, the injured party may pursue a claim against the party or parties that caused the injuries. You are entitled to a monetary award for your injuries if it is found that a defendant was negligent and that such negligence was a cause of your injury. Any personal injury case depends on liability, damages, and whether or not you can collect from the negligent party or parties. Even if you were partially at fault for your injuries, you may be entitled to recover a portion of your damages. Personal injury law attempts to cover all areas and types of injuries suffered by individuals. Some of the most common areas are construction accidents, automobile accidents, premises liability, medical malpractice, and product liability, among others. Whether or not you are entitled to compensation may depend on the type of accident that caused the injury. If you are been seriously injured or are unsure as to the outcome of your injury, contact Burns and Harris.

How do I decide if I need to hire an attorney?

An attorney should be consulted if you have been seriously injured or are unsure as to the outcome of your injury. These cases can get quite complicated. In such cases, a personal injury attorney will have the legal expertise, time and resources to effectively handle your claim. An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to accurately analyze the value of your case and will be able to meet all of the rules, requirements and deadlines that have to be met. You will most likely have to deal with a professional insurance adjuster from an insurance company. The sole job of the adjuster is to try to settle the claim for as little as possible. Without knowledge of the complex insurance laws and policy provisions, a person could easily give away valuable rights and lose reasonable compensation. Also of note is the fact that statistics show insurance companies pay more than twice the amount of compensation when an attorney is involved in your claim. If you have been seriously injured or are unsure as to the outcome of your injury, contact Burns and Harris.

How long do I have to hire an attorney in New York?

The law requires that you file a lawsuit within a specified period of time depending on the nature of the claim and the entity that caused your injury. This is referred to as the statute of limitations. Failure to file suit within this time frame prevents you from filing suit at all. In some instances, there are various exceptions to the statutes of limitation that may extend or limit the limitation periods. There may be special claims presentation requirements for claims against state and local government. For these reasons, it is important to consult an attorney as early as possible to be sure you don't miss a crucial deadline. This is especially important if your case is against a city or if it involves a motor vehicle. In New York, most actions for bodily injury must be brought within three years from the date when the cause of action accrues. In most cases the cause of action accrues on the date of the incident, but there may be exceptions. Medical malpractice actions must be filed within two years and six months after the date of the act that gave rise to the injury. Products liability actions must be brought within three years after the plaintiff suffers the injury. A minor has three years from the date of his or her 18th birthday to file suit. However, this period is limited in medical malpractice cases where even if the case involves a child, the case must be started within 10 years of the medical negligence. If you have been injured, contact Burns and Harris as soon as possible to get an honest assessment of your legal issue, and to be sure you don't miss a crucial deadline.