When hurt by negligent drivers in Union City, victims may file car accident lawsuits to recover the compensatory damages they need. This requires evidence, such as victims’ medical records.
Victims need medical records in car accident claims, whether to prove they surpass the tort threshold in Union City or to establish their injuries during their lawsuits to recover compensation. To get medical records, victims must document their injuries at the hospital after an accident. Our lawyers can help victims obtain records from providers in the following weeks and months so that we can create a clear case showing their physical injuries due to negligence and the financial and emotional consequences those injuries have had on their lives. Getting medical records early on in your case is important, as you will only have two years to file your lawsuit against a negligent driver in Union City.
Call the car accident lawyers of Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C., at (201) 777-1111 for a free case assessment.
The Importance of Medical Records in Union City, NJ Car Accident Cases
Medical records are extremely important in car accident claims in Union City. Many victims must overcome New Jersey’s tort threshold to sue negligent drivers, which means they must prove their injuries are severe via medical records. In addition to helping victims obtain their medical records, our lawyers will also use them during claims to help establish liability and establish the foundation for victims’ damages.
Why Victims Need Medical Records
New Jersey limits when some victims can sue for auto accidents. Under N.J.S.A. § 39:6A-8(a), victims with limited right to sue personal injury protection insurance coverage can only sue negligent drivers if their injuries meet the tort threshold. Injuries that permit victims to sue include any that cause death, dismemberment, significant scarring, significant disfigurement, displaced fractures, and loss of a fetus. Victims may also file lawsuits for other permanent injuries to body parts or organs in Union City.
Victims who must overcome the verbal threshold must get certifications from licensed and treating physicians confirming that they have sustained one of the abovementioned injuries, which we can assist with. This certification is based on clinical medical evidence, often including diagnostic tests, and is what puts victims over the tort threshold in New Jersey.
In addition to using medical records to overcome the threshold for auto accident lawsuits, victims also need medical evidence to prove their injuries during a trial. Even during settlement negotiations for car accident lawsuits, our attorneys need victims’ medical records to leverage over negligent drivers, making medical information some of the most crucial evidence in car crash claims.
When victims’ medical records detail catastrophic injuries, juries might be more sympathetic and likely to award greater non-economic damages to victims in Union City, especially when our lawyers present additional evidence, such as statements from victims and mental health professionals, to support requests for pain and suffering damages.
How to Get Medical Records
To build medical evidence of your injuries after an accident, you should go directly to the nearest hospital in Union City. If paramedics arrive on the scene after you call 911, accept any care they offer and let them take you to the emergency room. If you reject care at the scene, police officers might note that in their report.
Medical records only exist when victims go to hospitals and seek care from physicians. After victims leave the hospital, they may have to return periodically for additional treatments or testing. If doctors refer you to specialists, take their advice and continue your recovery. For example, after sustaining a back injury, you might have to see a physical therapist for several months, which would generate more medical evidence for your case.
While preparing your lawsuit in Union City, our car accident lawyers can contact hospitals and physicians to help you obtain all relevant medical records. Once we have medical records and any bills from your physical recovery, we can organize and review them to calculate your deserved financial recovery.
The Importance of Filing Car Accident Cases on Time in Union City, NJ
There is a specific window of opportunity during which victims may file car accident lawsuits in Union City. Initiating a case immediately after an accident is often the best way to ensure you meet the filing deadline for your lawsuit.
According to § 2A:14-2(a), auto accident victims in New Jersey have only two years to file lawsuits. Time begins running out on the date an accident happens, giving victims little time to recuperate before they must initiate their claims. While you are recovering, whether at home or in the hospital, our attorneys can work on preliminary yet crucial tasks, like preserving evidence at risk of being lost. This typically includes eyewitness statements, so our attorneys will seek to identify and interview them as soon as possible.
Although victims have the full two years provided under the law to file car accident claims, waiting that long could have consequences. Defendants might question why victims delayed their claims for so long and if their injuries might have been due to another event altogether. Because of that, making your recovery your top priority after an accident and enlisting our attorneys to begin the initial stages of your lawsuit is crucial. Courts typically dismiss claims that miss the statute of limitations and are not eligible for any exceptions to the two-year filing deadline, leaving such victims without a path to compensation.
To ensure this does not happen to you and bar you from recovery, our lawyers can calculate how much more time you have left to file based on the accident’s date and proceed accordingly, preserving evidence and preparing your case in Union City.
Call Our Attorneys in Union City, NJ About Your Auto Accident
Call our car accident lawyers at (201) 777-1111 for a free case review from Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C.