Your immediate course of action following a car crash should be to assess yourself and others in your car for any injuries. If you can safely exit your vehicle, get to a safe place and call 911 to report the crash and any injuries and wait for assistance. The police will ask you and other involved drivers for license, registration and insurance information. The police will provide you with the other drivers’ information. If there are witnesses, take their contact information and have them speak with the police officers on the scene. While at the scene, if you are able, document as much information as you can by taking photographs showing the roadway and vehicles involved.

Contact your insurance company within 24 hours of the crash and provide them all your information regarding the other drivers and their insurance information.

Seek immediate medical care for any injuries you sustained even if you think they might be minor.

The investigating police officer will instruct you on how to obtain the official police report.

If you are in a traffic crash that involves a fatality or personal injury, you must report it to the DMV. You must also report any traffic incident or crash that involves $1000 or more in damage to the property of any one person. The form Report of Motor Vehicle Accident (MV-104) is available at any motor vehicle office, from most insurance agents and from the DMV website (search under Forms)

Yes. After a car crash, report the incident to your insurance company. You must cooperate with your own insurance company to receive all the benefits you are entitled to. This includes benefits covering medical expenses and lost income. Your insurance company will also protect you if someone brings a claim against you. Do not delay in reporting a crash to your insurance company.

You should not speak to any insurance company or investigator representing others involved in the crash. If you are contacted by an investigator or representative from an insurance company for others involved in the crash politely tell them not to contact you again. They could use your words against you. Instead, report the call to your insurance company and call a qualified attorney to discuss your options.

When involved in a car crash in New York you should contact your insurance company within 24 hours of the crash. They will ask you for details regarding the incident and will open a file to process your claim. You are entitled to many benefits under the standard provisions of your New York automobile insurance policy including payment of medical expenses and lost income. To ensure you get the benefits you are entitled to you should contact a qualified attorney to assist you.

If you sustained injuries in a car crash you may seek compensation for pain and suffering in addition to the benefits under your insurance policy. You have three years from the date of the crash to bring a formal court action against those responsible for causing your injuries. This time period is known as the statute of limitations. If the State of New York or other governmental entity is responsible for causing your injuries you must file a Notice of Claim or Notice of Intention to File a Claim (State) within 90 days of the incident to preserve your claim. Failure to follow these strict time constraints (Statute of Limitations and Notice of Claim) will cause the loss of your right to ever bring an action. Contact a qualified personal injury attorney to determine if a Notice of Claim or formal lawsuit should be filed on your behalf.

Experienced personal injury lawyers are trained in pursuing claims for their injured clients against insurance companies whose sole interest is to deny and diminish your claim. Insurance companies will not voluntarily pay full and fair compensation to an injured person. Only an experienced personal injury attorney can properly represent your interests and obtain full, fair and just compensation for your injuries and losses.

In New York, every car owner must maintain insurance that provides minimum mandatory personal injury protection benefits in the amount of $50,000. These benefits are known as “No-Fault” benefits. If you were injured as a driver or passenger in a car, the insurance company covering the car you occupied will pay your crash related medical bills and economic losses up to $50,000.

“No Fault” benefits include payments for lost wages when you cannot work due to injuries sustained in a car crash. Your total lost wage benefits and medical benefits will vary based on the coverage you selected when you purchased auto insurance.

If you were employed when you were hurt, you may also be entitled to lost income benefits under a New York State Disability policy maintained by your employer.

Serious injury is defined as personal injury which results in one of the following:

• Death
• Dismemberment
• Significant disfigurement
• Fracture
• Loss of a fetus
• Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system
• Permanent consequential limitation of a body organ or member
• Significant limitation of use of a body function or system
• Medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person’s usual and customary daily activities for not less than 90 days during the 180 days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

If you suffered a serious physical injury, you can seek damages for past and future pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, past and future medical expenses and past and future lost income.

When a car crash occurs between two or more vehicles more than one person can be at fault. In New York State, if a driver is partially at fault for a car crash that driver may still recover for injuries sustained if someone else is partially at fault. New York is a comparative fault State. That means if you are 10% at fault for the crash your monetary recovery for the full amount of damages will be reduced by 10%. Even if you are over 50% at fault you can recover damages under New York’s comparative fault rule. (See, NY CPLR §1411)

If you are injured by a driver with no insurance you will be covered under your own insurance policy. All New York auto policies must carry at least $25,000 per person / $50,000 per incident, in uninsured motorist coverage. This coverage will pay for your personal injury damages up to the limits of the policy if you are injured through the negligence of an uninsured motorist.

Because the minimum uninsured motorist coverage limits are only $25,000, consider purchasing optional coverage to protect yourself and family from irresponsible motorists. This optional coverage is known as Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (SUM). SUM coverage can be purchased with limits of $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 and more. Insurance premiums for SUM coverage are very reasonable considering the protection it provides. Speak to your insurance broker or insurance company to add SUM coverage to your policy.