After a car crash, you could be eligible for compensation to cover your medical costs and wage losses, as well as additional damages for other parts of your life affected by your injury. Some of this compensation can be recovered through an insurance claim, while others are only possible through a personal injury lawsuit.
Medical Costs
Even so-called “minor” injuries can add up, especially if you suffer complications. Don’t let your fear of bills keep you from getting the treatment you need. You could qualify for funds to cover:
- Emergency services
- Hospital expenses
- Diagnostic tests
- Prescription medications
- Medical equipment
- Physical therapy
Any medical costs related to your injury could make you eligible for payment or reimbursement. That can even include alternative care, such as chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and acupuncture.
Your injury could also have impacted your mental health, a crucial component of your physical health. Expenses related to diagnosing and treating conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, or insomnia can be covered after your crash, including therapy sessions and antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication.
Future Medical Costs Are Included
The medical expenses you can recover after your car accident on Long Island aren’t limited to the bills you face now. Some injuries can affect your life long after a claim or lawsuit is settled, and you should not have to worry about receiving the care you need later.
Future costs you could recover include:
- Long-term therapies
- Long-term medications
- At-home care
- Equipment replacements
- Home or car modifications
If you were left permanently disabled, you might have lifelong expenses. For instance, the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCSC) reports that lifetime costs of a spinal cord injury could range from $1.2 million to $5.1 million. You can pursue compensation to cover the lifelong maintenance costs associated with your injury.
Some Expenses Can be Paid By No-Fault Coverage
New York’s no-fault insurance laws allow you to receive some basic benefits immediately after your crash, regardless of who caused the collision. However, as the New York Department of Financial Services points out, you must file a claim within 30 days of the crash. Additionally, the benefits may not cover all your expenses.
If you suffered a serious injury, you could have grounds to pursue a personal injury lawsuit to cover more expenses. What qualifies as a serious injury is defined under NY ISC § 5102(d) and includes fractures, disfigurement, and loss or limitation of a body part or organ system, or a disability lasting at least 90 out of the first 180 days following the collision. The car accident lawyers at Rosenberg & Gluck, L.L.P. can determine if your injuries are serious enough to qualify for a lawsuit.
Wage Losses
After suffering an injury in a car accident on Long Island, you could secure the income you missed while recovering. You may not realize how you can lose your job’s revenue streams and perks due to an injury until they slip away. Fortunately, you could recover:
- Wages
- Commissions
- Overtime
- Bonuses
- Vacation time
- Freelance income
Just because you don’t earn a salary or hourly wage doesn’t mean you can’t recover income. Workers who operate on commission or a freelance basis have just as much right to the income they missed. This includes side jobs or monetized hobbies.
Our car collision attorneys can help evaluate the income you lost by analyzing your work and consulting economists and vocational experts. You shouldn’t be penalized for taking time to heal.
Some Losses Can Be Paid by No-Fault Coverage
Much like medical costs, a no-fault insurance claim can help recover some lost income after a collision. Nonetheless, the same caveat applies—you may not be able to receive coverage past a certain point, especially if you cannot return to work or can’t work in the same capacity as before the crash. A personal injury lawsuit can offer another avenue for those damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Not all the consequences of a car crash are seen in bills and wages. For that facet of your car crash on Long Island, you could recover non-economic damages, which cover:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Reduced earning capacity
- Diminished quality of life
This compensation is based on the consequences you individually faced making it very personalized. Using your account of your experiences, as well as other evidence of what you suffered, we can pursue damages that match the pain and suffering impact of your injuries.
Any Part of Your Life Could Have Been Impacted
Non-economic damages can compensate you for losses in areas of your life that brought you pleasure, satisfaction, or convenience. For instance, you could receive damages if you can no longer:
- Do housework
- Play an instrument
- Pick up your children
- Mow the lawn
- Play sports
- Go for a long walk
- Cook for yourself
- Drive on your own
- Play with your pet
- Paint, draw, or write
These are the everyday repercussions of an injury and should not be ignored. If you can no longer engage in a hobby or activity that brought meaning to your life, no matter how simple, let us know. We can include it in our valuation of your case.
No-Fault Insurance Doesn’t Provide Non-Economic Damages
Unlike medical costs and lost income, your no-fault insurance coverage does not offer pain and suffering, reduced earning capacity, or any other non-economic damages. These can only be pursued through a personal injury lawsuit.
Although the grounds for a car crash lawsuit in Long Island are more limited because of mandatory no-fault insurance, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore your options. Our personal injury attorneys can help you understand the criteria for filing a suit and then fight for your non-economic damages.
Our Long Island Lawyers Can Pursue Damages for You
What you can recover after a car accident on Long Island can depend on what you experienced, so call the team at Rosenberg & Gluck, L.L.P. today to receive a free consultation. Our injury firm can pursue funds to cover medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
We work to tailor your financial recovery, so it reflects what you experienced. Our team can also assist clients in Spanish. Call now!
