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Do I Need a Lawyer After a Hit and Run Accident?

If you have been involved in a hit-and-run accident in New York, NY, you may feel overwhelmed. However, our experienced New York personal injury attorneys at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, can fight for you after your hit-and-run accident.

We can help you recover compensation for your medical bills, property damage, and more.

Our law firm has handled thousands of car accident claims in our 40 years of serving clients across New York. Our experienced lawyers can work with your insurance company to file an insurance claim while preserving your rights to seek compensation from the hit-and-run driver, if they can be located.

Give us a call today to schedule a free consultation with our New York City hit-and-run accident lawyers at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers

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How Rosenbaum Can Help After a Hit-and-Run Accident in NYC

We will get started on your case long before we file a claim on your behalf. We know that the days and weeks following a hit-and-run accident are critical. Memories fade, and security footage may be unintentionally filmed over.

It can be difficult to get fair compensation following a hit-and-run accident. Often, these drivers flee the scene because of circumstances that show their fault for the accident, like drunk or distracted driving. Sometimes drivers flee a crash site because they are uninsured motorists.

No matter what develops in your hit-and-run case, the knowledgeable car accident attorneys at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers are here for you.

Here’s what you can expect:

Thorough investigation. We will conduct a detailed investigation into your hit-and-run accident, including working with law enforcement and civil security officers to identify the at-fault driver.
Appropriate identification of responsible parties. In addition to the at-fault driver, other parties may bear responsibility for the hit-and-run accident. We will work to properly identify any such parties and make sure they are held financially accountable.
Insurance claim management. Not only will we identify all potential sources of insurance coverage that may be available under the circumstances, but we will manage the details of your claims with each one.
Personalized representation you can trust. When a hit-and-run driver has injured you, you can rest assured that Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, will protect your interests.

Many personal injury claims are resolved before a personal injury lawsuit must be filed. However, we have developed excellent trial skills at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, and have proven experience securing favorable financial awards for our clients.

Get started on your case by contacting a New York City personal injury attorney at our office for a free case consultation.

How Common Are Hit-and-Run Accidents in NYC?

In 2020, New York City drivers reported nearly 40,000 incidents of hit-and-run, down from over 46,000 in 2019, according to traffic data from the NYPD. That means, on average, over 100 times a day, someone is involved in a hit-and-run accident.

What is My Hit-and-Run Accident Worth?

It can be difficult to collect compensation on hit-and-run cases. However, our knowledgeable personal injury attorneys at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, know how to appropriately value personal injury cases to best position our clients for a satisfactory settlement or award.

Our compassionate attorneys will help you understand how the facts of your case influence its potential value.

Here are some factors that influence the value of claims:

The severity of injuries (mild, moderate, catastrophic)
Whether your injuries prevent you from working or limit your ability to work
Whether the injury caused permanent disability or any disfigurement
The certainty of liability

Other factors, like publicity of a certain incident, can also impact whether a case settles, how quickly, and for how much.

How Does the Severity of Injuries Influence the Value of a Claim?

The severity of injuries can influence the value of a personal injury case in two ways.

First, more severe injuries often require more medical treatment, including expenses like:

Ambulance rides
Emergency room treatment
Life-sustaining measures
Surgery
ICU admittance

Medical care of this nature can be very costly. A personal injury claim seeks to recover the expenses incurred as a result of the hit-and-run accident. So, the more medical expenses accrue, the more valuable the claim becomes.

Second, more severe injuries can involve greater recovery for intangible losses, like pain and suffering. More severe injuries are more painful and create greater obstacles to recovery. The more painful and difficult an injury victim’s recovery becomes, the more they deserve to be compensated.

Why Does it Matter if My Hit-and-Run Injuries Keep Me From Working?

If you miss work for reasons related to your hit-and-run injuries, you may be able to recover compensation for the income you would have earned otherwise.

This compensation includes:

Time away from work for medical appointments or physical therapy and treatment
Inability to work your job due to the injuries and your recovery
Loss of income/earning capacity due to the injury

For time away from work, you will use your ordinary pay rate and usual work hours.

