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Garden City sits at the center of Nassau County, with a mix of residential neighborhoods, busy commercial areas, commuter traffic, and five Long Island Rail Road stations serving the community. Accidents here can happen in many different settings, from collisions on heavily traveled roads to falls at local businesses, construction sites, and other properties.
When an accident is caused by someone else’s carelessness, the consequences can extend well beyond the initial injury. Medical treatment, missed work, and lasting physical limitations can create problems that continue for months or years. New York personal injury law gives injured people a way to hold the responsible party accountable and pursue compensation for those losses.
The Odierno Law Firm represents injury victims in Garden City and across Long Island. If you were hurt because of another person’s or company’s actions, schedule a free consultation with our experienced team today. Our Garden City personal injury attorneys can evaluate what happened and explain the options available to you.
Take the first step in your recovery by calling 516-219-0125 or using our contact form to connect with us..
The Odierno Law Firm Accident and Injury Lawyers
100 Garden City Plaza #227
Garden City, NY 11530
Do You Have a Personal Injury Case?
If you suffered an injury because another person, business, or organization acted carelessly or failed to take reasonable safety precautions, then you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim against that party. Most personal injury claims require establishing four key elements:
- Duty: The other party had a legal responsibility to act safely. For example, a driver must follow traffic laws, while a property owner must address dangerous conditions they know or should know about.
- Breach: The other party failed to meet that responsibility.
- Causation: That failure caused or contributed to the accident and resulting injury.
- Damages: The injured person suffered losses as a result.
For example, consider a driver who makes a left turn across traffic without first making sure the way is clear and strikes a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. The driver may be held responsible for failing to yield and causing the collision.
The same basic principle can apply in many situations. A property owner may fail to repair a dangerous stairway, a contractor may disregard an important safety requirement, or a business may sell a defective product that causes an injury.
Personal injury claims may be brought against individuals, businesses, property owners, employers, contractors, government entities, and other parties whose actions contributed to the injury.
Why Choose Our Garden City Personal Injury Lawyers For Your Case?
A personal injury claim involves more than showing that someone else caused an accident. You’ll need evidence establishing what happened, documentation of the resulting losses, and a clear strategy for dealing with the insurance company. That can be a lot to handle when you’re still in the process of recovering from your injuries.
That’s where a personal injury lawyer in Garden City can make a significant difference. The Odierno Law Firm has represented injury victims across Long Island since 1978. Our attorneys bring more than 150 years of combined experience in personal injury law and have recovered more than $300 million for our clients.
Our Garden City personal injury attorneys can help by:
- Investigating the accident and preserving evidence through police or incident reports, photographs, video footage, witness statements, vehicle records, and other documentation.
- Identifying responsible parties and available insurance coverage to determine where compensation may be available.
- Developing the medical and supporting evidence by reviewing records and, when necessary, consulting medical, accident-reconstruction, vocational, or financial experts.
- Documenting the full extent of the losses, including future treatment needs, reduced earning capacity, permanent limitations, and the effect of the injury on daily life.
- Handling insurance negotiations by presenting the claim, responding to disputes over fault or damages, and evaluating settlement offers.
- Filing and litigating a lawsuit when necessary. Most personal injury claims are resolved outside of court, but filing suit may be necessary to preserve legal rights, obtain additional evidence through discovery, or continue pursuing fair compensation.
Our office is located at 100 Garden City Plaza, Suite 227, giving clients a convenient place to meet with our team. From the initial consultation through settlement or trial, we provide direct attention, clear communication, and the resources needed to build a strong claim.
Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Garden City, NY
At The Odierno Law Firm, our legal team handles a wide variety of injury claims, including:
The Reaction Point
Every case has its variables, including negligence, evidence, medical complexity, and stakes. The Odierno Law Firm acts as the reagent that brings these elements together and sets the reaction in motion. The result is the outcome we aim for, a favorable verdict or settlement for our clients.
What Financial Compensation Can You Recover in a Personal Injury Case?
A personal injury claim may seek compensation for both the financial losses caused by an accident and the ways an injury has affected the person’s life.
Economic damages cover measurable financial losses. These may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Rehabilitation and other necessary care
- Property damage
- Other accident-related expenses
Economic damages are generally supported through documentation such as medical bills, invoices, wage records, and estimates of future expenses.
Non-economic damages compensate for losses that do not have a fixed dollar value, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent disability or physical limitations
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Reduced quality of life
The value of a personal injury claim depends on more than the expenses already incurred. Relevant factors may include the seriousness of the injuries, whether the person is expected to make a full recovery, the effect on their ability to work, whether they share responsibility for the accident, and the amount of insurance coverage available.
For motor vehicle accidents, additional rules may apply because New York’s no-fault insurance system can provide certain economic benefits before a liability claim against the responsible driver is resolved.
