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A serious injury caused by someone else’s careless or reckless conduct can disrupt every part of your life — your health, your income, your relationships, and your peace of mind. At Russell Law, our Long Island personal injury lawyers help injured Nassau and Suffolk County residents hold negligent parties accountable and recover the fair compensation they need to move forward. From the first phone call through the final settlement or verdict, our team stands between you and the insurance company so you can focus on healing.
Our personal injury attorneys have recovered more than $200 million for clients across a wide range of accident and injury claims. If you or a loved one was hurt because of another party’s negligence, contact Russell Law today for a free, no-obligation case review.
Cases Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers Handle on Long Island
A personal injury claim can arise anytime someone is harmed by another party’s negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct. Our Long Island personal injury attorneys handle the full spectrum of accident and injury cases, including:
Car Accidents
Crashes on the Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, Montauk Highway, and the Northern and Southern State Parkways are an everyday reality on Long Island. We represent people injured in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and e-bike accidents, as well as rideshare, pedestrian, and bicycle collisions.
Construction Accidents
Long Island’s active building sector means falls from heights, equipment failures, scaffolding collapses, and being struck by falling objects continue to injure workers every year. Our construction accident lawyers understand the strong protections that New York Labor Law sections 200, 240(1) (the “Scaffold Law”), and 241(6) provide to construction workers — including non-union and undocumented workers.
Premises Liability and Slip and Fall
Property owners owe a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors. If you slipped on an unsalted sidewalk, fell on a broken stair, were hurt by a falling display in a store, or suffered an injury because of inadequate security at an apartment building or parking lot, you may have a premises liability claim against the owner, manager, or maintenance company.
Medical Malpractice
When a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care and causes injury, the consequences can be life-altering. These cases include misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, birth injuries, anesthesia mistakes, and medication errors.
Product Liability
Defective vehicles, dangerous machinery, faulty medical devices, and unsafe consumer products injure thousands of people every year. Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers can all be held responsible for putting an unreasonably dangerous product into the stream of commerce.
Dog Bites and Animal Attacks
Under New York law, dog owners can be held strictly liable for the medical costs of a bite. Additional damages may be available when the owner knew, or reasonably should have known, that the animal had vicious tendencies.
Wrongful Death
When negligence causes the death of a loved one, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim to recover funeral and burial expenses, the financial support the deceased would have provided, and the loss of parental guidance for surviving children.
If your situation does not fit neatly into any of these categories, do not assume you do not have a case. Call our office, and we will review the facts honestly and tell you whether a claim is worth pursuing.
What to Do After an Accident on Long Island
The choices you make in the hours and days after an accident often shape the strength of your case. Whenever possible, take the following steps:
- Seek immediate medical attention. Even injuries that feel minor, like soft-tissue damage, concussions, and internal bleeding, can worsen significantly over time. Prompt treatment also creates documentation linking the accident to your injuries, which is critical to your claim.
- Report the incident. Call 911 after a serious crash, notify the property owner or manager after a fall, and file an incident report with your supervisor after a workplace injury.
- Preserve evidence. Take photos of the scene, your injuries, and the conditions that contributed to the accident. Collect names and contact information for any witnesses before they leave.
- Be careful with insurance adjusters. Insurers often call within hours of an accident. Anything you say, even an innocent “I’m doing okay,” can later be used to minimize your claim. You are not required to give a recorded statement.
- Contact a Long Island personal injury lawyer. The sooner an attorney is involved, the more evidence can be preserved, and the stronger your negotiating position becomes.
New York Personal Injury Laws You Should Know
Personal injury cases on Long Island are governed by New York State law, and a few rules are especially important for injury victims to understand.
Statute of Limitations
In most New York personal injury cases, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. Medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within two years and six months, and wrongful death actions within two years of the date of death.
Claims against a government entity, such as a Suffolk County agency, the MTA, the Long Island Rail Road, or a town highway department, typically require a formal Notice of Claim within just 90 days of the incident. Missing these deadlines almost always means losing your right to recover, no matter how strong your case is on the merits.
Comparative Negligence
New York follows a pure comparative negligence rule. That means even if you are partly responsible for what happened, you can still recover damages; your award is simply reduced by your percentage of fault.
A jury that finds you 30% at fault on a $100,000 case would award you $70,000. This rule allows injured people to recover meaningful compensation even when fault is disputed.
