Know the Insurance Law § 5102(d) Qualifiers. To help establish a guideline for personal injury, New York instituted a “Serious Injury Threshold”. Below are the qualifiers for this threshold.
Article 51 of the Insurance Law provides that a plaintiff in a personal injury action arising out of negligence in the use or operation of a motor vehicle must establish that he/she has incurred a basic economic loss exceeding $50,000 or must establish that he/she has suffered “serious injury”. Insurance Law § 5104(a), (b). 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 another driver was negligent in a car accident in New York that caused you injury, you may deserve compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, damage of your car, and pain and suffering. An experienced New York car accident attorney can negotiate with the insurance company so you receive a fair financial compensation. The driving laws change over time and a car accident attorney will be aware of how the current law impacts your case. Pulvers, Pulvers, Thompson & Friedman have successfully represented clients in texting while driving accidents as well as other types of car accidents (drunk driving, distracted driving, tractor-trailer, pedestrian-vehicle, etc). Contact us for a free consultation.
