Madison County consists of 661 square miles. Its county seat is Wampsville, and it is traversed by major roads such as I-90, U.S. Route 20, and State Route 13. I-81 lies just to the west of the county in the Syracuse area. When someone else's carelessness causes your injuries, you may have the right to recover compensation to address such things as medical bills, lost wages, replacement services, and your pain and suffering. A personal injury lawsuit may be an appropriate avenue to seek compensation after a car accident, an incident of medical malpractice, a slip and fall, or another accident. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, our experienced Madison County personal injury lawyers represent people injured as a result of negligence or misconduct.
Pursuing Compensation for Your InjuriesTo establish someone else's negligence in a personal injury lawsuit, you will need to show that it is more likely than not that the other person needed to meet a certain standard of care, and their failing to do so caused your injuries and damages. The duty of care owed varies depending on the circumstances of the accident.
In general, drivers owe a duty to use reasonable care while operating their vehicles. The ways that this duty may be breached can vary widely, and they may include driving drunk, speeding, driving while fatigued, weaving through traffic, tailgating, running a stop sign or red light, failing to drive defensively, or driving inappropriately given weather conditions.
Additional obligations are imposed upon truck drivers and trucking companies by federal and state regulations. The federal regulations are promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and they cover all aspects of a driver's job. They also cover the trucking company's hiring, training, and supervision of truck drivers, in addition to the maintenance and repair of the commercial truck. A violation of an applicable regulation is often seen as a strong indication of negligence in a truck accident lawsuit. Our personal injury attorneys can help Madison County residents investigate their accident and determine whether a violation of a regulation played a role.
When you visit a doctor or another health care provider, a professional standard of care applies. It is usually necessary to retain an expert to provide an opinion about what the professional standard of care was for a particular health care provider defendant and whether that defendant violated it. For example, we would likely retain a board-certified OB-gyn to provide opinion testimony about whether your obstetrician violated the professional standard of care in failing to order a C-section. For another example, we would likely retain an expert oncologist to provide testimony about whether a reasonable doctor would have diagnosed cancer, and whether your doctor's failure to diagnose caused your cancer to get worse.
The damages that your Madison County personal injury attorney may be able to recover if they can show liability by a preponderance of the evidence include both economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses are usually concrete, tangible damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, replacement services, and out-of-pocket costs. They are likely to be documented. For example, bills for surgeries to correct facial scarring would constitute economic losses. Similarly, wages that you lost as a result of not being able to work in your job as a waitress due to facial scars are economic losses.
Noneconomic damages are intangible losses that the jury believes would naturally flow from the kinds of injuries that you suffered. Noneconomic damages can vary dramatically depending on the unique characteristics of a particular plaintiff and the presentation of evidence by the plaintiff's attorney. For example, if you suffer third-degree burns in a visible area, and your job depended on your appearance, your noneconomic damages may be particularly high. They may include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and loss of earning capacity.
Hire a Skillful Personal Injury Lawyer in Madison County or Surrounding AreasIf you have been harmed due to an accident caused by someone else, our law firm may be able to help you recover damages from the responsible parties. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents victims in many communities across Upstate New York. Call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form for an appointment with an attorney.