NY INSURANCE LAW §5102(d)
"Serious Injury" means a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.
The New York Pattern Jury instructions provide that negligence is a lack of ordinary care. It is a failure to use the degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would have used under the same circumstances.
Negligence may arise from doing an act that a reasonably prudent person would not have done under the same circumstances, or, on the other hand, from failing to carry out an act that a reasonable prudent person would have done under the same circumstances.
Negligence can result in all types of accidents causing physical and/or property damage, but can also include business errors and miscalculations.
Riconda & Garnett, LLC divides our negligence practice between automobile cases and non-automobile cases.
In considering whether or not to bring an action for negligence, the severity of the injury as well as the adversary's degree of fault must be considered.
In New York, automobile cases, in order to be successful, an injured party must have a particular type of injury. The New York Insurance Law provides that a plaintiff must have a "serious injury" in order to pursue an action for personal injuries.
The insurance law defines serious injury as "a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; a significant limitation of a use of a body function or system" and/or "a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment."
We at Riconda & Garnett are seasoned professionals and have extensively litigated actions requiring an interpretation of the law.
In non-auto cases (i.e. trip/fall accidents, product liability, et al) New York law does not require that the plaintiff to have sustained a serious injury. There is no bar to recovering money damages even if the injury is less than "serious."
We encourage all injured accident victims to first seek out medical attention and next to contact a lawyer to consider their rights and options.
At Riconda & Garnett, you will always be treated cordially, promptly, and respectfully. Our goal is to make you comfortable with the process so that you are an informed consumer. You must consider that in essentially all claims the defendant will be represented by an insurance company and teams of attorneys prepared to minimize and delay your claim.
We are ready willing and able to represent you in a caring professional manner. For a free consultation with a lawyer, contact us online or by phone at (516) 285-8867 or (718) 949-8505.
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The Valley Stream, New York law firm of Riconda & Garnett, LLP serves clients across Long Island in the five boroughs of New York City in communities such as Valley Stream, North Valley Stream, Malverne, Elmont, Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Franklin Square, Hempstead, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, East Rockaway, Oceanside, Merrick, Wantagh, Massapequa, Queens and Brooklyn.Nassau County | Suffolk County | Queens County | Kings County | New York County | ||