Auto accidents can be life-altering for victims, who often require substantial compensation from negligent drivers to move forward after a crash.
Victims need considerable evidence, records, and documents to build their claims, starting with police reports. On top of being admissible in court, these documents are useful in the early stages of compensation claims. You will also need thorough medical records confirming your injuries so we can show you meet the serious injury threshold for car accident lawsuits, enabling you to sue despite New York being a no-fault state. We can get information from your employer and review recent pay stubs to confirm your previous income, which will allow us to calculate your lost wages from the accident. We will also track all other damages from the crash, like home alterations to accommodate injuries, and obtain witness statements to strengthen your recovery.
Call The Martello Law Firm, PLLC at (914) 685-6950 to get a free case assessment from our Yonkers, NY car accident lawyers.
Records, Documents, and Evidence to Gather for Nanuet, NY Car Accident Cases
Having records to support your compensation claim after an auto accident is vital, and our lawyers can identify which types of documentation you will need to get the compensation you deserve. This may include the police report for the crash, records from your medical treatment, wage documentation from your employer, any bills proving other out-of-pocket expenses, and witness statements.
Police Reports
Police reports can help our car accident lawyers determine a collision’s sequence of events and rule out potentially contributing causes to the crash, such as environmental factors or road defects. In all likelihood, officers from the Clarsktown Police Department will respond to a crash in Nanuet. When they do, they will speak to all involved parties, observe property damage to vehicles, and note the victim’s injuries. In the following days, we can help you obtain the report and review it alongside you so you understand its contents and what they might mean for your future claim. Police reports might also be available online through the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, though it might take police officers longer to upload reports to this portal.
In addition to writing accident reports, police officers might take photos or videos at crash sites, which our lawyers can also help victims obtain.
Medical Records
Victims also need medical records to submit as evidence in car accident claims, so seeking immediate medical care following collisions is vital. Not only do you need these records to prove you were hurt because of the defendant’s negligence, but you will also need them to certify you pass the serious injury threshold defined under I.S.C. Law § 5102(d). Because New York operates within a no-fault insurance system for auto accidents, victims must rely on their personal injury protection insurance to cover their damages unless their injuries are serious enough. Various injuries permit victims to sue, including fractures, significant disfigurement, dismemberment, and permanent or significant damage to body members, systems, or functions. If medical professionals certify your injuries will or have substantially impacted your life for at least 90 of the first 180 days after an accident, you can also file a lawsuit.
To ensure your medical records are accurate and up to date, get continuous care after an accident. Neglecting your treatment plan for whatever reason could cause serious problems with your compensation claim, so keep any scheduled visits or treatments with physicians for as long as necessary. As you do, we can help you request records from providers and keep them organized alongside copies of medical bills.
Wage Documentation
Many car crash victims cannot return to their previous level of employment right away, if ever. This could lead to detrimental lost wages, which are compensable damages in lawsuits against negligent drivers. Our attorneys will need certain documentation to prove your lost wages, such as proof of employment, information from your employer, recent tax returns, and pay stubs confirming your previous income before the accident. Based on this information, we can calculate your lost wages to date and future lost income if you cannot return to work for some time after your lawsuit ends. Our lawyers may get medical experts to testify to support requests for future lost wages, confirming that you cannot return to your past employment level based on your injuries and current physical limitations.
Proof of Other Damages
Victims tend to incur other damages from car accidents, like transportation costs for long-term medical care. Our lawyers will carefully monitor all losses from a crash so that we can present them as evidence of your damages in court if your case goes to trial. Even during settlement negotiations, having proof of damages is important, as our lawyers may use such evidence as leverage to convince defendants to increase their offers.
Suppose you had to make any alterations to your home to accommodate your injuries or new physical limitations, like a wheelchair ramp. In that case, our lawyers can document the cost of those alterations and demonstrate how the defendant is liable for those expenses since you would not have incurred them if not for the car accident. We can do the same for other out-of-pocket expenses you have dealt with since the collision, like childcare costs or in-house medical assistance.
Witness Statements
Recording eyewitnesses’ statements as soon as possible is important, so our lawyers will work to identify and contact them quickly after a crash. Speaking to eyewitnesses at the scene is often the best way for victims to get their information. However, our lawyers may learn these details from the accident report or while investigating the incident.
While eyewitness statements are important, so is testimony from experts. Crash reconstruction experts can review evidence from a collision, like the point of impact, debris on the road, incident reports, and photos, to pinpoint what happened and which party caused the crash.
Call Our Attorneys in Nanuet, NY for Help with Your Car Accident Case
Call The Martello Law Firm, PLLC for a free case review from our car accident lawyers at (914) 685-6950.
