When you need a lawyer for your personal injury, a class-action lawsuit, or another legal process, you might wonder whether a New York tort lawyer is a good fit. Many people don’t know what exactly a New York tort lawyer is, what they cover, and how they may be of assistance to you in upcoming lawsuits.
Fortunately, New York tort lawyers are versatile, handle a variety of cases, and are professionals in their fields. To learn more, please reach out to Schwartzapfel Lawyers at (516) 342-2200.
Let’s break down New York tort lawyers in detail and explain why one may be right for your upcoming case.
What Are Tort Laws?
In short, tort laws include any laws that deal with injuries or harm caused by the negligent or intentional actions of another person. This includes: personal injury laws, laws regarding the deprivation of rights, property violations, and more.
Because of these broad scopes, tort laws overlap with criminal laws in many cases. However, you must also note that tort laws are distinct from criminal laws because they carry different penalties. For instance, a property manager found guilty of negligence and premises liability will likely not go to prison. Instead, they will have to pay damages to the person(s) injured because of their negligence.
Hence, a tort lawyer is a lawyer who handles cases that involve injuries or damages to at least one party. Technically, a personal injury lawyer is a type of tort lawyer, as is an auto accident lawyer, a premises liability lawyer, a product liability lawyer, and more.
New York Specific Tort Laws
Additionally, individual states have different tort laws that may or may not apply to specific cases. For New York, tort laws affect aspects such as:
Damages and Limitations on Monetary Awards
In legal cases, damages are any financial award given to the victim of a tort (i.e. an injury, physical or otherwise) as compensation for losses.
Many states place intentional caps on damages so that victims may only receive up to a certain amount of compensation regardless of their injuries. New York, however, is unique in this way, as it doesn’t usually restrict monetary damages for tort lawsuits. For example, there’s no medical malpractice cap for malpractice damages in the state.
The Statute of Limitations for Tort Lawsuits
For most claims, the statute of limitations will dictate how long a party has to file a lawsuit.
For example, product liability lawsuits have a statute of limitations of three years from the date of the injury. As for medical malpractice lawsuits, a claim must be filed within two years of the injury to satisfy the statute of limitations requirement.
The Overlap Between Tort Laws and Divorce Laws
Oftentimes divorce claims involve torts, such as in divorce cases where one party accuses the other of physical or financial abuse. New York State has several specific laws that can affect divorce proceeding outcomes or monetary awards. As an example, New York allows plaintiffs to claim that they were the subject of cruel and inhuman treatment” as a tort during their divorce lawsuit.
These laws can affect the outcomes of tort lawsuits, how much money a victim receives, and what lawyers have to account for when putting together evidence for a case.
Types of New York Tort Lawyers
New York tort lawyers overlap with many other specialized types of lawyers. Here are a few examples of New York tort lawyers that may operate under different titles.
Personal Injury Lawyers
Personal injury lawyers are almost always tort lawyers by definition. A personal injury is:
- An injury sustained by an individual.
- An injury that was caused either directly or indirectly due to the negligence of another party.
For example, if a person pushes a New York City citizen into the street, where they are hit by an automobile, the hypothetical suggests that the aggressor (or pusher”) caused a personal injury to the victim (or pushee”).
Alternatively, a shop owner who fails to clean up wet floors will have caused a personal injury to a shop patron who has slipped on the wet floors and sprained their wrist as a result.
Personal injury lawyers can handle a wide variety of tort cases, ranging from medical malpractice to product liability to automobile accidents and more. These versatile legal professionals are invaluable assistants to have at your side during a tort or similar lawsuit.
Fraud Lawyers
New York tort laws also cover fraud, a type of financial or nonphysical damage. In New York, fraud occurs when a person takes advantage of another party using dishonest schemes, trickery, or other lies. This allows for a broad range of accusations. For instance, someone may be accused of financial fraud, paternity fraud, and so on.
In tort fraud cases, fraud lawyers will attempt to win damages for the victim(s) in the forms of monetary compensation, recovered benefits, and more.
