Unfortunately, some personal injury lawyers cannot be trusted. Too many lawyers get in trouble for “borrowing” or stealing client settlement money from their escrow accounts.

How Do I Know if I Can Trust a Personal Injury Lawyer?

When choosing a New York personal injury lawyer to represent you for your injury from an accident, how do you know whether you can trust your lawyer?

It’s difficult to find out, and you probably would feel uncomfortable asking. Even if you did have the courage to ask, what lawyer would admit to having borrowed money from their attorney’s escrow account?

There are only two ways you can discover potential problems.

One way which is not very effective is to search the attorney’s name on the New York Attorney Registration Search page which will reveal if the attorney ever had any disciplinary action. A search of Avvo.com will also reveal that information. However, by the time that information is listed, the attorney is probably no longer working.

Another way is to look at the attorney’s FICO credit score. A poor credit score indicates an inability to pay bills on time. A lawyer with a poor credit score is more susceptible to “borrowing” or stealing money from the attorney escrow account.

But again, would you have the courage to ask for proof of a personal injury attorney’s credit score? And if you did, it’s doubtful that an attorney would disclose it. There is no way you can check an attorney’s credit rating without permission.

That’s why I’m disclosing my credit score here which shows a FICO credit score of 850 out of a possible 850. My credit score typically ranges from 835-850 depending upon factors such as opening a new account which usually temporarily lowers a score.

If you already have a personal injury lawyer representing you for your accident and you’re wondering why you haven’t received your settlement check yet, read: How long does it take to get my settlement check after settling my accident case?

Before deciding on which personal injury lawyer to use for your accident case, read the Questions To Ask Before Hiring a Personal Injury or Accident Lawyer.

Both attorneys Phil Franckel and Rob Plevy are members of Ethical Lawyers of America

What Happens to a Lawyer When the Lawyer Takes Money From an Escrow Account

Lawyers are not allowed to borrow money from escrow accounts, even if the money is immediately replaced.

Some lawyers eventually get arrested when they steal client money from their attorney escrow account. Other lawyers have only been suspended or disbarred when they “borrowed” client money from their attorney’s escrow account.

I personally know a personal injury lawyer who was arrested for taking $2.5 million from his escrow account. He was disbarred and served 2.5 years in prison. I also know another lawyer who took $5 million from his escrow account and was disbarred.

A quick search on Google for “lawyer arrested escrow” or “lawyer disbarred escrow” and other similar searches will discover quite a few lawyers who have taken client money from escrow accounts. The Queens DA says these two Long Island lawyers stole over $7 million from clients who have now pled guilty.

In another case, the Queens District Attorney announced that a former Queens personal injury lawyer was sentenced to prison for bilking more than 50 clients out of nearly $2 million in personal injury settlement money.

What Happens if My Lawyer Took My Money From an Escrow Account

The Lawyers’ Fund For Client Protection Of the State of New York provides financial protection for clients whose money was stolen by their lawyer.

You may be reimbursed for the loss of your money caused by the dishonest conduct of your lawyer, up to a maximum of $400,000 for each client loss.

What Does My Attorney Need to Do With My Money?

See a plain-English guide to current disciplinary and court rules, statutes, and bar association ethics opinions relating to attorney trust accounts, and accounting standards for law offices.

Will My Lawyer Get Paid By the Defense or Insurance Company to Settle My Case?

No. I can’t believe that any personal injury lawyer would ever or even ever that that in the past.

Many years ago, personal injury lawyers were known to pay insurance claim reps to pay more money to settle, but not less. Today, it’s just too easy to get caught.

Some personal injury lawyers work for both plaintiffs (people injured in accidents) and insurance defense. We have never done insurance defense and never will. We will never, ever represent an insurance company!

See the fees and services provided by New York Serious Injury Attorneys at HURT911®

How to Compare Personal Injury Lawyers in New York

12 questions to ask before hiring a personal injury lawyer

See more answers to FAQs

Have a Question or Comment About Can You Trust Your Personal Injury Lawyer? Leave a Comment!

Are you wondering how to find a top-rated personal injury lawyer near me and a free consultation? Because of the Internet and modern technology, finding a personal injury lawyer near me is easy. But some out-of-state law firms claim to be near you, especially some of the largest personal injury law firms.

1-800-HURT-911® NY Top Rated Injury Lawyers Are “Near Me”

1-800-HURT-911® NY Top Rated Injury Lawyers with top personal injury settlements have a location near you in New York, including:

New York City

• Manhattan
• Bronx
• Brooklyn
• Queens

Long Island

• Nassau
• Suffolk

The only NYC borough where we do not have a location is Staten Island, but we are nearby and can have a personal injury lawyer come to you.

In addition to an injury lawyer near me, you’ll have a personal injury lawyer and two 1-800-HURT-911® NY Founding Partners who supervise your case and let you call or text their cell phone anytime, even during evenings and weekends.

If you don’t believe you’ll actually be able to call a 1-800-HURT-911® Founding Partner at any time, listen to the two recordings below.

1-800-HURT-911® the 1-800 Lawyers Near You

New York has several 1-800 lawyers, but only 1-800-HURT-911® provides personal service, allowing you to call or text two partners anytime during evenings and weekends.

We are the original 1-800-HURT-911® personal injury lawyers in New York near you, with office locations throughout the New York City and Long Island metropolitan area.

How Do You Know if a Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me Is Top Rated?

Look at Several Pages of the Injury Lawyer’s Website

Does the lawyer provide useful information showing substantial knowledge of personal injury law, or does the website look like a website company wrote it?

Take a look at a couple of our pages:

• Car Accidents
• No-Fault
• How Not To Serve Notice of Entry by eFiling (article written for other personal injury lawyers)
• and, of course, the largest page of FAQs about New York Accidents you’ll find on a New York personal injury lawyer’s website.

Ask Your Friends If They Could Call Their Personal Injury Lawyer

Ask your friends if they could call their personal injury lawyer after signing a retainer. We bet they could only speak with a lawyer when they hired the lawyer, and afterward, they could only speak with a secretary.

The two voicemails below prove you can call us almost anytime.

Listen to these 2 voicemails from clients who were shocked when Attorney Phil Franckel didn’t answer the phone:

Sue D.

Sue C.

You can come to us, or we can come to you. You can also sign a retainer by email so we can begin working on your case within minutes of your call after your accident.

Look at the Personal Injury Lawyer’s Settlement Results

You can see our results for New York personal injury settlements near you.

Are you looking for tough, high-profile serious injury lawyers and a personal injury law firm near you that provides impressive results and friendly personal service? You can have it all with us!

There Used to Be Advantages of a Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me

1. Your attorney is near the court where your case is.
2. It’s easier to go see your attorney anytime you want.

The first reason is no longer necessary, and the second reason will never happen.

Your Personal Injury Attorney Is Near the Court Where Your Case Is

Personal injury lawyers often have offices near one of the New York Supreme Court houses, but they have cases in several counties in New York, and each county has a Supreme Court. When I worked for a personal injury law firm in New York City, I sometimes had to go to court in Riverhead, Long Island, because we also had clients in Suffolk County.

