Andrews, Bernstein, Maranto & Nicotra, PLLC

There is not a minimum amount of medical bills that you need to have to file a claim. How you were injured and the extent of your injuries is much more important. Are you worried that you don’t have the proper amount of medical bills in order to go through with your personal injury case? If so, contact our experienced Buffalo Personal Injury Attorneys.

When we get clients calling us about commercial truck accidents, the important thing to know is that there are variables that are much different with these types of cases. There are logbook requirements, documentation the drivers are required to prepare and provide, limitations set by both the federal and state government that also require drivers to report how long they are on the road, how many days in a row they’ve been driving, and weigh ins. They’re required to do safety inspections that are also written and documented that they must produce. When you’re involved in a big truck accident, they typically involve insurance policies that are much bigger, as required by federal and state law. Also, there could be a plethora of knowledge that we can get through discovery that would not be available in a traditional car versus car accident.

Because personal injury lawyers work on a contingent fee basis, which means that they’re paid out of the proceeds awarded at the conclusion of successful cases, there should be no fee to hire a personal injury lawyer. There are, however, disbursements, which costs incurred by the attorney in the prosecution of a case, and some attorneys ask a client for a sum of money up front to cover those disbursements. They then pay expenses from that amount. In my current practice of well over 20 years, with partners who have practiced even longer, we have never engaged in that process. Rather, we pay for all disbursements up front, and you pay us only if we’re successful.

Determination really happens in a couple of distinct stages. Insurance companies attribute and determine the level of fault between themselves. If they can’t agree, they go through an intercompany arbitration process to determine what portion of each element of the case they will take – such as property damage that occurred at an intersection when two people claim they had the red light, or the green light, or a stop sign. That’s one step.

The most important thing to do, as soon as you’re involved in an auto accident, is file a no-fault application. It must be received by the insurance company, in writing, within 30 days from the date of the accident or they will not pay your medical bills or lost wages if you were working at the time. They will also refuse to pay for mileage which you’re entitled to for the first year after the accident, as well as prescriptions and many other benefits. It’s really a shame when people come to us 35 or 40 days after their accident and tell us they haven’t filed their application. At that point, it’s really an uphill battle to get those benefits reinstated through the insurance company. That application is a number one priority. As soon as we meet somebody, we say, “We’ve got to get this application in right away, verify that it was received, and get everything else set up.”

In New York State, everybody who is injured in a car accident is entitled to no-fault benefits. The innocent victim as well as the person who caused the accident. They all get the same initial bundle of benefits through no-fault including medical benefits, wages, mileage reimbursement, etc. People are only entitled to anything beyond that if they qualify as being seriously injured or have a threshold injury in New York State. There are certain, very specific, categories that you must fit into as defined by law. You and your attorney are the best ones to go over what categories you might qualify for after the records are in and the injuries have been determined.

Chiropractors can be very important with the healing of spinal injuries. Chiropractors are involved in the manipulation of the spine to remove subluxations which occur when there’s trauma to the body. In a subluxation, spinal bones lose their normal position and motion. Because of an accident or fall, they often pop out of place. When the vertebrae pop out of place it can cause localized pain and it can also cause peripheral types of pain or symptoms. Your body knows it’s been injured, and it’ll start to tighten up the muscles. You may start having difficulty turning your head, flexing, and extending. Once that happens, the chiropractors need to go in to straighten that out. This removes the pressure off the exiting nerve routes off the spine and aligns everything into place.

Usually in cases involving bone or joint injuries, certain orthopedic doctors will focus either on the spine, upper extremities, or lower extremities. Orthopedics is a highly focused and specialized area; these doctors dedicate their entire career and life to one area of the body. When you come to us, we will ask you about what areas are injured, and what is bothering you. Then, we advise you on what type of specialist might be best for your injuries. Specialty offices may require a backup referral from your primary care doctor.

If you are injured in a car accident and you don’t receive immediate care, that does not prevent you from making a claim for injury if you are hurt in a car crash. A lot of people think they are going to be okay after an accident. The person might feel sore that night or in morning, but they wait for it to go away as if it were muscle pain from working out at the gym. The pain experienced after a car accident is much different because it’s brought on by a traumatic event. Most people will wait a day or even a week until they realize it’s more serious than they thought. If you are experiencing pain following an auto accident, it is suggested that you do not wait for that pain to go away and seek medical attention to rule out serious injury.