Suppose your case involves loss of income or earning capacity due to injury, Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers. In that case, P.C., may recommend that you engage a financial actuary or economist to assist with the valuation. Likewise, if you suffer permanent disability or disfigurement, you will likely need a certified financial planner to establish the cost of your losses.

Why Does Publicity Matter?

Considering the frequency and commonality of hit-and-run accidents, most of them will get absolutely zero publicity. However, sometimes a particularly tragic incident will receive news coverage. Usually, these cases will resolve more quickly and for a higher value than might otherwise be expected.

Whose Insurance Covers My Hit-and-Run Accident?

It depends. Coverage may be legitimate under multiple policies of insurance. This does not mean that you will be able to recover twice for your losses! However, it can mean that the insurance companies will share the financial responsibility for your compensation.

This can make a case easier to settle.

Does New York’s No-Fault Insurance Law Apply to Hit-and-Runs?

Under New York’s no-fault insurance law, the following car insurance coverage is required of drivers:

No-fault (also called personal injury protection)
Liability
Uninsured motorist

Following a hit-and-run accident, you will first file a claim with your own insurance company.

What Does Personal Injury Protection Cover?

Personal injury protection (PIP) insurance covers medical expenses, lost wages, and other reasonable and necessary expenses relating to your accident. For example, expenses for transportation to and from medical treatment for injuries caused during a hit-and-run. Other expenses might be for hiring someone to help around the house because your injuries require assistance.

Does Uninsured Motorist Insurance Cover Hit-and-Run Accidents?

Uninsured motorist coverage will cover injuries suffered in a hit-and-run accident if the hit-and-run driver does not have insurance.

How is Liability Determined?

In most cases, should the hit-and-run driver be identified, they will be subject to liability under a theory of negligence per se. It is a crime to flee the scene of an accident in NY. By committing a crime, a hit-and-run driver creates a legal presumption that they acted negligently.

In some (rare) cases, an injured driver may also share some blame in the accident. It is critical not to admit blame in your statements to law enforcement or insurance companies. However, if you do share the blame for the car accident, it will not prevent you from recovering. A skilled attorney can evaluate the facts and assist you in developing a strategy to minimize your percentage of fault for the accident.

Why? Because under New York’s comparative fault rules, your recovery can be reduced by the percentage by which you are at fault! For example, in a case with a total compensation value of $50,000, let’s say the injured party is found to be 25% responsible. The total compensation is reduced by 25%, and the injured party would only recover $37,500 from the other at-fault party or parties.

What Damages Are Available for a Hit-and-Run Accident?

Damages that might be available for a hit-and-run accident include compensatory damages and punitive damages.

Punitive damages would be assessed to punish a hit-and-run driver. Compensatory damages are meant to compensate an injury victim for their losses.

Compensatory damages fall into two categories: economic and non-economic.

What Are Economic Damages?

Economic damages are the kind of compensatory damages intended to restore an injury victim’s financial losses.

Economic damages include:

Medical bills
Treatment costs
Prescription expenses
Lost wages and loss of income earning capacity

To prove these damages, documents are gathered, and the total value of each expense is determined by adding each expense of this type. For loss of income earning capacity, a financial expert may be required to establish the appropriate valuation.

What are Non-Economic Damages?

Non-economic damages make up for intangible losses.

Some such losses that may be covered by an award of non-economic damages might be:

Mental anguish
Loss of enjoyment of life
Loss of consortium
Permanent disability or disfigurement

Pain, suffering, and humiliation are all considered in the valuation of non-economic damages.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Hit-and-Run Accident in New York?

Under New York’s statute of limitations, an injury victim has up to three (3) years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. The time is limited to two (2) years for wrongful death claims.

It is essential to get your case filed timely. Failure to file your case by the expiration of the statute of limitations waives your right to recover for your injuries. Get a reliable personal injury attorney at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, and trust that your case will be filed timely.

Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm in New York City Today

If you have been injured in a hit-and-run accident, you do not have to struggle alone to pay for the expenses associated with your injuries. The personal injury lawyers at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, are ready to handle hit-and-run cases across New York. Get started today by contacting our law office to schedule your free consultation.