Lawyers previously had to go to court all the time. Your lawyer would have to go to court to purchase an index number to start your personal injury lawsuit and go back to court to file various papers.

Several court appearances were necessary for motions (a motion is a written argument submitted to the court asking for a court order). Motions used to be filed in court on paper, but the lawyer also had to go to court to argue the motion orally.

Today, lawsuits in New York are started by e-filing court papers. The Summons and Complaint are filed online at the court website, and the index number is paid by credit card online.

Motions are uploaded electronically to the court’s website and are no longer orally argued. Even court conferences, depositions, and EBTs are held by video.

All case documents are uploaded electronically to the court’s website and are immediately served upon all parties through the court’s website by email.

Your lawyer doesn’t have to go to court anymore unless your case goes to trial. According to this article, 97% of cases are settled, but with car accidents and motorcycle accidents, almost all are settled because we often get the entire insurance policy limit.

Your Personal Injury Lawyer Can Work on Your Case Anywhere There is an Internet Connection

I have answered calls from clients while cruising the Mediterranean and on the Av. des Champs-Élysées in Paris (like Fifth Avenue in New York City).

I answered emails, researched Westlaw, and uploaded motion papers from my balcony on the cruise ship Jewel of the Seas in the Mediterranean, just like I was in my New York personal injury office. Here I am, working on my balcony of the cruise ship.

If My Personal Injury Lawyer Is Near Me, Is It Easier to See My Lawyer?

Unfortunately, even if your personal injury lawyer is near you, you probably won’t be able to see your lawyer when you want to.

The reality is that most personal injury clients can’t see their lawyer when they want to, and they can’t even reach their lawyer on the phone. Just try to call your lawyer after you sign a retainer. You’ll only speak with a secretary or paralegal.

But you can always call one of the Founding Partners at 1-800-HURT-911® on our personal phones.

If you were injured in an accident before, you probably already know that you couldn’t get an appointment to see your lawyer when you had questions or wanted to discuss your case. Chances are you couldn’t even speak to your lawyer and could only get a paralegal on the phone.

Most personal injury attorneys meet their clients only to sign up their case, and if a lawsuit is started, maybe an hour before their deposition. See how we prepare our clients in our office.

Will I Have to Go to Personal Injury Lawyer’s Office to Sign Papers?

Some personal injury lawyers require you to come to the office whenever they want you to sign papers. But you won’t see your lawyer, you’ll see a secretary.

You don’t have to come to our office to sign papers. You can sign papers electronically by email, which gets your case moving faster; we can mail the papers to you with a self-addressed stamped envelope, you can come to us, or we can come to you.

We have office locations throughout the New York City and Long Island metropolitan areas. Again, we can come to you, you can come to us, or you can sign a personal injury retainer by email so we can begin working on your case immediately after your accident.

If it’s convenient for you and you would like to meet with us, we can meet with you, no matter where you are. We can even come to you if you’re in upstate New York. We have clients from Long Island to Buffalo.

Can I Go to My Lawyer’s Office to Get My Case Status?

You can always come to see us, but you can call or text us on our personal phones seven days/nights, so you don’t have to come into our office to ask a question or find out the status of your case.

We always take calls from our clients on our personal phones, seven days/nights. That’s why I took calls from clients in Paris, on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, and in the recovery room in a hospital.

There are very rare times when even we can’t be reached, but we’ll call back immediately, or you can try us a couple of hours later. Phil Franckel even answered a client’s call while in the recovery room, still groggy from anesthesia after a colonoscopy and another time after surgery with general anesthesia!

Listen to these 2 voicemails from clients who were shocked when Attorney Phil Franckel didn’t answer the phone:

Sue D.

Sue C.

We have many personal injury clients we have never met. Often, our clients develop a personal relationship with us by phone, and when it’s time to send a settlement check, they ask if they could come to our office to meet us. Of course, we welcome any time our clients want to meet us.

When it comes to litigation experience, negotiation experience, personal service, and the ability to speak with your personal injury lawyer 7 days/nights, not just for a free consultation, we are No. 1 of the “top 10 personal injury lawyers near me.”

How to Find an Honest Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me

Some people search for “how to find an honest personal injury lawyer” or “how to find a reputable personal injury lawyer,” which is important because your personal injury lawyer may receive hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars of your money.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a personal injury lawyer disbarred every month for taking money from a client escrow account, and many personal injury lawyers have gone to jail and prison for taking millions of dollars of money from clients.

Partner Attorney Philip L. Franckel, Esq. has always maintained a top credit rating with a FICO score ranging from 840 to 850 (850 is the highest score possible).

We don’t have money problems, and with the highest financial ethics, Phil Franckel has always maintained a high credit score since high school.

I Don’t Need to Find an Accident Lawyer Near Me, What Do I Need?

You need to be able to speak with your accident lawyer, not a paralegal, whenever you have a question. Sometimes, a paralegal can answer your question, but many times, you really want to speak with your lawyer.

See our personal injury FAQs, and feel free to call us anytime.

Are Morgan and Morgan Personal Injury Lawyers Near Me in New York?

Since personal injury lawyers no longer need to be near you, many out-of-state law firms like Morgan and Morgan, a law firm from Florida, are advertising for personal injury accidents in the New York City area.

Morgan and Morgan recently opened local offices here, but 1-800-HURT-911® is originally from New York City and Long Island.

While out-of-state law firms like Morgan and Morgan can handle your New York accident case, do you really think you’ll ever get to speak to your lawyer? You’ll certainly never get to speak with John Morgan. The first time you call Morgan and Morgan, you’ll probably be on hold with their client advocacy department for a long time to speak with an intake person who’s not a personal injury lawyer. When someone there called me, and I called back, I was on hold for 6 minutes.

Morgan and Morgan say size matters, but 1-800-HURT-911® is a large personal injury law firm where you can always reach one of the Founding Partners by phone 7 days/nights, and we’re originally from New York.

Are Cellino & Barnes Personal Injury Lawyers Near Me in New York City?

Since personal injury lawyers no longer need to be near you, some out-of-town law firms like Cellino & Barnes from Buffalo advertise for personal injury accidents in New York City and Long Island. Cellino & Barnes is a personal injury law firm that started in Buffalo, NY, and has its main office there.

Cellino & Barnes opened local branch offices in New York City and Long Island, but 1-800-HURT-911® is originally from New York City and Long Island.

While Cellino & Barnes can handle your New York accident case, even though it was a large law firm in Rochester, do you really think you’ll ever get to speak to your lawyer?

Unfortunately, Cellino & Barnes no longer exists because Ross Cellino and Stephen Barnes were suing each other, and just after they agreed to part ways, Ross Cellino passed away in a tragic plane accident.

1-800-HURT-911® is originally from New York, and we’re a large injury law firm where you can always reach one of the Founding Partners by phone 7 days/nights.

See more answers to FAQs

Comments About Top Rated Personal Injury Lawyers Near Me

Workers injured on a worksite in a construction accident are often referred to a construction accident lawyer recommended by the union. But should I use a union lawyer for a construction accident case who may owe allegiances to the union and the construction company?

