Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions

The statute of limitations may prevent you from seeking compensation if you wait too long from the time of your injury to file a claim or lawsuit. Just as importantly, as time goes by, witnesses may become less willing to help or evidence may be lost. If the facts are on your side, and the evidence supports your claim, you need to act before circumstances change. In short, the sooner you contact us, the better.

One important note: In New York, the statute of limitations on an injury to a child does not begin to accrue until the injured child turns 18 years old, so you may have a chance to act now even if you did not at the time of the original injury.

You need to seek appropriate medical attention for any injury. Your symptoms, your diagnosis and your treatment are medical decisions. They should be handled as medical decisions and should not be influenced by a personal injury claim.

Seeing a doctor right away often makes your case stronger when it comes time to file a claim. An insurance company might try to argue that your injuries were suffered before or after the accident, and the sooner you see a doctor, the easier it is to counter those claims. Also, if you wait to seek medical attention, the insurance company may argue that you are partially to blame for your medical issues due to that delay.

If you have experienced physical harm, medical records will be crucial information in your claim. Photographic evidence of any visual wounds are also helpful.

Any direct expense you incur, such as a rental car to replace one damaged in an accident, should be carefully recorded. Likewise, monetary losses such as lost wages should be recorded.

Get complete contact information from any possible witnesses right away and get their statements at the first opportunity. It may be weeks or months before you need their statements, and they may be harder to locate at that time. Moreover, their memories may fade over time.

At the Law Offices of James Morris, we take the time to thoroughly review each case, because no two clients face the same challenges. Factors such as having liability shared among multiple parties, the degree of injury or loss, and the potential future impact of the injury or illness all have an effect on the settlement.

We do not apply a standard formula, because we do not take your injury, and the impact it has had on your family, for granted. We will work hard, all the way to presenting your case before a jury, to get you everything you deserve.