Not every boat accident looks like the Titanic’s. Sometimes, a careless boater may bump into you in the bay. Other times, you may find yourself contending with severe post-accident injuries and losses after someone sinks your boat. In either case, you can enact your legal rights and pursue compensation for your losses in civil court.
A boat accident lawyer in Clarence can help you file a relevant personal injury claim before your statute of limitations expires. Richmond Vona, LLC takes pride in offering tried and tested legal representation to parties in your position. You can learn more about the legal services available to you by scheduling a case evaluation with our Clarence personal injury lawyers.
How to React to a Boat Accident
If you find yourself involved in a boat accident, no matter how mild or severe that accident may be, you need to work with emergency responders to address your circumstances. Emergency responders can help you get ahead of slow-developing injuries. They can also get you out of unsafe environments, should your boat be leaking gasoline or otherwise endangering you.
Only after you’ve been treated for boating accident injuries or otherwise worked with emergency services should you consider your post-boat accident responsibilities. If you want to make your recovery as straightforward as possible, you can proceed to:
Call an Insurance Provider
It’s in your best interest to exchange insurance information with the party allegedly liable for your boat accident. You can then file a claim with that party’s insurance provider should you need substantial financial help to recover from an accident.
You should file that claim within a day or two of your accident, or at least communicate your intent to file. A provider can then send an insurance claims adjuster out to your property to assess the extent of your damage.
Unfortunately, that insurance claims adjuster may not have your best interests at heart. These parties often want to save their employers money, not provide you with the financial help you need to recover. With that in mind, don’t accept the initial settlement offer you receive. Don’t get disheartened if the company rejects your initial claim, either.
You can work with a Clarence boat accident attorney to appeal a denied claim or negotiate for a more comprehensive settlement. If an insurance provider refuses to come to the table, our team can file a lawsuit against it, claiming that the company’s bad faith behavior is impeding your recovery.
Go to Civil Court
You can also file a personal injury claim against the party liable for your boat accident. Before you do, though, you need to assign liability for your losses. You should also calculate the total value of your losses.
New York State is particularly specific in giving boat accident survivors the right to file post-accident claims. You must take action within three years of your accident, as stated by New York Civil Practice Law & Rules section 214. If you don’t, New York’s civil courts don’t have to give your claim the consideration it might otherwise deserve.
Worried about making your filing deadline? Call on Richmond Vona, LLC. We can prioritize an investigation into your losses while you recover from boat accident injuries.
For a free legal consultation with a boat accident lawyer serving Clarence, call (716) 300-5885
When to Call a Clarence Boat Accident Attorney
If you want to take legal action against an insurance provider or negligent party, it’s in your best interest to work with Clarence’s boat accident lawyers. The team with Richmond Vona, LLC can specifically help you:
Assign Boat Accident Liability
Your right to demand compensation for boat accident losses depends on your ability to meet New York civil courts’ burden of proof. To do so, you need to bring forward a reasonable amount of evidence arguing that a particular party:
- Violated the duty of care owed to you on the water
- Violated said duty through unreasonable negligence
- Caused you marked economic harm
Note that you do not have to prove that a liable party engaged in criminal behavior on the water. You do not have the right to initiate a criminal case against the party liable for your boating accident. New York State must initiate criminal proceedings against an offending party if the state deems that said course of action is appropriate.
That said, you can present a criminal conviction to New York’s civil courts if you want to argue that another party’s negligence caused your accident. Other viable forms of evidence can include video footage of your accident, bystander statements, and input from expert witnesses.
You’re not obligated to gather this evidence on your own. Our attorneys can step in and conduct an investigation on your behalf, particularly if you’re still contending with boating accident injuries.
Demand Appropriate Damages
Experienced attorneys can also ensure that you demand appropriate damages for your boating accident losses. This means that we can calculate the value of your boating accident’s economic and non-economic losses before submitting a civil claim on your behalf.
Your economic boating accident losses are often easier to break down than their non-economic cousins. The damages you can receive for a boating accident’s economic losses can range from coverage for your medical expenses to the cost of replacing damaged property. If you want to secure economic damages, though, you need to bring forward evidence of those losses’ values.
Your right to a boating accident’s non-economic damages comparatively depends on standards set by the state. Our attorneys can investigate the non-economic damages most relevant to your case before adding a request for those damages to your claim.
You can discuss the value of a possible boating accident settlement with our attorneys before submitting your claim to a civil judge.
Clarence Boat Accident Lawyer Near Me (716) 300-5885
Let Richmond Vona, LLC Fight for You
There’s nothing quite as nice as spending a hot summer day out on the water. Unfortunately, not everyone is as careful as they should be while they’re sailing on New York’s waterways. If you get into an accident with another boater or someone else on the water, you may find yourself contending with long-lasting medical expenses, property damage, and related bills.
You have the right to legal action, though, under New York’s personal injury statutes. You can work with the boat accident attorneys in Clarence to fight for the post-accident compensation you need to pay your bills. You can contact Richmond Vona, LLC within hours of your accident to begin discussing how best to bring your losses to the attention of a civil court.
Contact Richmond Vona, LLC today to schedule a free boat accident case evaluation.
Call or text (716) 300-5885 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form