Is that a good idea? Is a lawyer referred by the union biased? Should I use my own independent construction accident lawyer? We provide the information here so you can decide if you would rather have your own independent construction accident lawyer.

Should I Use a Construction Accident Lawyer Recommended by the Union?

These are some of the questions you should consider about using a construction accident lawyer recommended by your union for your construction accident injury.

Is It Possible That the Union Gets Money From Your Construction Accident Lawyer?

Unions try hard to make sure that every union member goes to the construction accident lawyer they recommend. There has to be a reason for that.

We don’t want to accuse any law firms, but we have heard about construction accident law firms that have close relationships with unions and illegally pay money to union leaders to get construction accident cases. In fact, many lawyers we know have all heard stories about a couple of construction accident law firms illegally paying money to union leaders to get construction accident cases.

If a lawyer were to pay money to a union to get your construction accident case, that makes the lawyer biased and owe allegiance to the union. Does the union always have your best interest in mind?

Does the Union Owe Allegiances to the Construction Company?

Whether the union owes any allegiances to the construction company is a question that you might already have a feeling about. If you think that may be true, you’ll want to hire your own independent construction accident lawyer.

Is the Construction Supervisor Concerned About Trouble?

Almost every construction accident is caused by a violation of construction law. When a construction worker is injured in an accident, a construction supervisor may be concerned about getting in trouble.

Is the Construction Supervisor Concerned About the Insurance Rate Going Up?

The construction company is worried about its insurance rates going up when there is an injury from a construction accident.

Everyone but you has an interest in your construction accident case settling quickly and “on the cheap.” The only share interest you have is settling your construction accident case quickly, but you want the maximum settlement you’re entitled to for your injury.

Benefits We Provide to Construction Accident Clients

Only our construction accident clients are entitled to our HURT911® Personal Medical Manager™ and may be entitled to our HURT911® Injury Concierge Service™

You may need money because you can’t do construction work with your injury, We can get money for you quickly with a lawsuit settlement cash advance.

We got a total of $50,000 advanced in several cash advances to a construction worker who needed money to pay rent and other expenses during his construction accident case when he was injured. His thumb was broken, and he could work at his construction job. Getting the money to pay his expenses allowed us the time to properly prosecute the case against the construction company and get a great settlement of $1,200,000 for a broken thumb.

Our legal fee is only 1/3 of what we get for you and is paid at the end of your case out of the money we get for you. We never charge a legal fee if we don’t get money for you. Additionally, we never nickel and dime our clients with many expenses other personal injury lawyers charge.

Take a look at our personal injury settlements and verdicts and our reviews.

Then take a look at our personal injury legal fees and services.

Instead of calling a union lawyer when you’re injured in a construction accident, call the HURT911® Personal Injury Dream Team™ right now 7 days/nights for a free consultation with no obligation at 1-800-HURT-911 >> 1-800-487-8911

See more FAQs

Have a Question or Comment About Should I Use a Union Lawyer for a Construction Accident?  Leave a Comment!

Q. Should I use a legal plan Personal Injury lawyer for my accident case?
A. No. While you will get a discounted legal fee, you will get a much lower settlement.

Legal plans provide a lot of legal services at cut-rate prices, and for some people and some legal issues, that’s good. But for personal injury and accident cases, it’s a bad idea.

25% Legal Fee Discount for Personal Injury Accidents?

If you’re a member of a legal plan, you can get a discount rate if you have been injured in an accident.

The discount for personal injury and accidents is usually a legal fee of 25% instead of 1/3. But when you pay a discount legal fee, your lawyer has the incentive to save time and settle your personal injury case cheaply.

There is now a personal injury lawyer in New York offering a 25% legal fee which is a discount rate. The information here also applies to any personal injury lawyer in New York offering a 25% legal fee. If you’re looking for a fast settlement for a fraction of what your case is worth, a 25% legal fee could work for you.

Is the Legal Plan Discount for Personal Injury a Good Deal?

Personal injury is one area of law where it’s never a good idea to use a legal plan because:

• No one ever has to pay any money upfront to a personal injury lawyer.
• Legal plans use general practice law firms, not personal injury law firms.
• You’ll get a lot less money for your injury when your lawyer is looking for a quick, easy settlement because he or she isn’t getting paid the full fee.
• Legal plan lawyers are very busy because they have to do high-volume work when they get paid less, and they don’t have the time to do the litigation needed to get a lot more money on your personal injury case.

Are the Lawyers Good When the Legal Fee is 25%?

Speaking to an attorney friend who owns a general practice law firm in New York, with offices in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, that does work for a legal plan, is what prompted this article.

My friend said their law firm does all kinds of legal work and is a high-volume law firm. She described it as a law firm with “$2 per hour legal plan lawyers for people looking to pay $1 per hour”.

Example Showing the Possible Difference between a Legal Plan and a Personal Injury Lawyer

If you need an uncontested divorce without assets or children, a legal plan can probably give you a great price, but if you have been injured in an accident, a 25% legal fee could mean the difference between settling a case for $35,000 or $750,000.

Example of Using a Lawyer With a 25% Legal Fee vs a Personal Injury Lawyer With a 33% Legal Fee

Using the above example, with a legal plan lawyer, you’ll get a fast settlement of $35,000, pay a 25% legal fee totaling $8,750, and take home $26,250.

How fast can a personal injury case like in the example be settled for $35,000? Within months.

With a personal injury lawyer who has the time to get the most amount of money for you, you’ll pay a legal fee of $250,000 and take home $500,000.

How long can a personal injury case like in the example be settled for $750,000? Within 2-3 years.

But there is a way to get money now and wait for a bigger settlement. You can get a loan which is a cash advance of your personal injury settlement, one or more times or monthly until your case settles.

We represented a client with a broken thumb from a construction accident. He wanted to settle quickly and was willing to settle for very little because he was out of work and needed money to pay his rent. We got him many cash advances on his settlement and settled his case for $1,200,000.

Should you look for a lawyer who charges a 25% legal fee for personal injury or use a legal plan lawyer for your accident case? We think you know the answer now.

Our legal fee is only 1/3 of what we get for you. Our legal fee is paid at the end of your case out of the money we get for you, and we never charge a legal fee if we don’t get money for you. Additionally, we never nickel and dime our clients with many expenses other personal injury lawyers charge.

Take a look at our personal injury settlements and verdicts and our reviews.

Then take a look at our personal injury legal fees and services.

Never call a legal plan when you’re injured in an accident. Always call a real personal injury lawyer.

See more FAQs

Have a Question or Comment About, Should I Use a Legal Plan Personal Injury Lawyer for My Accident? Leave a Comment!

Consider the following questions to answer to learn how to compare personal injury lawyers in New York to represent you when you’re injured in an accident.

Choose a Law Firm That Practices Exclusively in Personal Injury

Many law firms represent clients in accidents and other areas such as immigration or criminal law, and possibly other areas.

Each of these practice areas have become extremely complicated in the last 30 years and continues to become more complicated. It’s difficult to become proficient in just one area of practice. It’s just not possible to be equally proficient when practicing more than one area of law and dividing your time between subject areas.

