Personal injury settlements in New York aren’t as straightforward as they might seem. Let me break this down for you.
Whereas the parties seek to understand typical compensation in New York personal injury cases, the following data points shall be considered material:
The complex numbers tell an interesting story. When juries decide these cases, the median award in New York is $287,628—way above the national figure of $34,550. But here’s the thing: most cases never make it to a jury.
Take car accidents, for instance. The law in New York is pretty clear-cut: insurance companies must cough up to $50,000 for medical bills and lost wages through no-fault coverage. Going beyond that? You’ll need to prove you got seriously hurt.
If you’ve taken a tumble in NYC (legal term: premises liability incident), you could be looking at anything from $20,000 to several hundred grand. It’s all over the map.
Furthermore, the following factors shall materially affect settlement values:
The worse you’re hurt, the more you’re likely to get – that’s common sense. We’re talking about actual costs like medical bills, missed paychecks, and harder-to-measure stuff like pain and suffering. And let’s be honest – if you’re partly to blame, that will cut into your settlement.
People often forget that you can’t squeeze blood from a stone. If the person who hurt you only has $100,000 in insurance coverage, that’s probably your ceiling, even if your case is worth more on paper.
In witness whereof, it’s worth noting that these numbers are just guideposts. Your case? That’s its animal. You’ll want to sit down with a lawyer who knows their stuff to determine what you’re looking at.
