New York Personal Injury Lawyer

At Stephen Bilkis and Associates we fight for our clients to recover the most money allowable under law for the harm they have suffered. Each New York Personal Injury Lawyer in our office is both knowledgeable and experienced in handling injury matters and we offer a free consultation. Whether you have been involved in a medical malpractice incident, car collision, slip and fall, truck roll-over, birth injury or a construction accident, our legal team will aggressively act on your behalf to recover money for your medical bills pain and suffering and economic loss. Many believe that attorneys must go to court to have a trial and win their case with a stunning jury verdict. But this is usually not how it happens. More often, your lawyer is responsible for managing your case and usually the case never winds up in the hands of a jury. This means that our legal team will first try and negotiate a settlement with the insurance company of the person who caused your injuries. There are advantages to this. If you have suffered harm, you would receive the money faster than if the matter wound up in a lengthy court battle. However, if the insurance company will not give the case a fair settlement, then legal counsel may take the case to court.

One case where a legal counsel was able to help an injury victim was DeSimone v. Royal GM, INC, 49 A.D.3d 490, 856 N.Y.S.2d 628 (2008). Here, the plaintiff was hurt in a car collision, and suffered a rotator cuff injury and a herniated cervical disc. At trial, the law firm was able to get the jury to award the plaintiff damages for past pain and suffering and future pain and suffering. The defendant thought the damage award was too high, and appealed to a higher court.

On appeal, the firm was able to convince the higher court that the damages were fair, and that the plaintiff should prevail. To win this part of the case, the lawyers had to make two arguments.

First, they had to argue that the plaintiff had suffered a “serious injury”, as that term is defined under New York State Insurance Law Section 5102(d). This is important because state law typically requires that the plaintiff’s injury be “serious”. Here, counsel was able to show the higher court that the jury found that the plaintiff had suffered a “significant limitation of use of a bodily function or system”. Then, they were able to convince the higher court that this finding by the jury was based on a “fair interpretation of the evidence.”

Second, they had to argue that the amount of money the jury awarded to the plaintiff was a fair amount. This is sometimes called the “reasonable compensation” requirement. One of the relevant sections of New York state law establishing this principle is called CPLR Section 5501. To win here, the firm was able to point to damage awards from other similar cases, and convince the higher court that the damage award for the plaintiff’s herniated cervical disc and rotator cuff injury was “reasonable compensation.”

Stephen Bilkis and Associates know the law and are ready to aggressively fight for you if you have been hurt in an accident. You can call us at 800.696.9529 for a free consultation. We have locations in New York City and Long Island including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, New York and Suffolk County. Call us for a free consultation at 800.696.9529.