Additionally, it’s distracting when a lawyer divides time between personal injury cases and other types of cases.

Even our personal injury case management software was specifically designed only for personal injury cases by an extremely large personal injury law firm.

We only represent people injured in accidents.

Is Your Personal Injury Lawyer Highly Experienced?

Choose a personal injury lawyer with at least 8-10 years of experience exclusively in personal injury.

The knowledge needed to handle personal injury cases is not learned in law school. This knowledge comes from working with personal injury cases over several years.

We have far more than 10 years of experience exclusively in personal injury.

Has the Personal Injury Lawyer Represented Other Lawyers?

One indication of a good lawyer is when the personal injury lawyer has represented other lawyers who were injured in an accident. We have represented lawyers injured in accidents.

One lawyer came to us when her 20-year-old son who was not married and had no children was killed in a motorcycle accident. She knew that most lawyers settle cases like that for less than $200,000. We settled the case for $500,000.

How Do Personal Injury Lawyers on TV Compare to Other Personal Injury Lawyers?

Someone asked on Quora, “How do I hire an accident lawyer?” I thought I would write about this because part of one of the answers given is simply wrong.

The answer was, “Ask friends to recommend a good one. Most of those lawyers on tv do not handle your case themselves, they give them to inexperienced associates who work for low salaries.”

While asking friends to recommend a good lawyer is a good idea, the other part of the answer was incorrect saying that most lawyers on tv give cases to inexperienced associates. I was one of those inexperienced associates at one of the largest personal injury law firms in New York, and they advertised on TV.

When I started at that law firm, I was an inexperienced associate. But I was closely watched and tutored while working on cases together with a supervising attorney. That law firm was and still is today one of the top personal injury law firms in New York.

The advantage that clients of the large law firm had was there were many other personal injury lawyers in the law firm that we could discuss case problems with.

The disadvantage that clients of the large law firm had was that they could never speak with their lawyers.

We take pride in personal service and not one of our clients ever has difficulty reaching a senior partner.

Should You Use a Solo Personal Injury Lawyer?

There are many advantages that a law firm with more than one lawyer has over a solo law firm with one lawyer practicing alone.

The biggest advantage is that there is always another personal injury lawyer around to discuss issues. There are always decisions to be made, and it’s often advantageous to discuss ideas with someone else. While a solo lawyer can always call a friend, it’s not the same as when you’re working with other lawyers.

Your case may move faster in the court system when there is more than one lawyer available to work on your case. It’s less likely that court appearances will have to be adjourned because of conflicts such as when a lawyer has a court appearance in the Bronx and Nassau County at the same time. We have 12 lawyers available for court appearances.

A law firm with partners will likely have more money to invest in your personal injury case. The old adage, “it takes money to make money” applies to personal injury.

When there is enough insurance coverage to compensate you for your injuries, it makes sense to spend money on your case. Insurance companies frequently try to save money, while we like to spend money on experts. Where it makes sense, we spend $30,000-$40,000 on a case, and this has given us million-dollar verdicts.

Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer Who Only Represents Plaintiffs

Insurance companies with attorneys on staff will frequently hire outside attorneys, and many insurance companies don’t even have attorneys on staff.

Some personal injury law firms represent injured plaintiffs but also work for insurance companies, representing defendants.

We never work for insurance companies. We only represent people injured in accidents.

What You Should Know about Results Shown by Personal Injury Lawyers

Settlement and verdict results posted on personal injury attorney websites don’t demonstrate competence without knowing more.

Anyone can settle a case for $10 million when it was worth $15 million. It’s important to know the facts of the case when looking at case results.

Possibly, better indicators are cases where a lawyer obtained the entire insurance policy for a difficult case such as where the client ran a red light, a stop sign, or was drunk. Many lawyers won’t take those cases because they don’t know how to get money on them. This is where experience becomes important.

We have obtained the entire insurance policy in many cases where our client ran a red light, or stop sign, or was drunk. If you have a serious injury, we will take your case when other lawyers won’t.

See our personal injury settlements and verdicts.

Is the Personal Injury Lawyer Willing to Take Your Case Immediately?

Many personal injury lawyers will ask you to get medical treatment before they will agree to take your case. We see this a lot. If the personal injury lawyer isn’t sure if he or she wants your case, call us.

In one example, our client injured her back in a car accident. She went to see a personal injury lawyer in the Bronx and was told to go for treatment at a medical clinic and to come back to the lawyer in a few weeks. She wasn’t happy with the personal injury lawyer or the medical clinic he sent her to, and she called us.

Our client had been seeing an orthopedic surgeon for her back injury prior to her car accident, so we sent her back to her orthopedic surgeon. We settled her case for $750,000.

Reviews/Testimonials from Previous Personal Injury Clients

Probably the most important thing to look for in reviews or testimonials from previous clients is how they felt about the way they were treated by the lawyer.

See some of our personal injury reviews.

Besides looking at reviews and testimonials, ask the personal injury lawyer if you can speak with any previous clients directly.

How Easy Will It Be to Speak with Your Personal Injury Lawyer?

It’s usually easy to speak with a personal injury lawyer when looking for a free consultation. If you have trouble getting a personal injury lawyer on the phone for a free consultation, that’s the first sign of problems!

Most personal injury lawyers will be very responsive the first time you call. But how easy will it be to speak with your personal injury lawyer (not a paralegal or secretary) on the phone after you sign the retainer? This is the single biggest complaint we hear about other personal injury lawyers.

Our clients can speak directly with us seven days/nights at our personal phone numbers, so you don’t have to go through a secretary or paralegal. On rare occasions, you may have to leave a voicemail, and we’ll call you back immediately. Listen to two voicemail messages (on our home page) from clients who were surprised we didn’t answer the phone.

Everyone has many questions that arise during their case, and you won’t think of them all at once. This is to be expected, and we don’t mind how many times you call.

Personal injury cases make a lot of money for personal injury lawyers. This makes you as important to us as a large corporation is to a corporate law firm. Do you think a large corporation will have trouble getting its lawyer on the phone?

Will Your Personal Injury Lawyer Make You Work on Your Own Case?

We hear all the time from clients who switch to us that their previous lawyer made them “do all the work” including getting medical records and sometimes even paying for medical reports.

We don’t do that. Our goal is to remove the burdens, uncertainty, frustrations, and anxiety you may have. We don’t want to burden you with what we should be doing.

One of our current clients had a lawyer who made him get his medical records and other things and then wanted to settle his case for $7,500. When we got the case, we found that there were a lot of medical records missing and we are now demanding the entire insurance policy of $100,000.

See the services we provide for our personal injury clients.

Has Your Lawyer had a Disciplinary Action?

Has the personal injury lawyer ever been disciplined by the New York State Bar? We have not.

You can find out if a personal injury lawyer has been disciplined at the New York State Court Attorney Search page or Avvo where you can see Attorney Philip L. Franckel, Esq.’s profile. From here, you can search for any attorney in New York, and the profile will indicate if there is a disciplinary action or not. The Resume/License section will give the status of the lawyer. You can see my profile says Currently registered and We have not found any instances of professional misconduct for this lawyer.

