Accident With a Drunk Driver

After suffering injuries in an accident with a drunk driver, lawyers with our firm in Long Island can assist you in various ways. We can inform you of your rights, gather evidence to build your case, and seek the financial damages you deserve.

You can use the money you get from a lawsuit to pay for accident-related doctor’s visits and even to support your family if you cannot work. Dial 516.613.3196 today to find out how Shulman & Hill can serve you and your family.

Getting Damages From a Drunk Driver in Long Island, New York

Even if you have a straightforward case where the drunk driver is clearly responsible for your accident, their insurance company might try to avoid paying what you deserve. The insurer might:

• Claim you also behaved carelessly and contributed to the accident
• Assert that the accident did not cause all of your injuries, so the drunk driver should not have to pay for those injuries
• Deny that their client was at the accident scene at all
• Try to get you to speak to them so that they can use your own words against you

You might therefore have to fight harder than you expect for compensation after a drunk driving car accident. Shulman & Hill is not afraid of such challenges: we do not let a case’s complexity determine whether we accept it.

Instead of trying to juggle a lawsuit with all of your other responsibilities, you can let Shulman & Hill deal with:

• Gathering evidence: This task could include requesting material from the police, your doctors, witnesses, and your family and friends.
• Interpreting evidence: Once we collect all available evidence, we can use it to prove the drunk driver’s liability, what types of losses you suffered, and how much compensation you should ask the other party to pay you.
• Requesting compensation: This generally requires sending out a demand letter to the drunk driver’s insurer. We can compose this letter for you and make sure it includes compelling details about both the accident and your injuries.
• Negotiating for compensation: If the insurance company is willing to discuss your case in good faith, we may try to hammer out a settlement agreement. This could save you the trouble of waiting for a court case.
• Going to trial: If your case goes to trial, we will represent you in the courtroom. Our team can submit evidence, deliver oral arguments, and question witnesses.
• Filing paperwork: No matter how long or short your case turns out to be, there will be paperwork involved. Instead of trying to sort through it all yourself, you can rely on us to select the right forms, fill them out, and submit them promptly.

Most important of all, we can be there for you in your hour of need. Our team is always happy to answer your questions, advise you on how to proceed, and provide you with progress reports after each new development. We want to be a true partner to you as you navigate this difficult period.

Determining Damages After a Drunk Driving Accident in Long Island

Before starting a lawsuit, your Shulman & Hill lawyer will want to know more about your situation to build a strong case.

• What symptoms did you experience immediately after the crash? Are you still experiencing any symptoms today?
• What kind of medical care have you received for your injuries?
• Do your injuries prevent you from going to work or performing all of your regular job duties? How has this affected your income?
• Do your injuries prevent you from doing things you enjoy, like visiting with friends or family?

We can combine your testimony with other sources of evidence to build a case for compensation. We can collect your medical records or medical bills to demonstrate your losses and cover your possible future needs. Such as:

• Medical care expenses
• Loss of income
• Pain and suffering

Why do we include future damages in your lawsuit? You only have the right to sue a drunk driver for a particular accident once. Even if you incur further expenses once the case is over, you cannot ask them for more money. It is imperative that you request the right amount the first time. Otherwise, you could be on the hook for any future bills.

Paying Our Long Island Lawyers for Help With Your Drunk Driving Crash Case

After an accident with a drunk driver, our lawyers in Long Island can work with you to recover damages. However, when you are facing reduced income and piles of bills, actually retaining legal counsel can seem impossible. Is a drunk driving accident attorney worth the money?

At Shulman & Hill, we make every effort to minimize what our clients pay while maximizing the services they receive in return. Here is what we can do for you:

Providing a Free Consultation

Our team members are standing by 24/7 to provide you with a confidential case assessment at absolutely no cost. You do not even have to pay for the gasoline necessary to visit our office: we can complete this evaluation over the telephone.

This consultation will tell us if we can help you and if you feel comfortable enough with our team to proceed to the next step of visiting us in person.

Discussing Legal Expenses

We probably will not know what kinds of legal expenses your case requires until we have started it. What we can do is:

• Provide you with reasonable estimates of what legal fees your case may involve
• Tell you the cost of each legal task before we get started on it
• Answer any questions you have about what an expense is for or why you have to pay it

Working on Contingency Fees

When a firm charges a contingency fee, the client pays no attorney’s fees right away. Instead, the firm agrees to work for free until they win compensation from the client. In other words:

• You owe us no attorney’s fees up front.
• You can pay us a percentage of your compensation rather than having to dip into your own savings.

We finance your case from start to finish and only get paid if you do. You take very little risk when you work with our firm.

The Statute of Limitations on Drunk Driving Accident Lawsuits

You may qualify to file a lawsuit against the other party. However, to do so, you must comply with New York’s statute of limitations, which is how long you have to sue the other party. Under CPLR § 214, the state sets the deadline at three years for most lawsuits. If you’re pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit, you typically have two years to file, per EPT § 5-4.1.

Certain exceptions can toll the deadline, but it’s best to get started as soon as possible. Delaying could hurt your chances of recovering compensation altogether. Given adequate notice, a lawyer on our team can help you comply with the statute of limitations.

Preventing Accidents With Drunk Drivers

While you can control your own behavior, you, unfortunately, have no way to predict when and where you will encounter a drunk driver out on the road. All you can do is be prepared to react if you see a driver who is drunk or otherwise reckless. Examples of reckless driving behavior include the following:

• Changing lanes without purpose or without signaling properly
• Driving over the speed limit or driving too fast for the conditions (e.g., failing to account for rain or snow)
• Driving through stop signs or red lights without stopping
• Following another driver too closely
• Yelling or honking at other people in the road

Be aware that other factors, like winter weather, could compound the risk of an accident. For example, you might be able to swerve out of a drunk driver’s way if the road is dry, but if there is ice, you could lose control and suffer worse injuries than you would have otherwise.

If all else fails and you do get into an accident with a drunk driver, the lawyers in Long Island from Shulman & Hill can represent you. There is no acceptable reason for driving drunk, and we want to help you hold such irresponsible drivers accountable.

Our Long Island Lawyers Can Help You With Your Drunk Driving Accident Case

Shulman & Hill helps clients throughout New York City and Long Island to seek compensation after devastating personal injuries. If you were in an accident with a drunk driver, our lawyers in Long Island could make a difference in your case. Call 516.613.3196 for a free evaluation at any time.