If you have suffered serious injuries in a car crash, your focus should be on healing – not on how you’re going to pay your bills. However, if your injuries are serious enough that you can’t work for a time, that can be an immediate problem.
One silver lining is that New York is a “no-fault” state when it comes to insurance after a collision or other event. That means that regardless of who is at fault, your insurance company (or the driver’s, if you were a passenger) will provide some coverage for medical costs and lost wages. You only have 30 days to seek these benefits, so you can’t afford to wait.
It can take some time to determine who the at-fault driver was or, if two or more drivers were at fault, how much each contributed to the causes of the crash. You’ll want to make sure that you’re getting the maximum possible compensation during this time if you can’t return to work immediately. If you have short-term disability insurance through your employer, that can help.
Determining lost wages if you don’t have a regular income
If you’re among the many people who don’t have a regular salary or even an hourly wage, determining how much income you’re losing can be challenging. If you do contract work, for example, how can you prove what kind of project you could have taken and how much it would have paid? If you like the independence of taking “gigs” through DoorDash, Handy, Taskrabbit and other apps, you can face the same challenges of determining a dollar amount for lost income.
It’s wise to seek legal guidance as soon as possible so that these calculations can be handled even if you’re in no shape to take them on. The thought of incurring yet another expense might seem unthinkable. Our law firm understands that. That’s why we work on a contingency basis. That means that you’ll pay nothing until we recover compensation for you. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to recover not just economic damages like medical expenses and lost wages, but additional compensation as well.
If your accident occurred while you were visiting New York City from another city or state, it’s important to see a local doctor who can testify on your behalf about your injuries if necessary. You’ll also need to have local legal professionals representing you. The sooner you learn more about your options for seeking justice and compensation, the better your chances will be of maximizing your settlement.