Has the Lawyer Ever Served as an Officer of One of the 2 NYS Personal Injury Bar Associations?

Attorney Philip L. Franckel, Esq. is a former Member of the Board Of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.

Has the Lawyer Ever Been Sued for Malpractice?

It’s not easy to find out if a lawyer has ever been sued for malpractice. However, you can search for the lawyer’s name on the New York State Court website for lawsuits in Supreme Court against the lawyer. It’s not easy because you will have to search every county. It’s easier to search elaw.com where you will also have to search every county and year with a free account.

We can state in writing, which we are doing right here, that we have never been sued for malpractice. It would be unethical, and we would be disciplined if we stated that it was not true.

A caveat is that even the best lawyers could have had a malpractice claim because anyone can make a mistake. The biggest questions when a lawyer has a malpractice claim are what was the reason for the claim, does the lawyer have malpractice insurance to protect their clients, and does the lawyer have multiple malpractice claims?

We have malpractice insurance to protect our clients.

What Questions Should I ask a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Now that you know how to compare one personal injury lawyer with another, read the questions to ask before hiring a personal injury lawyer and making your decision.

Questions to ask before hiring a personal injury lawyer

How Do You Know If You Can Trust Your Personal Injury Lawyer?

Fees and services provided by New York Serious Injury Attorneys at HURT911®

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Personal Injury Arbitration in New York used to be a fair process, a good way to speed up a personal injury case, and save the cost of trial expenses for both the plaintiff and defense.

We have done many arbitrations over the years and always felt we had a fair decision with fair compensation awarded. However, we think things have changed. Our last arbitration with Judge Larry Schachner at NAM was the straw that broke our back.

Many judges now refuse to do arbitration and only do mediation because they told us they were afraid to be blacklisted when giving fair arbitration awards. What does that say about judges who still do arbitration?

We believe Personal injury arbitration has become too risky. After several very low arbitration awards from two different arbitration companies, we no longer agree to arbitrate any personal injury cases. We are now taking every case to trial if we can’t get a fair settlement.

What Happened to Personal Injury Arbitration?

1) There are fewer retired Supreme Court judges willing to arbitrate personal injury cases. There used to be a lot of retired Supreme Court judges willing to arbitrate, but now, many of them only agree to do mediation (attempt to negotiate a settlement) and will no longer arbitrate (a binding decision after a hearing).

The judges we previously used who gave fair compensation to our clients are no longer agreeing to do arbitrations.

The alternative to using a retired Supreme Court judge is to use a lawyer as an arbitrator, but we had a bad result with an arbitrator who is a lawyer because he wasn’t familiar with New York State law and didn’t read our arbitration brief which pointed out the law.

It was a motorcycle accident that was arbitrated by a lawyer, the arbitrator found the car driver was 100% at fault but awarded very little money and failed to award our client approximately $28,000 in hospital bills because he incorrectly wrote in his decision that it was covered by no-fault. The problem is that New York State law excludes motorcyclists from no-fault coverage and our client was entitled to be reimbursed for his medical costs.

Our client was successfully sued by Winthrop Hospital to recover their money. Our client should have been compensated for that loss, but the arbitrator failed to understand the law or read our arbitration brief.

2) We believe personal injury arbitration awards are much lower than they used to be and favor insurance companies. The arbitration award, below, by Judge Larry Schachner, defies belief.

That bad decision was one of the few arbitration awards that could have been appealed because it was an error of law. Generally, a low arbitration award cannot be appealed, but a low jury verdict can be appealed.

Additionally, we never had a low jury verdict although we have had low arbitration awards.

Why Supreme Court Judges Don’t Want to Do Personal Injury Arbitration Anymore

There are two reasons I heard why there are fewer Supreme Court judges doing personal injury arbitrations.

A) Mediations require less time. Arbitrations require reading the papers and writing a decision. However, it doesn’t take that long to read the papers, and arbitrators charge for any extra time involved. We have always been charged for additional time, and we don’t care how much is charged if we get a fair decision.

B) I heard from the owner of an arbitration company, employees of two different arbitration companies, and former arbitrators that insurance companies have blacklisted arbitrators who have awarded too much money.

What this means is that if the insurance company is not happy with the decisions of an arbitrator, they refuse to use that arbitrator in the future. We have even heard this from insurance companies. Additionally, we have selected numerous retired Supreme Court judges for arbitration only to be told the insurance company will not use them.

Review of the Judge Larry Schachner Decision Shows Why We’re Done With Arbitration

This arbitration was at National Arbitration and Mediation (NAM) using arbitrator Larry Schachner (formerly Justice Larry Schachner of The Bronx Supreme Court).

Personal injury trial verdicts in the Bronx are typically higher than in any other county in New York, so you wouldn’t expect a ridiculously low arbitration award from a Bronx Supreme Court judge.

We were extremely prepared for the arbitration. The defense attorney was not well prepared. In fact, arbitrator Larry Schachner admonished the defense attorney when he objected to us introducing medical records because he had not reviewed them, but we proved the medical records were sent to the defense.

After reading the arbitration decision, I wondered if the arbitration award amount was a typo and if the arbitrator accidentally left a 0 off the number. The arbitrator awarded $20,000 to the plaintiff. Unfortunately, NAM told me it wasn’t a typo. After legal fees and expenses including the cost of arbitration, the plaintiff will receive just over $10,000.

Is this enough to compensate the plaintiff? Take a look at all the facts below, be the arbitrator and decide for yourself.

The plaintiff was a woman aged 74. She was in the red car going straight without a stop sign when she was struck by the silver SUV which ran a stop sign. The insurance policy was $250,000.

Following are the facts of the written arbitration decision:
Read the Personal Injury Arbitration Decision 

• The defendant’s insurance company admitted 100% liability (fault for causing the accident), so the arbitration was “solely on the issue of damages” (not who’s at fault).
• The arbitrator found the plaintiff had no prior injuries.
• The arbitrator found the plaintiff did not have any medical treatment, prior to the car accident, for the injured body parts.
• The arbitrator wrote, “While there was evidence of degenerative changes in plaintiff’s spine and shoulder she was asymptomatic (no symptoms) prior to the accident, and living a normal life.”
• The arbitrator found that the symptoms caused by the accident were consistent.
• The arbitrator wrote, “…plaintiffs injuries are causally connected to the subject accident.” Thus, he found that all of the plaintiff’s injuries were caused by the accident (see a list of the injuries below).
• The arbitrator noted that the defense submitted reports from their neurologist and orthopedic surgeon who examined the plaintiff for the defense, but the arbitrator did not note any findings from the defense medical exam reports in his decision. Apparently, the arbitrator found the defendant’s medical examinations were not believable.
• The arbitrator appeared to have found the impact to be substantial when he stated: “Due to the impact…”
• The arbitrator found that the plaintiff suffered a “Serious injury under the Insurance Law.”
• The arbitrator found that the plaintiff was not able to work the same number of hours as she did before the accident.
• The arbitrator found that the plaintiff suffered restrictions in daily living after the accident.
• The arbitrator noted that the plaintiff submitted in evidence “copies of verdicts and settlements of cases with similar injuries to plaintiff” which ranged from $325,000-$650,000.
• NAM arbitrator Larry Schachner (formerly Justice Larry Schachner) gave only $20,000 for almost 2 1/2 years of past pain-and-suffering and future pain-and-suffering!
• The arbitrator did NOT give any reasons for awarding only $20,000 compensation.
• The arbitrator charged for an additional 1 hour to review the documents and write the short decision.

