Protect Your Rights

Investigation

The first step in any personal injury case – after a preliminary conference between lawyer and client- is on-scene investigation. Our personal injury attorneys employ professional investigators, including former N.Y.P.D. Detectives (who are our employees, and are available full time for our firm), to go directly to the scene of your accident to inspect, photograph and document what will ultimately be necessary to prove your case. Time is of the essence in Bronx personal injury cases: landlords – including the City of New York itself – may try to cover up the cause of your injuries, and our team of Bronx personal injury lawyers is prepared to head their efforts off at the pass and obtain hard evidence of their negligence before they have a chance to keep us from proving it in court.

Legal Analysis – Who Is Responsible?

Once a preliminary investigation is complete, my team of personal injury lawyers will engage in a thorough legal analysis and pair the facts we have discovered with the applicable law to determine the answer to the key question in your Bronx personal injury case: Who is responsible? The Bronx is subject to an exceedingly complicated set of rules that ascribe responsibility to particular parties based upon the circumstances of an accident. Knowledge of applicable rules and experience in applying the facts to the law are indispensable attributes of a top Bronx personal injury lawyer and nobody has a better track record than my firm. If we take your case, our personal injury law firm allows you access to expert accident lawyers who will take the time to search out those responsible for your personal injuries and will ensure that they are held to account to the full extent of the law.

Just how complicated the process of identifying responsible parties can be is best illustrated by an example: imagine that you are walking on the street in the Bronx, and you walk by a row of buildings that have driveways that are connected to the sidewalk to allow cars to turn in from the street, drive over the sidewalk and then park. Imagine further that, on the sidewalk in the middle of one of these driveways, there is a pipe sleeve sticking up several inches out of the ground (the pipe is part of an anti-theft device that prevents thieves from stealing a car out of the driveway by blocking their route with a large metal pipe). You or a loved one are walking on the sidewalk when you trip and fall over the pipe sleeve and sustain a serious injury. Who is responsible?

In order to answer this question, a personal injury lawyer will have to know how a very particular law, Section 7-210 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, works in this situation. Top personal injury attorneys like those at my firm will know that, because the driveway and pipe sleeve constitute a “special use” of the sidewalk, the owner of the land on which the driveway is situated will be responsible. Our accident lawyers know that, although, generally, only the City of New York or owners of commercial properties can be held responsible for defects in public sidewalks, when any adjacent private land owner makes “special use” of the public sidewalk such as by use of a driveway, the landowner is the responsible party. Failure to recognize this legal distinction can cost you or a loved one the right to fair compensation for injuries. Tricks like this are why you need top personal injury lawyers to represent you in your quest for compensation.

Filling a Claim for Personal Injuries in the Bronx: The Formal Process of Obtaining Justice

Once the responsible parties are identified, one of two things will happen, depending on the nature of the defendants: (1) If the defendants are municipal entities (i.e., the City of New York or any City agency), a special document called a “Notice of Claim” will be sent to them to notify them that you intend to pursue your rights against them, after which time your case will be formally brought into the court system; or (2) if the defendants are not municipal entities, we will serve a Summons and Complaint on the defendants to bring them into court. Our personal injury lawyers will make sure that the proper procedures are followed to protect your rights, as missteps can result in delays or dismissal of your Bronx personal injury case. You and your family should be aware that there are strict time limits on Bronx personal injury cases, and my personal injury lawyers will ensure that your case is filed by following the correct procedures in a timely manner.

Expert Witnesses

Once your Bronx personal injury case is filed, you will need to prove that the defendants are responsible for the harm that they have caused to you and your family. Testimony and reports from experts in certain fields (medicine, engineering, or building inspection, for example) will be needed to prove that the defendants created a condition that was the ultimate cause of your injuries. Our team of personal injury lawyers has spent decades building a network of experts in many professional fields key to proving your Bronx personal injury claims, and will select the proper expert to substantiate your claims in court. However, simply hiring an expert is not enough: our accident lawyers know what those experts must say in order to make sure that your claims are successful, and we will apply our legal expertise and work with our experts to ensure that they provide the evidence you need to win in court.

Only the Best Personal Injury Lawyers Can Ensure Your Rights are Protected

Victims of personal injury cases in the Bronx are faced with an incredibly complex web of legal requirements if they want to vindicate their rights in court and secure compensation for their injuries. Especially in the Bronx and the rest of New York City, identifying the party responsible for your injuries is the first and most-important step in the legal process. This process can be difficult, and compliance with strict rules, including short time limitations, is absolutely necessary to preserve your legal rights. Only the best personal injury lawyers have the capacity to quickly and correctly evaluate your case in order to ensure that your rights are preserved and the compensation you may be awarded is maximized.

The personal injury lawyers at my firm have nearly a century of combined experience representing residents of the Bronx who have been injured due to the negligence of others. Our accident lawyers have a reputation for being fierce trial attorneys, and with us behind you and your family, you can be certain that you will achieve the best possible results in court.