New York Personal Injury Lawyers

How Our Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You

Negligence occurs when an act or failure to act results in the injury or death of another. The injured individual or his or her family can seek compensation for pain and suffering experienced because of that negligence, as well as compensation for medical expenses and various other damages. When individuals die because of another’s negligence, the deceased’s survivors have the right to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for their loss, called a wrongful death suit.

If you, a family member, relative, or friend has been in an accident that resulted in a catastrophic personal injury, such as a head injury, trauma or paralysis, please contact one of our Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC law offices in White Plains, Uniondale or Manhattan as soon as possible.

For over 40 years, our focused injury lawyers have aggressively pursued full financial compensation for our New York clients’ lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering. That track record of success provides proof that we can obtain the best possible result for you and your family.

Contact the professional New York catastrophic personal injury attorneys of Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC today for a free initial consultation.

Common Misconceptions That People Have About Working with a Personal Injury Attorney

There are a few things to note. A lot of people think no matter what when you go to an attorney, you are going to have to pay out-of-pocket for attorney’s fees. That is something that a lot of personal injury victims ask their lawyer, whether they owe anything out-of-pocket. The answer is that you don’t: personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, where the attorney only gets paid if there is a recovery through a settlement, verdict or judgement.

Another misconception is that personal injury attorneys are slimy, ambulance chasers out there wishing injuries upon people. However, that’s not really the case at all. Personal injury attorneys actually step into the shoes of the injured party so that they don’t get taken advantage of by the insurance industry. Having an attorney speak and act on your behalf in personal injury cases is of the utmost importance. When an individual is injured due to the negligence of another, it is hard enough trying to take care of themselves and obtain the appropriate medical treatment. We want the client to take care of themselves. We will take care of the rest. We will deal with the insurance company. We will collect evidence. We will protect your rights.

Do People Fully Understand the Personal Injury Recovery Process?

The short answer is no. People don’t have an understanding nor should they if they haven’t been through the process before. For instance, in a rear-end car accident, a lot of people say there’s nothing to dispute and nothing to talk about so this case should settle quickly. In most instances, however, there is always something to dispute, whether it’s on the liability side or on the damages side that insurance companies will try to argue. In terms of the actual recovery of the settlement, there are a number of things that need to be dealt with, including insurance claims or worker’s compensation liens, which may need to be reimbursed. Therefore, the recovery process itself can be complex and requires an attorney to navigate. In short, the personal injury process can be complex. It is important to hire counsel to navigate the red tape.

General Information

• How Experienced Is Our Firm In Handling Personal Injury Cases?
• What Are Some Serious Injury Cases That You Have Handled?
• What Is The Statute Of Limitations On These Cases?

Do Most Personal Injury Cases end up Going to Trial or do Most Settle out of Court?

The majority of cases do settle before trial. However, the best way to handle a case is to prepare it as if it is headed to trial. You need to be able to show the defendant on the other side that you’re ready, willing and able to try the case, and usually only then will the case settle. There are a small percentage of cases that do go to trial, and that can be for any number of reasons, whether the insurance company or defendant doesn’t make a reasonable offer or there are issues in dispute regarding the extent of the injuries or who’s responsible for the accident. In those instances, the attorney must be ready to try the case.

Does the Injured Person Have to Notify Their Insurance Company or the Other Party’s Insurance Company? What Should Someone do if the Other Party’s Insurance Company Tries to Contact Them?

In a car accident, you should notify your insurance company. If the insurance company for the other driver or the negligent person involved in the accident tries to contact you, you should not speak with them or give a statement; at that point if you haven’t already, you should make a call to a personal injury attorney. You don’t want to give statements to the opposing side’s insurance company because while they may seem nice and almost seem to be on your side, they work for the at-fault party’s insurance company. Their job is to save that insurance company money. Therefore, the best thing to do is not give a statement and call an attorney.

What Makes a Sound and Viable Personal Injury Case?

First of all, you need a person or a third party who has done something wrong and acted negligently, resulting in your injury. The injury needs to be a permanent injury that has serious consequences on your life. If you can link the negligence of another person specifically to the permanent injury that you suffered, that is going to be a strong personal injury case.

How Important are Evidence and Witnesses in These Cases?

Evidence is very important. Evidence includes statements from the parties involved in the incident. Evidence can also include photos or video of the accident or incident. In addition to that, testimony under oath from independent witnesses is important. The strongest witnesses are those that have no dog in the fight (independent witnesses). They saw what they saw, and they come in and testify about it. If you have an independent witness on your side, that generally helps your claim in a big way.

Do Most Personal Injury Cases end up Going to Trial or do Most Settle out of Court?

The majority of cases do settle before trial. However, the best way to handle a case is to prepare it as if it is headed to trial. You need to be able to show the defendant on the other side that you’re ready, willing and able to try the case, and usually only then will the case settle. There are a small percentage of cases that do go to trial, and that can be for any number of reasons, whether the insurance company or defendant doesn’t make a reasonable offer or there are issues in dispute regarding the extent of the injuries or who’s responsible for the accident. In those instances, the attorney must be ready to try the case.

Does the Injured Person Have to Notify Their Insurance Company or the Other Party’s Insurance Company? What Should Someone do if the Other Party’s Insurance Company Tries to Contact Them?

In a car accident, you should notify your insurance company. If the insurance company for the other driver or the negligent person involved in the accident tries to contact you, you should not speak with them or give a statement; at that point if you haven’t already, you should make a call to a personal injury attorney. You don’t want to give statements to the opposing side’s insurance company because while they may seem nice and almost seem to be on your side, they work for the at-fault party’s insurance company. Their job is to save that insurance company money. Therefore, the best thing to do is not give a statement and call an attorney.

What Makes a Sound and Viable Personal Injury Case?

First of all, you need a person or a third party who has done something wrong and acted negligently, resulting in your injury. The injury needs to be a permanent injury that has serious consequences on your life. If you can link the negligence of another person specifically to the permanent injury that you suffered, that is going to be a strong personal injury case.

How Important are Evidence and Witnesses in These Cases?

Evidence is very important. Evidence includes statements from the parties involved in the incident. Evidence can also include photos or video of the accident or incident. In addition to that, testimony under oath from independent witnesses is important. The strongest witnesses are those that have no dog in the fight (independent witnesses). They saw what they saw, and they come in and testify about it. If you have an independent witness on your side, that generally helps your claim in a big way.

Dedicated and Aggressive Legal Representation

Catastrophic personal injury can result from construction work site accidents such as:

We also pursue claims of negligence related to transportation that cause catastrophic injury including:

Premises liability injuries caused by unsafe property conditions are often the result of negligence by property owners. Examples of causes of premises liability accidents include:

At Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC, we pursue your catastrophic personal injury claim on a contingency fee basis. There is no fee for the services we provide in a personal injury or wrongful death case unless we obtain money on your behalf.

Please contact one of our conveniently located Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC law offices today if you or a family member has been involved in a serious accident.

Contact Us in Manhattan, White Plains or Uniondale

Should a catastrophic injury be suffered, our Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC personal injury lawyers are ready to aggressively represent your interests. 

Contact us today for a free consultation