We did a great job. Judge Larry Schachner ruled in our favor on every point we argued. We couldn’t ask for a better decision! The only problem is that he forgot to fairly compensate our client.

Injuries Submitted Which Arbitrator Larry Schachner Found Was Caused by the Accident — Was $20,000 an Appropriate Award?

1. CLOSED HEAD INJURY
2. CONCUSSION WITH LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
3. POST CONCUSSION HEADACHE SYNDROME/TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY WITH PROLONGED SYMPTOMS
4. EPISODIC DIZZINESS
5. MEMORY LOSS
6. LIGHTHEADEDNESS
7. VERTIGO
8. CONFUSION
9. LOSS OF COORDINATION
10. BRAIN FOG
11. SLURRED SPEECH
12. FUMBLING WORDS
13. ANXIETY
14. TEAR OF THE LEFT PROXIMAL LONG HEAD BICEPS TENDON WITH SUBACROMIAL-SUBDELTOID BURSITIS IN THE LEFT SHOULDER
15. CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY REQUIRING A SERIES OF FOUR TRIGGER POINT INJECTIONS
16. LEFT ARM PAIN AND WEAKNESS
17. LEFT SHOULDER DERANGEMENT WITH DIMINISHED RANGE OF MOTION REQUIRING A LARGE JOINT INJECTION UNDER ANESTHESIA
18. MILD LEFT SUPRASPINATUS TENDINOSIS WITH A PARTIAL WIDTH FULL THICKNESS TEAR OF THE ANTERIOR INSERTIONAL FIBERS
19. MILD INFRASPINATUS AND MODERATE SUBSCAPULARIS TENDINOSIS WITH LOW-GRADE PARTIAL TEARING
20. MILD GLENOHUMERAL AND MILD-MODERATE ACROMIOCLAVICULAR JOINT DEGENERATIVE CHANGE WITH SMALL JOINT EFFUSIONS
21. RIGHT UPPER EXTREMITY PAIN THAT RADIATES INTO RIGHT ARM/HAND
22. LOW BACK PAIN REQUIRING A TRIGGER POINT INJECTION

So, why did arbitrator Larry Schachner award so little money?

After we asked NAM to inquire if there was a typo, Hon. Larry Schachner wrote: “This was a damages only arbitration. Plaintiff was a sweet old lady but she had degeneration in her spine and shoulder. She did have injections and reduced working hours. I think I called it as I saw it, but given her age, and the degenerative changes, I think the award was fair and can not be changed.
Hon. Larry Schachner”

The problems with this argument:

First, he wrote in his decision, “While there was evidence of degenerative changes in plaintiff’s spine and shoulder she was asymptomatic prior to the accident, and living a normal life.”

Second, a bicep tear is not degenerative. A bicep tear is caused by trauma although underlying degeneration may make it more likely to tear. While there may have been underlying degeneration, the bicep was not torn before the accident, and Judge Schachner said so in his decision.

Third, everyone begins degenerating by the age of 18. Degeneration should not reduce the compensation awarded to the plaintiff. The injury is far worse when someone has pre-existing degeneration.

I think we got screwed. What do you think?

We were so upset with Judge Larry Schachner’s decision that we waived our legal fee.

Read the Personal Injury Arbitration Decision

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We have a number of cases where we made the insurance company pay court costs that were more than the liability insurance policy limit.

A frequent situation is with $25,000 insurance policies where the injury is really worth more. Typically, the insurance company will offer an amount significantly less than the $25,000 insurance policy.

For instance, an insurance claims representative might offer $3,500 and try to settle for $7,500. Most personal injury lawyers will take it because it’s not worth the time or money to get more.

Why Insurance Companies Offer Less When Your Injury Is Worth More

1. The insurance claims representative is simply doing their job by trying to settle the claim for less money and save money for the insurance company.
2. Insurance claims representatives usually have a cap on how much they are allowed to settle a claim. Sometimes, a claims representative may have a maximum cap that is less than a $25,000 policy limit.

What makes it more difficult for us is that so many personal injury lawyers will either take the offer or just haggle for another couple of thousand dollars.

Personal injury attorneys will sometimes decline the offer, particularly if it’s too small like $3,500 and they will file a lawsuit. The next day, the insurance company will increase the offer.

We do not want to allow insurance companies to make our clients pay for unnecessary court expenses. And, we are tired of insurance companies offering too little and forcing us to file a lawsuit, so we have a new policy.

Once we file a lawsuit, we will not accept an offer of the entire insurance policy unless the insurance company pays the $210 NYS Supreme Court filing fee. Within a few days, we will receive a bill from our process server, and we will make the insurance company pay that as well. If they still haven’t settled by paying the court costs and we have depositions, the insurance company will also have to pay your deposition costs.

If we can obtain Summary Judgment, the insurance company will also have to pay you 9% interest.

If the insurance company doesn’t pay the court costs, we will continue to litigate your case in New York Supreme Court and take your case to trial even if the insurance policy is only $25,000.

We will ask the jury to compensate you for a lot more money, and we will seek to make the defendant or the insurance company pay it.

Our Litigation Policy Is Working! 3 Examples Where We Made the Insurance Company Pay

Example #1 — We recently continued litigating a motorcycle accident case where the insurance company offered to pay the entire $25,000 liability coverage for our client’s injuries but was not offering to pay the entire amount of our client’s property damage to his motorcycle.

We were only arguing over approximately $3,500, but we continued with the lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court. We did this even though we don’t charge our clients a legal fee for the amount we collect for property damage. We were working on this case for free!

Eventually, the insurance company relented and paid the entire collision damage amount for our client’s motorcycle. Since we did not charge our client a legal fee for our work, our client was able to rebuild his motorcycle and was extremely happy.

Example #2 — 21st Century Insurance refused to pay the entire $25,000 insurance policy for our client’s injury. We faxed a letter to the insurance company warning them that we will file a Summons and Complaint in New York State Supreme Court and if they offer the entire policy after that, we will make them pay the $210 cost of filing the lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court.

The very next day, the claim was transferred to a new claims representative, and we received a call from the new claims representative offering the entire policy. We explained that we would no longer accept it.

Although the insurance claims representative proclaimed quite a few times that it was impossible to pay more than the policy, we advised that we were continuing with the lawsuit. 30 minutes later, the claims representative agreed to pay the $210 filing fee.

See the letter from the insurance company which forwarded a check in the amount of $25,000 for personal injuries and another check in the amount of $210 for the New York State Supreme Court filing fee.

Example #3 —  We demanded that GEICO pay $25,000 to settle our client’s claim for a scar. GEICO offered $7,500. We declined the offer, and in the same phone conversation, they increased their offer to $9,500 and said that was the limit of what they could pay. We faxed our letter to GEICO warning that we will file a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court and that we would hold them accountable for paying court expenses. The next morning, GEICO offered the entire $25,000 insurance policy.

