Video – Attorney Steven Gacovino Explains The Process For Filing A Personal Injury Claim

Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media

Tell us the process for filing a personal injury claim. Somebody gets hurt, you know, they may not know whether or not they actually have a claim. So, what’s your process when they approach you?

Steven Gacovino – Personal Injury Attorney – Suffolk County, NY

Let’s put this in the context of a motor vehicle accident because those are the most common types of representations that we do with respect to personal injury. So, if somebody gets into a motor vehicle accident, of course, they don’t know what to do. And if they call us, we try to guide them the best that we can.

But the best thing that they can do for themselves in the event of an accident is obviously they need to get out of harm’s way. They do need to call the police in the event that they’re hurt.

Of course, they need to gather as much information as they can at the scene of the accident, including the defendant’s information, their contact information, assess if there are any witnesses, take photographs of the scene, take photographs of the vehicle, of the damage to the cars, things of that nature.

After they call us and initiate a case, we do an initial screening. We meet with them. If we decide to take on the case, we do it pending further investigation to see where it’s going to go. But they do need to make sure that they remember their accident the best that they can in real time.

They do need to make sure that they’ve gathered as much information about the defendant as they possibly could, and as much information at the scene as they possibly could.

We go about getting their medical records to confirm that they’ve been hurt. We go about getting a copy of the police report. We interview any witnesses that might be involved. If necessary, we hire experts to try to confirm the liability of the case.

But one of the most important things that they need to do, and this is very important and very specific to New York law, but they do need to file a no-fault application within 30 days of the date of the accident.

What is no-fault? What is a no-fault application? That application protects your benefits under your policy for a couple of things, reasonable expenses associated with getting medical care, the medical care itself, and some degree of lost wages that might be associated with lost time from work as a result of the accident.