
Brooklyn built its reputation on a stark sense of practicality and a legacy of terrible traffic. That legacy does not excuse hit-and-run accidents, though. New York law still recognizes hit-and-runs as a violation of the injured driver’s rights and can press criminal charges against an offending party.
How can you get back on your feet after a hit-and-run accident, though? When in doubt, let Brooklyn’s hit-and-run wreck lawyers go to work for you. Morelli Law Firm can connect you with a car accident lawyer in Brooklyn who can fight tooth and nail for the financial support you need to pay your bills.
Can You Initiate Criminal Action Against Someone After a Hit-and-Run Accident?
Even though you’re the one who suffers the bulk of the losses in a hit-and-run accident, you do not have the right to initiate criminal proceedings against the party liable for your accident. New York State and its police officers can, though, and to your benefit.
If the state convicts a negligent driver of a hit-and-run, you can bring that conviction to the attention of New York’s civil judges. Criminal convictions can serve as proof of negligence in New York’s civil courts, thereby streamlining your efforts to win accident compensation after a crash.
You don’t need a criminal conviction to draft a car accident claim after a hit-and-run, though. You can work with Brooklyn personal injury lawyers to investigate your losses while the police debate whether or not to press hit-and-run charges against a liable party.
Your efforts can then take you to civil court, where you can fight for loss-based support regardless of the defense’s criminal standing.
Have You Been Injured In An Accident? Contact Morelli Law
877-751-9800When Should You Call a Brooklyn Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer?
Working with a personal injury attorney can make it easier for you to juggle the demands of your daily life with your efforts to fully recover from a hit-and-run accident. If you want to work with an attorney to file a relevant claim, though, you need to act quickly. Your right to civil action hinges on your ability to file a claim before your statute of limitations expires.
New York bases the timeline on which you can file a personal injury claim on New York Civil Practice Law & Rules section 214. This, the state’s statute of limitations, gives you three years and no longer to investigate your losses.
You must submit a hit-and-run accident claim to a civil judge by the third anniversary of your accident if you want to fight for fair compensation.
With that in mind, Morelli Law recommends that you contact a hit-and-run accident lawyer as soon as you can after an accident. There are occasions wherein our team can join you at the scene of a crash to start gathering the evidence needed to build your case.
How Can Hit-and-Run Lawyers Help You Recover?
Our team understands that you have a life to get back to after a hit-and-run accident. That’s why we work to ensure our efforts to build your hit-and-run accident claim don’t bog down your day-to-day life. Instead, we optimize our investigation around your daily demands while ensuring that investigation helps you argue for maximized hit-and-run compensation.
You can specifically request that our team:
Investigate Your Losses
The evidence found at the scene of your hit-and-run accident can prove invaluable in your efforts to fully recover. Our Brooklyn hit-and-run crash attorneys can use that evidence to identify a liable party and hold them accountable for your accident-related bills.
The evidence that can prove most relevant to your case can include the following:
- Video footage of the accident, specifically footage that captures license plate information or a driver’s face
- Photos of your property and/or person from before and after the accident
- Police reports speculating about hit-and-run liability
- Statements from witnesses who might identify the party responsible for your losses
- Relevant cell phone data
- Other forms of digital data
- Expert witness testimony
How do we gather this evidence? We work with a team of investigators to revisit the scene of your accident and case it accordingly. Even when a liable party flees a scene, we can use the aforementioned data to build a case against the offending party.
Whatever you do, do not chase after a car fleeing the scene of your accident to gather more information about it. Doing so can put you in serious danger. It’s in your best interest to remain at the scene of an accident, take pictures of the fleeing car’s license plate if you can, and cooperate with police officers.
Interface With Relevant Insurance Providers
New York requires that all of its drivers, commercial or otherwise, have at least the state’s minimum liability insurance before they hit the road. Drivers without this coverage can face accusations of criminal negligence.
What does this mean for you, though? It means that the driver liable for your recent hit-and-run should have some of the coverage needed to help you pay pressing recovery costs. You do, however, have to file a claim with the offending party’s insurer before you can get the money you need, though.
Unfortunately, New York insurance providers can engage in bad faith practices to try and avoid helping you recover. You can request that our team step in to mitigate these efforts, thereby saving yourself the stress of trying to advocate for yourself in the face of corporate greed.
Contact our Brooklyn Car Accidents Lawyers today
877-751-9800Get in Touch With an Experienced Team of Legal Professionals Today
You don’t have to wait to get the money you need to get back on your feet after a hit-and-run. Get in touch with a Brooklyn hit-and-run accident attorney who can help you hold a negligent party accountable for your recent losses. Morelli Law Firm can represent your best interests as you fight to get back on your feet.
Our hit-and-run case evaluations come free of charge and obligations. If you’re ready to learn more about your legal right to car accident compensation, contact us and book your first personal injury case evaluation.
Call or text 877-751-9800 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form