What Evidence Can Strengthen a Personal Injury Claim?
The strength of a personal injury claim often depends on the quality of the evidence showing how the accident happened, who was responsible, and what losses resulted. The most useful evidence will vary depending on the type of case, but it may include:
- Accident reports documenting the circumstances of the incident and the people involved
- Photographs and video footage showing the scene, property damage, injuries, or dangerous conditions
- Witness statements from people who saw the accident or the events leading up to it
- Medical records connecting the accident to the injuries and documenting treatment, recovery, and future care needs
- Employment and financial records establishing lost wages, missed work, or reduced earning capacity
- Physical evidence, such as damaged vehicles, clothing, equipment, or defective products
- Business or electronic records, including surveillance footage, maintenance logs, vehicle data, cellphone records, or safety documentation
- Expert analysis when specialized knowledge is needed to explain how the accident occurred or calculate future medical and financial losses
The evidence needed in a car accident will not necessarily be the same as in a slip-and-fall or construction accident. Identifying and preserving the right evidence early can make it easier to establish fault and document the full value of the claim.
What Should You Do After an Accident in Garden City?
The steps you take after an accident can affect both your health and your ability to pursue compensation. While the appropriate response depends on how the injury occurred, some steps are useful in many personal injury cases:
- Seek medical attention promptly, even if you are unsure how serious the injury is.
- Report the accident to the appropriate party, such as the police, a property owner, employer, or business.
- Document the accident scene by taking photographs or video of the conditions, vehicles, property damage, and visible injuries when possible.
- Get contact information from witnesses who may be able to describe what happened.
- Preserve physical evidence, including damaged property, clothing, equipment, or other items connected to the accident.
- Keep records of your losses, including medical bills, missed work, transportation costs, and other accident-related expenses.
- Be cautious when dealing with insurance companies. Avoid speculating about fault or accepting a settlement before you understand the extent of your injuries and losses.
- Speak with a personal injury lawyer if another person or business may be responsible for what happened.
Acting early can help preserve evidence that may otherwise be lost, altered, repaired, or deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions About Garden City Personal Injury Claims
How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in New York?
Most New York negligence-based personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years. However, the applicable deadline depends on the type of case, and some claims have much shorter requirements. Claims involving a municipality or another government entity, for example, can involve separate notice requirements. Because waiting can also make evidence harder to preserve, it is usually better to consult an attorney as soon as possible after the accident.
What Happens If I Was Partly at Fault for My Accident?
Sharing some responsibility does not necessarily prevent you from recovering compensation.
Most New York personal injury claims operate under a pure comparative fault rule, which means that your compensation is reduced according to your percentage of fault. For example, someone who suffers $100,000 in damages but is 20% responsible would generally be able to recover $80,000.
New York applies a different rule to personal injury claims arising out of motor vehicle accidents. In those cases, modified comparative fault applies, which means that an injured person who is more at fault than the defendant or defendants combined may be barred from recovery.
How Much Does a Garden City Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
The Odierno Law Firm handles personal injury matters on a contingency fee basis. This means that you do not pay an attorney’s fee upfront or by the hour. Instead, we receive an agreed-upon percentage of the settlement or verdict if compensation is recovered.
Will I Have to Go to Court?
Not necessarily. Most personal injury claims are resolved outside of court through negotiations with the insurance company. Even when a lawsuit must be filed, that does not mean the case will ultimately go to trial. Settlement negotiations may continue while the parties exchange evidence through the litigation process. If the insurer still refuses to offer fair compensation, however, our attorneys are prepared to present the case in court.
Speak With a Garden City Personal Injury Lawyer
Accidents can happen to anyone, and sometimes no one is legally at fault. But when another person or business causes an injury, you may have the right to pursue compensation for your losses.
The Odierno Law Firm has represented injured Long Islanders for nearly five decades. We can handle the full legal process, including investigating what happened, identifying the parties responsible, documenting the full extent of your losses, and pursuing the maximum compensation available under New York law.
If you were injured in Garden City or elsewhere in Nassau County, contact us to schedule a free consultation with a Garden City personal injury lawyer.
Legally Reviewed By
Scott F. Odierno
Attorney/Partner
Long Island accident lawyer Scott F. Odierno was born in Bronx, New York, in 1967, and moved to Long Island in 1973. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Medieval and Renaissance History from Brown University in 1989. At Brown, Scott was captain of the Baseball team and a First Team All-Ivy catcher. Scott joined The Odierno Law Firm, P.C. upon graduating from New York Law School in 1992. His practice is concentrated in two fields: Personal Injury and No-Fault litigation. He is admitted to practice in Federal Court in both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York in addition to all New York State Courts.
