Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
The first insurance call may arrive before you know how badly you are hurt. You do not need to have every answer immediately, but understanding your options can help you protect your health and your claim.
Founded in 2013, Shulman & Hill helps people injured in car crashes make sense of insurance coverage, fault, and potential compensation. A car accident lawyer in Borough Park can explain which rules apply to your situation after a motor vehicle accident in this Brooklyn neighborhood. Our Borough Park personal injury lawyer can help you build a strong case.
What to Do After a Car Accident
Start with safety and medical attention. Call 911 if anyone is injured or there is an immediate danger, and seek prompt evaluation even if your symptoms seem manageable. Some injuries, including whiplash and concussion symptoms, become more apparent over time. Tell your provider how the collision happened and describe your symptoms accurately.
If you can do so safely, photograph vehicle positions, damage, traffic signals, road conditions, and visible injuries. Exchange contact, registration, and insurance information with the other drivers, and ask witnesses for their contact details.
New York also requires a driver’s DMV accident report within 10 days when a crash causes injury, death, or more than $1,000 in damage to any one person’s property.
How New York No-Fault Insurance Works
New York’s no-fault system generally provides certain benefits regardless of who caused the collision. For eligible people, basic personal injury protection, or PIP, typically covers up to $50,000 per person in qualifying economic losses, subject to policy terms and legal limits.
These benefits can help with necessary medical care, part of your lost earnings, and certain other expenses.
No-fault does not pay for pain and suffering or repairs to your vehicle. Written notice of a no-fault claim generally must be submitted within 30 days of the accident, although limited exceptions may apply. Reporting the crash to police does not start an insurance claim.
When an Injury Supports a Claim Beyond No-Fault
For many motor vehicle injury claims in New York, recovering pain-and-suffering damages requires meeting the state’s serious injury threshold. Qualifying categories include fractures, significant disfigurement, a permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, and a significant limitation of use of a body function or system.
Another category concerns a medically determined injury that prevents you from performing all your usual daily activities substantially for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the crash.
Prior injuries do not automatically defeat a claim, but they may require a closer look at whether the crash worsened a condition or caused new harm. Economic losses exceeding New York’s statutory basic economic loss limits may be recoverable from a responsible party even without a serious injury.
Proving Fault for a Crash in Borough Park
Responsibility depends on evidence, not simply on which driver received a ticket or spoke first to an insurer. A driver may be negligent by speeding, following too closely, failing to yield, making an unsafe turn, or driving while distracted. Our car accident lawyer in Borough Park can help you prove fault.
Useful evidence can include photographs, witness accounts, vehicle damage, dashcam recordings, and nearby surveillance footage. New York generally follows pure comparative negligence, meaning that if you share responsibility, your recoverable damages are reduced by your percentage of fault rather than automatically eliminated.
Compensation Our Car Accident Lawyer in Borough Park Can Recover
The compensation available depends on your injuries, insurance coverage, evidence of fault, and the legal requirements governing each loss. Recoverable financial losses may include qualifying medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost earnings, and reduced ability to earn a living.
The claim must account for no-fault benefits, restrictions on recovering basic economic loss, and other payment rules.
When the applicable legal threshold is satisfied, you may also seek damages for physical pain, emotional suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Future losses require support as well; your doctors may need to explain expected treatment, lasting restrictions, or the likelihood that you cannot return to your previous work.
Deadlines That Can Affect Your Right to Recover in Borough Park
Most New York personal injury lawsuits arising from negligence must be filed within three years of the accident. Insurance notice requirements arrive much sooner, and the deadline for a particular claim can change based on the parties involved and other circumstances.
Claims involving a city agency, public authority, or other government defendant may require a notice of claim within 90 days and a shorter lawsuit deadline. Wrongful death actions generally have a separate two-year deadline measured from the date of death. Settlement discussions ordinarily do not stop the filing clock.
How We Help Build and Present Your Claim
Our car accident lawyer in Borough Park can help you evaluate the evidence, insurance coverage, and legal requirements affecting your Borough Park car accident claim.
An investigation may involve reviewing medical records, collision reports, witness accounts, photographs, and available video from intersections along 13th Avenue, Fort Hamilton Parkway, 15th Avenue, and surrounding crossings where crashes frequently occur.
Building a supported claim also requires understanding the available insurance coverage and the effects of your injuries. We can help you understand an insurer’s position, assess settlement proposals, and consider whether a lawsuit is appropriate. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case.
Contact Our Car Accident Lawyer in Borough Park
You may have questions about an insurance form, missed paychecks, or whether your injury qualifies for a claim beyond no-fault. If available, gather your accident report information, insurance correspondence, photographs, and treatment details.
You do not need a complete file before seeking guidance, especially when notice deadlines may be approaching. Contact Shulman & Hill to discuss your Borough Park crash, your injuries, and the next steps for pursuing available compensation.