What Counts as a Personal Injury in New York?
- Posted on:
If you’ve been injured in New York, you may wonder if you have a personal injury case. The law doesn’t always define “personal injury” the same way. Each state has its own definition of what counts as a personal injury. Before you have your day in court, you want to make certain that your case meets New York’s definition.17
The Basic Definition
In any court of law, a personal injury is defined as suffering physical harm due to someone’s intentional actions or negligence. This means that if someone has done everything the court deems reasonable yet you were still hurt, it may not qualify as a personal injury. Slipping on a wet floor is a personal injury. Slipping on a wet floor that has a prominent “caution” sign on it likely isn’t.
The Types of Personal Injuries in New York
New York classifies personal injuries into several areas:
- Auto accidents – while many people in New York don’t drive their own vehicles, you may have an auto accident case if you’ve been in a car accident while riding in someone else’s car or if you were hit by a vehicle while walking or riding a bike.
- Workplace accidents – worker’s compensation laws can provide you with medical care and other benefits if you were injured while at work. As long as you didn’t hurt yourself on purpose, worker’s comp will protect you. However, you must notify your employer no more than 30 days after the accident occurs.
- Premises liability – If you’re injured while on someone else’s property, you may have a case. Several factors play a part here, including whether or not you were on the property for business and if the owner was compliant with health and safety codes.
- Product liability – If you were injured using a product or from eating spoiled foods, you may have a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer or the restaurant that served you the food. It depends on the design of the product and several other factors, so you will definitely want to discuss your case with a personal injury attorney.
Don’t Wait
In most cases, New York only allows you to file a personal injury case within three years from the date you learned you were injured. With wrongful death cases, the deadline is two years after death. If you believe you have a personal injury case, contact Held & Hines LLP today to discuss your next steps01.
Posted in: News, Personal Injury
