Recovering from an injury can be a stressful experience, especially if you’re trying to do so while navigating the complexities of New York’s legal system. If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence in Queens, NY, or anywhere else in New York, you’ll want to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to determine whether you can prove negligence in your case.
Four factors go into proving negligence in a personal injury case. An experienced attorney will be able to walk you through the factors to decide whether your accident resulted from another party’s negligence. Even if you’re found to be partially responsible for your injury, you may still be eligible for damages under New York’s compensatory negligence system.
Duty of Care
Not every accident can be addressed within the legal system. Since the law doesn’t require people to take care of each other in every possible situation, your first step will be to determine whether another party had a duty of care, meaning some level of responsibility to ensure that you didn’t get injured.
Examples of duty of care could include responsibilities to warn others about dangerous conditions on our property, repair dangerous conditions, extinguish campfires, follow traffic laws, not provide alcohol to those under 21, and otherwise act in ways that avoid foreseeable accidents.
Breach of Duty
If it’s determined that another person owed you a duty of care, the next step in building your case will be figuring out whether that person breached their duty, meaning that they failed to act in a way that would have prevented negligent harm.
Injury Caused by Breach of Duty
If a person breached their duty, and you were injured, you have to prove that the breach was a proximate cause. It may sound like a technicality, but it’s an important factor.
For example: if you’re injured when a driver sideswipes you, their breach of duty would be a proximate cause. But if you’re distracted thinking about the accident later and injure yourself by tripping over a curb and falling into the street, the accident would be a remote cause.
Damages Due to Injury
If you’ve managed to prove that your injury was proximately caused by a breach of duty of care, your next step is to prove that the injury resulted in damages. That simply means that you have to show that the injury had a real impact on your life or finances.
Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer in Queens, NY
When another person’s negligence results in your injury, you should speak with a personal injury attorney to determine whether you have a case for damages based on New York’s negligence statutes. If you have a case, your attorney can interview witnesses, examine evidence, and otherwise prepare the strongest possible legal case to help you find justice.
Being injured due to someone else’s negligence can be frustrating, especially if it takes you away from responsibilities and life in general. If you’ve suffered a personal injury in Queens or elsewhere in New York, you deserve representation who cares about you and your needs. Contact us at Bardizbanian & Associates, P.C., and our experienced attorneys will help you determine the best course of action so you can focus on making a full recovery.
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