For example, if a person lost money because of a financial scheme, their fraud lawyer will attempt to recover damages that restore the money the plaintiff had before they were tricked or lied to. That’s because recoverable damages in most fraud cases are restorative in nature.
To learn more about how to recover financially after a tort, dial (516) 342-2200 and speak with a Schwartzapfel Lawyers representative now.
Mass Tort Attorneys
Aside from these instances, lawyers may also practice as mass tort attorneys. Mass tort law in New York City allows multiple people to band together and file a mass tort or class-action lawsuit. To do this, more than one plaintiff must have a common claim against the exact same defendant(s).
For instance, several consumers band together and file a mass tort lawsuit against a supplement manufacturer after discovering that the supplement causes inexplicable and unannounced side effects (e.g. hair loss, migraines, dizziness, fatigue, or even death). Mass tort lawyers prove that there are patterns of negligent actions on the part of the defendant and attempt to seek restitution or monetary damages for the plaintiffs.
Mass tort lawsuits can be helpful if multiple people have suffered the same grievance against a single party, such as a pharmaceutical, manufacturing, or automobile company.
How Can Tort Attorneys Help You?
Tort attorneys can help you in several key ways. This is especially true in cases involving mass torts, personal injury, workplace accidents, and more.
Call Schwartzapfel Lawyers at (516) 342-2200 to see how we can help with your specific circumstances.
File the Right Lawsuit
Firstly, tort attorneys can help you file the right type of lawsuit for your needs.
Say that you are involved in an auto accident with another driver. A tort lawyer will know whether you should file a:
- Personal injury lawsuit
- Auto accident lawsuit
- Product liability lawsuit
- Or something else entirely
Filing the right lawsuit is important, as often you only get one opportunity to do so, so you will want to put yourself in the best position to recover as much compensation as possible.
Gather Necessary Evidence
In terms of mounting a case, tort lawyers can gather the evidence you need in order for your lawsuit to succeed. Evidence can include but isn’t limited to: police reports, eyewitness accounts, scientific data, medical notes, and more.
Because tort lawyers often specialize in several areas of law, a skilled tort lawyer will be well-equipped and able to acquire multiple types of evidence depending on the needs of their client.
Establish Liability
On top of this, tort lawyers can help establish liability for an upcoming lawsuit. If multiple organizations or people are involved in a lawsuit, it can be tough to determine which person or party is ultimately responsible for most of the injuries or damages.
Tort lawyers will carefully examine the case’s specifics before reaching a logical conclusion regarding liability. This kind of due diligence, in turn, will allow you to file the most successful lawsuit possible. You won’t waste your time and money filing a lawsuit against a person who is unlikely to be found liable or guilty of negligence.
Protect You from Countersuits
In addition to handling plaintiff claims, New York tort lawyers can protect you from being sued by other individuals as well. Thus, if you’re involved in a lawsuit and are not responsible for the injuries caused, a New York tort lawyer will help prove this in a court of law and prevent you from having to pay for medical bills and other damages because of a legal misconception.
Summary
In most cases, an experienced New York tort lawyer will be able to help you in the event you have a personal injury, auto accident, product liability, or other type of legal claim that you are wishing to pursue. Relatedly, if you’re looking for a tort attorney to help you or other plaintiffs bring a successful lawsuit against a negligent company or organization, Schwartzapfel Lawyers can help.
That’s because we’re well-versed and experienced in many areas of New York tort law, including personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, and beyond.
Please, don’t settle for a second-rate attorney. You deserve a legal team that will treat you like family and that won’t rest until your case has reached a satisfactory resolution.
Contact Schwartzapfel Lawyers today at (516) 342-2200 for a free consultation and more information. It won’t cost you a thing and may save you tomorrow.
Sources:
Schwartzapfel Lawyers | Fighting For You™™
Statute of Limitations Chart | NY CourtHelp
Tort | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
Mass Tort | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