Will We Really Litigate a Personal Injury Case with a $25,000 Policy?

Yes, we will! We don’t know any other personal injury attorneys in New York who would ever litigate a case with a $25,000 insurance policy because it involves years of work and the trial costs are too expensive. It is not financially feasible. Financially, it makes no sense! That’s why they often settle these cases for $7,500 to $9,500.

Are we crazy? Maybe a little but we don’t care about money anymore. We don’t have to worry about paying bills, and we have a lot less stress. Best of all, it frees us up to do what we really want — enjoy our work and do the right thing for our clients!

After litigating a couple of small cases, the insurance companies now know we’re serious, and they usually pay the policy.

Doing the right thing for our clients is one of the reasons why LAW FIRM 500’s accounting audit listed us as the 44th fastest-growing law firm in the United States.

We also have cases where we made the insurance company pay a lot more than the policy. In one case, we made GEICO pay $135,000 more than the insurance policy. GEICO paid $155,000 when the insurance policy was only $25,000. See our settlements and verdicts.

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Whether you have a shoulder injury, knee injury, broken leg, brain hemorrhage, or any other injury from an accident, you might be wondering, how much is my personal injury case worth to settle?

It’s difficult but not impossible for you to estimate what your injury is worth. Your personal injury attorney should review with you how the determination is being made so you understand and can come to your own conclusion, hopefully in agreement with your personal injury lawyer.

The value of a personal injury case depends on the following:

• Hundreds of facts,
• To whom the value is being considered (to you, your personal injury lawyer, the insurance claim representative, the insurance lawyer, the insurance company, a jury, or an appellate court), and
• At what point in the timeline of a personal injury case (settlement of a personal injury claim before filing a lawsuit, settlement after filing a lawsuit, before trial, during the trial, or after the trial)?

Settlement vs. Trial

Settlements are based upon what both sides, you, your personal injury attorney, and the insurance company, think will happen at trial.

Thus, even if your case doesn’t go to trial, a settlement offer will reflect what the insurance company thinks will happen at trial. The amount you will accept reflects what you and your attorney think a jury will award you at trial.

Factors That Determine What an Injury is Worth

There are many factors that determine what an injury is worth, including whether you are partially at fault; the county where your case is; your age, and many other factors.

You Are Entitled to Money Even if You Were Partially at Fault

In New York, if a jury finds that you were 70% at fault for causing the accident you are entitled to 30% of the compensation a jury gives you for your injury.

We settled personal injury cases for the entire insurance policy when we got the insurance company to agree that their client was 5% at fault. We settled for the entire $25,000 insurance policy in one case, when our client admitted to a police officer that he ran a stop sign and we settled for the entire $100,000 insurance policy in another case when our client ran a red light.

This means that if you have a knee injury with arthroscopic surgery, you were 50% at fault, and the defendant has only a $100,000 insurance policy, you could get $100,000 because $100,000 is less than 50% of the value of your knee surgery. See below for what a knee injury can be worth.

If you were 70% at fault and your leg was amputated in an accident with a defendant who has $1,500,000 insurance, the insurance company should pay the entire $1,500,000 insurance policy because a leg amputation is worth at least $8,000,000.

The County Where Your Case Is Effects Settlement Value

The county makes a difference in the settlement value or verdict value for your injury because jurors in some counties award more money than juries in other counties.

For Instance, jurors in The Bronx and Brooklyn award more money than juries in Suffolk, Nassau, or Westchester.

Your Age Determines How Much Your Injury and Personal Injury Case Is Worth

If your case goes to trial, the jury will decide approximately how long you will live, and you will receive a set amount of money for past and future pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.

If you are 30 years old, you will receive 45 more years of future damages than if you are 75 years old.

How We Determine the Value of an Injury

We consider our history of settlements for similar injuries, but we also research jury verdicts and verdict amounts permitted after an appeal on the legal research service Westlaw.

What Would You Pay to Never Have Been Injured?

Insurance companies never think injuries are as serious as they are, but we understand that they are far more serious. See a list of injuries that are serious. We also consider what your injury would mean to us if we had that injury and how your injuries will affect you when you get older.

If I could pay money to return a back injury to its pre-accident status, I would pay $20 million or even more if I had it to get rid of my back injury. Unfortunately, juries don’t award $20 million for soft tissue back injuries. although a quadriplegic injury could be worth as much as $50 million. But it is worth thinking of the injury in a personal sense before asking the jury for money.

When you suffer from an injury, other people don’t really understand what it means to you. What would you give up or pay to undo your injury?

Triple Crown winner, jockey Victor Espinoza broke his neck in a horse race. He was unable to move or feel his legs and was nearly paralyzed but two weeks later began to regain movement of his legs.

In a CBS TV interview, he was asked, “Was it more exciting to you to win the Triple Crown or to feel your legs?” He said, “It was fun winning the Triple Crown but to have my legs back, that was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

He may be getting better now, but it will get much worse later in life. How will his injury affect him when he gets older? How will your injury affect you when you get older?

You might have an injury that requires surgery or an injury that does not require surgery. Often, your injury is more valuable if you have surgery but not necessarily.

Before I started my law practice, my stepmother was injured in a car accident when her car was struck by a car carrier/tow truck that ran a red light. She injured her knee and shoulder and never had surgery. When she was 70 years old, her injuries became debilitating. Now, at 80, she is almost totally disabled because of those injuries.

My father worked full-time until he was 93, but my stepmother will likely need to go to a nursing home because she was injured in a car accident decades earlier.

Injury Values

What Can a Knee Injury Be Worth?

We obtained a jury verdict in Nassau County Supreme Court of $465,000 for our client who was offered only $10,000 by GEICO when he injured his knee with a meniscus tear which required arthroscopic surgery which is considered minor surgery.

Nassau County and Suffolk County are not the better counties to have a case in. The best counties are Brooklyn and Bronx.

What Can a Back Injury Be Worth?

We obtained a $750,000 settlement for a woman who had lower back surgery even though she had 10 years of prior (before her car accident) medical treatment with her orthopedic surgeon.

What Can a Neck Injury Be Worth?

We obtained a $1,000,000 settlement for a woman who had neck surgery even though she had prior neck surgery before her accident.

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We’re known in New York as accident lawyers who get serious money for people injured in accidents, even for injuries that aren’t serious!

You can get a good idea here of what we might think is a serious injury, and you can see the types of accidents that cause injuries for which we represent clients.

But there are some cases even we won’t take

Accident Cases Even We Won’t Take

If you’re wondering, is my injury serious enough to get a personal injury lawyer? It’s likely that your injury is serious enough, but there are some cases even we won’t take.

We had to decline this inquiry through Avvo from someone who was injured at McDonald’s. The reason we couldn’t take this case is that the injury was only temporarily painful, and the value of the injury is not enough to go against a large corporation. If it were against a homeowner’s or small store’s insurance, we would have taken the case.

Serious Money for Injuries That Weren’t So Serious

But no matter how minor you think your injury is, call us for a free consultation because we’ve got some serious money for clients with injuries that weren’t so serious.

