Accident With a Drunk Driver

It is understandable if you feel angry, confused, or scared after an accident with a drunk driver. Lawyers in Brooklyn from Shulman & Hill can put you at ease by explaining your legal rights and pursuing compensation that covers your various losses.

By filing a case against the drunk driver, you could recover damages for medical costs, the loss of your usual income, and pain and suffering. Call 718.852.4700 to get a free case review today.

Our Lawyers Can Fight for Your Drunk Driving Accident Compensation

Your Brooklyn car accident has already cost you too much, and it may continue to affect your life for months or years to come. Filing a case against the drunk driver can compensate you for:

Losses You Have Already Incurred

In the immediate wake of the accident, you may have:

• Undergone emergency or other medical treatments
• Experienced physical and emotional pain and suffering
• Had to miss work because you were in too much pain to do your job

These and other damages can have a serious effect on whether you can afford to pay bills and how you live your life. Since the drunk driver caused all of these losses, they should be the one to pay for them, not you.

Losses You Are Still Assessing

Your injuries will not go away overnight. Even if it has been weeks or months since the initial injury, you may still be unable to work as much as you did before, and you might still experience bothersome symptoms related to your injury.

After your accident with a drunk driver, lawyers in the Brooklyn office of Shulman & Hill can speak with you about the lingering effects of your injury. We can then estimate the monetary worth of these losses and add them to the losses you have already incurred.

Losses You Will Experience in the Future

Sometimes, it is best to wait to file a lawsuit until you have received all necessary medical care. Doing so will ensure you have a more accurate idea of how much your injuries have cost you and, therefore, how much the drunk driver should pay you.

Unfortunately, this is not always possible. If your injuries are permanent, or if the statute of limitations is coming up, you may have to file before you complete treatment. In these cases, Shulman & Hill can estimate how much to ask in compensation for:

• Medical treatments your doctor says you will probably need someday
• How much money you could have made over the course of your lifetime had your injury not interfered with your career
• The pain and suffering your injuries will likely cause as you age

Our Lawyers Handle Drunk Driving Accident Cases

For many families, deciding whether to take legal action after a collision with a drunk driver is not easy. Will the compensation you receive be worth the time and effort you put into a lawsuit? Can you understand the relevant laws well enough to protect your rights?

It may help you to know that you are not alone. As New York’s premier law firm, Shulman & Hill stands ready to fight hard for every client by:

Building a Strong Case File

To plan a sound strategy, we must first acquire a thorough understanding of your situation. This task may require us to:

• Listen closely as you tell us your story
• Speak with witnesses to get their version of events
• Visit the accident scene
• Order copies of important documentation related to your case
• Exchange evidence with the drunk driver’s legal team

Fighting for Monetary Damages

The word “lawsuit” may conjure images of lengthy courtroom battles, but this is not always what happens. There have been many personal injury cases where we were able to:

• Arrange a time and place to meet with the drunk driver’s representatives
• Negotiate for the money we felt the client deserved
• Present evidence that supported the client’s case and disputed the drunk driver’s version of events
• Review the settlement agreement with the client to make sure they were comfortable with it before they signed

That said, it is still possible that your case will end up in court. If that event, do not worry: the team at Shulman & Hill does not shy away from the courtroom. We can manage your trial by:

• Selecting jury members who are capable of considering your situation without bias
• Selecting witnesses to testify and questioning them on the stand
• Submitting evidence for the court’s consideration
• Delivering oral arguments at the beginning and end of the trial
• Ensuring the opposing legal team follows the rules and raising objections if they fail to do so

Being Your Communications Manager

Keeping track of all the people you have to stay in touch with during a lawsuit can be daunting. If you hire us, you only need to worry about communicating with one entity: our office. Our personal injury attorney can speak to everyone else on your behalf, including:

• The drunk driver if they are appearing without a lawyer
• The drunk driver’s insurance company
• The drunk driver’s legal team
• The judge and their assistants

We can communicate with these parties via email, text, phone call, fax, or teleconference. We can also meet with them in person to make certain arrangements or negotiate agreements.

Finally, our team could stay in regular contact with you, letting you know what other parties have said and how we think you should react.

Supporting You and Your Family

We know you likely have many legal questions about what your case is worth, how to ask for compensation, and how to talk with the other parties involved in the case. Our team supports our clients by:

• Giving them ample opportunity to ask us questions about our services and the legal process, both before and after they hire us
• Speaking with all other parties on their behalf, so they do not have to worry about what to say to the drunk driver or their representatives
• Contacting them whenever there is a new development in their case
• Providing professional advice if they are having trouble making legal decisions

Time Limits After a Drunk Driving Accident in Brooklyn, New York

You have the right to ask for compensation after an accident with a drunk driver, and our lawyers in Brooklyn can help you pursue that money. However, this right does not last forever.

A statute of limitations is any law that places a deadline by when the victim of a crime or accident must pursue legal action against the person who wronged them. Your case may fall under one of the following statutes:

Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

If the drunk driving accident is directly responsible for your personal injury and you now want to take legal action on your own behalf, you typically have three years from the accident date to do so.

You can find this statute in CPLR § 214.

Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations

According to EPTL § 5-4.1, you have less time to file a lawsuit after a fatal accident than after a personal injury accident. In general, the deadline, in this case, is just two years. The “countdown” begins on the day your loved one passes away.

We can also take an existing personal injury lawsuit and turn it into a wrongful death lawsuit if your loved one passes away before they complete their case.

How Much Do Our Lawyers in Brooklyn Cost?

The expenses you must cover to mount a lawsuit depend on the circumstances specific to your case. We would be happy to review all the likely expenses with you when you come to see us.

Shulman & Hill can also take steps to make our services more accessible and affordable to those who want them. Here is how we do it:

• We can assess every case over the phone at no charge. Even if you do not hire us, you can still find out about your case’s viability through this confidential review.
• We charge a contingency fee. Clients never have to pay attorney’s fees up front. Instead, we wait until they receive compensation to collect these fees.
• We do not expect clients to pay any attorney’s fees if we do not win compensation for them. If the client receives no damages, then we receive no payment.

We do not want any Brooklyn resident to forego legal representation or give up on receiving compensation just because of legal expenses. If you have any questions or concerns about legal fees or expenses, we encourage you to ask us. Our team would be only too glad to help.

Get to Know Our Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers in Brooklyn Today

Shulman & Hill represents clients who have suffered unnecessarily after many types of accidents, including accidents with drunk drivers. Our lawyers in Brooklyn can make it easier to seek the compensation you deserve. Call 718.852.4700 to learn more. Our team members are standing by 24/7 to assist you.