If you have never attended law school, then you may never have heard the words “tort” or “tortfeasor,” but you have certainly seen billboards in which personal injury law firms promise to help injured people get the money to compensate for the financial losses they suffered as a result of their injuries. The reason that it is possible to file a personal injury lawsuit is because of tort law, which gives people who suffered physical or financial harm as the result of someone else’s intentional or unintentional wrongdoing the right to seek financial compensation from the party responsible for causing the harm.
Almost all jurisdictions have some form of tort laws, although the eligibility rules and procedures for filing tort claims vary somewhat from one jurisdiction to another. Over the years, New York has enacted some laws protecting corporations from liability in personal injury cases. This does not mean that you can’t sue; it just means that plaintiffs must follow stricter rules and that it is easier for defendants to pay you less money than you could otherwise get. If you have been injured in a car accident in New York, contact a New York car accident lawyer.
Personal Injury Lawsuits are Only One of Many Kinds of Tort Claims
Tort law enables you to sue almost any person or entity who caused you to incur preventable financial losses, whether or not the defendant’s actions were intentional, and whether or not you also suffered physical harm. In general, tort claims fall into three categories:
Strict liability – These are lawsuits related to things or situations that are inherently dangerous, such as suing the manufacturer of a dangerous product.
Unintentional torts – These cases are about negligence, meaning that the defendant did not cause the accident but could have prevented the accident if they had used reasonable caution. An example is premises liability cases involving slip and fall accidents on a wet floor at a store, where the store employees should have dried the floor or made it inaccessible to customers.
Intentional torts – In these cases, you sue someone who intentionally harmed you. For example, victims of assault and identity theft may sue the people who attacked or stole from them, regardless of whether the defendant was also convicted in criminal court.
How Does New York Tort Reform Affect Your Personal Injury Case?
New York has enacted some laws that protect corporate defendants in personal injury cases. For example, New York law gives companies the right to require arbitration in resolving many personal injury claims. Mandatory arbitration between an individual and a big company is as unbalanced as it sounds. With the help of a personal injury lawyer, you can get a fair settlement in arbitration or exercise your right to have the courts decide the matter.
Contact Leitner Varughese Warywoda About Car Accident Cases
A car accident lawyer can help you if you suffered serious injuries in a car accident where the at-fault driver was driving as part of his or her job. Contact Leitner Varughese Warywoda PLLC in Brooklyn, New York, or call (212)671-1110 to discuss your case.