How Much is a Scar on the Inside of a Lip Worth?

We got $25,000 for our client with this scar on the inside of his lip, and we got $16,000 for a client with a scar on the inside of her lip the size of the one in the purple circle.

How Much is a Cut on an Ear Worth?

We got a $25,000 arbitration award for this cut on our client’s ear at a hair salon

How Much is a Scar on an Arm Worth?

We got $150,000 for this scar on our client’s arm

How Much is a Broken Pinky Toe Worth?

We got a $25,0000 settlement for a broken 5th pinky toe.

How Much is a Thumb Ligament Tear Worth?

We got $100,000 for a torn thumb ligament.

How Much Is Your Injury Worth?

Every case is different, but you can get an idea of how we decide how much money we want to compensate you for your injury.

It’s often difficult for someone to know if their injury is serious. You can see some more of our New York accident verdicts and settlements, but you should always call us to find out.

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Comments About Is My Injury Serious Enough?

Illegal immigrants injured in an accident in New York can get money for their injuries. You do not have to worry that the government will find out about your status and deport you.

Illegal Immigrants and Undocumented Workers Have the Same Right as Any U.S. Citizen to Sue for Personal Injury

Illegal aliens have the same right as any US citizen to sue for injuries and file a personal injury lawsuit in New York. Undocumented and illegal aliens are entitled to receive money for pain and suffering and money for medical treatment.

Pain and suffering and money for past and future medical treatment are the largest part of a personal injury case. We rarely claim lost income or wages because it often presents more problems for a case than it is worth unless you had catastrophic injuries.

New York does not cooperate with ICE and does not report undocumented aliens.  There is no requirement in the law to report your legal status when you have a lawsuit in court for personal injuries. We will never report your status to anyone or any agency.

Illegal Immigrants and Undocumented Workers May Also Have the Right to Sue for Lost Wages

A Federal case prevented the right of an injured illegal immigrant to sue for lost wages if the illegal immigrant provided the employer with fraudulent work papers. The case is Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB, 535 U.S. 137, 122 S.Ct. 1275, 152 L.Ed.2d 271 [2002].

The highest court of the state of New York said, “The Labor Law … applies to all workers in qualifying employment situations—regardless of immigration status…” (Balbuena v IDR Realty LLC, 6 NY3d 338 [2006]). In that case, an illegal alien was an injured construction worker who did not provide fraudulent work papers, and the court said he is entitled to sue for lost wages.

If you provided fraudulent work papers to get your employment, you will not be entitled to file a lawsuit for lost wages. But you are still entitled to receive money for your pain and suffering and medical bills.

Your pain-and-suffering case can easily be worth $millions of dollars. Take a look at some of our settlements for pain and suffering. Many undocumented workers are injured in construction accidents which often cause injuries worth several $million of dollars.

We would like to represent you for any type of accident but see some of the other types of accidents we take.

Undocumented Workers Injured in a Construction Accident

If you are an undocumented construction worker who was injured in a construction accident, you probably have an injury that can be worth millions of dollars. Construction accidents have several companies with extremely large insurance policies, so when your injury is worth millions of dollars, you’ll actually be able to settle your case and get millions of dollars.

We have been very successful as construction accident lawyers for undocumented workers, and we will protect your status here. We have lawyers who speak Spanish and other languages.

Do Undocumented Workers Have the Right to Workers’ Compensation for Injury?

Yes. Undocumented workers and illegal immigrants injured while working in New York have the same right to worker’s compensation as documented workers.

Additionally, an illegal immigrant injured on the job may also have a personal injury case. Illegal immigrants injured in a construction accident almost always have the right to both worker’s compensation and a personal injury case.

New York law specifically allows illegal immigrants to claim workers’ compensation benefits for injuries from accidents or illness while working. Section 17 of the New York Workers’ Compensation Law states, “Compensation under this chapter to aliens not residents or about to become nonresidents of the United States or Canada, shall be the same in amount as provided for residents…”

New York’s highest court ruled that both undocumented workers and their employers are covered by workers’ compensation even though the undocumented employee did not have the right to work. The case is New York Hospital Medical Center or Queens v. Microtech Contracting Corp. (2014 NY Slip Op 00897 [22 NY3d 501])

The Estate and Family of Illegal Aliens Can Sue for Wrongful Death

The estate or family members of illegal aliens/immigrants can have a lawsuit for wrongful death when the illegal alien is killed in an accident or because of negligence. The family members also do not have to be U.S. citizens or legal residents. The family members may also be illegal aliens.

What Does an Illegal Alien Need to File a Lawsuit for Personal Injury?

To file a personal injury claim or lawsuit or workers’ compensation claim:

• You do not need to be a US citizen
• You do not need a permanent Green Card
• You do not need a temporary Green Card
• You do not need a driver’s license
• You do not need a DMV identification card

Does an Undocumented Immigrant Have to Go to Court?

No. You can file a personal injury claim without filing any papers in court. A personal injury claim is where your personal injury lawyer sends a claim letter to the insurance company to set up a claim. Personal injury cases are started this way.

If your claim cannot be settled for the amount of money you want, your accident lawyer has three choices: 1) drop your claim, 2) accept a smaller settlement, or 3) file a lawsuit. You can simply agree to accept a smaller settlement to avoid filing papers in court.

Undocumented Immigrants Don’t Even Have to Report the Money to the IRS!

There is no income tax on the money you receive from a personal injury settlement for pain and suffering from an accident. Therefore, you do not need to report the money to the IRS or New York State.

Money paid for lost wages is taxable. If you do not want to report to the IRS, we will not claim lost wages (we usually don’t file a claim for lost wages unless there are catastrophic injuries).

It’s not just illegal immigrants, US citizens also do not pay income tax on personal injury settlements.

What We Offer Illegal Immigrants

 If you do not want to file a lawsuit in court, we can try to settle your case without filing a lawsuit.

If you allow us to file a lawsuit, you will never have to go to court unless your case has to go to trial. Most cases are settled either before or after filing a lawsuit, and very few cases ever go to trial. If we can’t get a good settlement offer, you can accept a low offer, so a lawsuit doesn’t have to be filed in court.

The legal status of our clients is never asked of us, and we will never report or reveal your illegal or undocumented status to anyone, including the court, police, ICE, or any other government agency, insurance companies, or the people or companies responsible for causing your injuries. In fact, the attorney-client privilege prohibits all lawyers from disclosing confidential information obtained in the course of a professional relationship.

If we cannot settle your case and you are concerned about going to court for trial, we will agree to drop your case without any charge to you for legal fees or case expenses! We do not believe any other personal injury lawyer will do that.

We can pay an immigration lawyer to give you a consultation, and in many cases, we can pay additional fees to the immigration lawyer for additional representation. We do not believe any other personal injury lawyer will do that.

If you are injured in an accident and concerned about your legal status because you are an undocumented immigrant in the US illegally and you do not have a Green Card, or your Green Card is expired, please call us immediately for a strictly confidential and free consultation. You don’t even need to tell us your name. We will be happy to speak with you for free.

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