If someone is injured in an automobile accident, there is a very high threshold of injury they have to meet, which is called the serious injury threshold. It is defined in the insurance law of the State of New York. Without getting very technical about what the definitions are, it requires much greater injury than if someone were to fall on a sidewalk and would want to bring a lawsuit.
For example, you could be a passenger in a car – assuming that the accident is not your fault, and there’s no question about it – and you injure your shoulder. As a result of your shoulder injury, you may have a tear of a tendon. You have to see an orthopedist a number of times. You may get some injections, and you may have to go through some physical therapy. Your shoulder eventually heals pretty well. While that’s a painful thing for you to go through, as far as serious physical injury, it’s probably not going to meet the definition that New York requires. That’s because you’re covered by no fault in New York.
Because you have mandatory benefits available to you to pay your medical expenses and lost earnings for a period of time, the legislature determined that there should be a much higher threshold to be able to recover. Now, if you were walking on the sidewalk and had that exact same injury, same treatments, same result, there would be no bar for you assuming liability was in your favor to pursuing a lawsuit and recovering monetary damages.
If you are in need of legal counsel in regards to a personal injury in New York, please contact The Law Offices of Jonathan D. Sands and we would be happy to assist you.