No-Fault Auto Insurance
New York is a no-fault state for car accident injuries. Through your own policy’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, you can recover up to $50,000 for medical bills and a portion of lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. To bring a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, you must prove a “serious injury” as defined under Insurance Law § 5102(d) — for example, a significant fracture, permanent loss of use of a body organ or function, significant limitation of use of a body system, or a non-permanent injury that prevents you from performing your usual daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days following the crash.
How Our Long Island Law Firm Builds a Strong Case
Insurance companies have entire teams of adjusters, investigators, and defense attorneys whose job is to pay you as little as possible. Russell Law levels the playing field with a thorough, courtroom-tested approach to every case.
Thorough Investigation and Evidence Gathering
We move quickly to secure police reports, 911 audio, surveillance footage, traffic camera video, vehicle event data recorders, and inspection records before they are lost or destroyed. We interview witnesses while memories are fresh and document the accident scene under conditions similar to those at the time of injury.
Working with Qualified Experts
Strong cases are often built on strong experts. We work with accident reconstructionists, biomechanical engineers, treating physicians, life-care planners, vocational specialists, and forensic economists to establish liability and prove the full economic impact of your injuries.
Aggressive Negotiation with Insurance Companies
Most personal injury claims settle without a trial — but only when the insurer believes you are willing and able to take the case before a jury. Because our attorneys are seasoned trial lawyers, adjusters take our settlement demands seriously.
Trial-Ready Representation
When an insurance company refuses to make a fair offer, we are prepared to try your case before a Nassau or Suffolk County jury. Founding attorney Frank S. Russell and our trial team bring decades of courtroom experience and a record of substantial verdicts on behalf of injured Long Islanders.
Types of Damages You Can Recover in Most Personal Injury Cases
New York law allows injury victims to pursue compensation for the full range of losses caused by an accident. These damages fall into two main categories, with a third available in limited circumstances.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover quantifiable financial losses, including:
- Past and future medical expenses (hospital stays, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, assistive devices)
- Lost wages and reduced future earning capacity
- Property damage, including vehicle repair or replacement
- Out-of-pocket costs such as transportation to medical appointments or hiring help around the house
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate for the human toll of an injury — the parts of recovery that cannot be measured by a receipt. They include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress, anxiety, and depression
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium (the impact of your injuries on your relationship with your spouse)
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, or disability
Punitive Damages
In rare cases involving especially egregious conduct, such as a drunk-driving crash or intentional misconduct, a court may also award punitive damages designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior.
How Much Is My Personal Injury Claim Worth?
There is no fixed formula for valuing a personal injury claim. The fair value of your case depends on the severity of your injuries, the cost of your past and future medical care, the wages and earning capacity you have lost, the strength of the evidence on liability, the available insurance coverage, and the long-term impact on your day-to-day life.
A minor soft-tissue injury that resolves in weeks is worth far less than a herniated disc requiring surgery or a traumatic brain injury that changes a person’s career forever. The most reliable way to understand what your claim may be worth is to review the specifics with a Long Island personal injury attorney during a free consultation.
How Long Will My Personal Injury Case Take to Settle?
Some straightforward claims with clear liability and well-documented injuries can settle within a few months. More complex cases — those involving disputed fault, evolving injuries, or multiple defendants — can take a year or more, and cases that proceed to trial can take longer still.
We do not rush settlements simply to close a file. Insurance carriers often make their best offer only after they see that an experienced trial lawyer is fully prepared to take the case to verdict. We will always walk you through the trade-off between resolving your case quickly and holding out for full value, and the final decision belongs to you.
Why Choose Russell Law?
Choosing the right attorney is one of the most important decisions you will make after an accident. Here is what sets Russell Law apart from other personal injury firms:
- Over $200 million recovered for injured clients through settlements and verdicts
- Decades of trial experience. Our attorneys are not afraid to step into a courtroom
- Personal attention from your attorney, not just a case manager or paralegal
- Deep local knowledge of Long Island courts, judges, juries, and insurance defense practices
- No fee unless we win. We handle personal injury cases on a contingency basis, so you pay nothing up front and nothing at all unless we recover compensation for you
We understand how overwhelming it is to face mounting medical bills, lost income, and pressure from insurance adjusters while you are still trying to heal. Our job is to take that pressure off your shoulders and fight for the outcome you deserve.
