Should I Get a Lawyer for a Car Accident That Was Not My Fault?

If you were involved in a car accident that was not your fault, hiring a personal injury lawyer can be to your advantage for a number of reasons. A qualified law firm can:

1. Investigate the crash and prove it was not your fault
2. Negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, reject low-ball offers, and make sure you get the biggest payout possible
3. File lawsuits against liable parties to pursue maximum compensation for your losses, past, present, and future
4. Never charge you a fee unless and until you receive compensation through a settlement or jury award

The car accident lawyers at Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C. know that when car crash victims accept quick settlement checks, they often forfeit the full amount of damages they may be entitled to receive. Having an experienced law firm on your side can keep you from getting less than you deserve.

What Damages Can You Recover When a Car Accident Was Not Your Fault?

Liability insurers generally will not push back when a car accident victim seeks reimbursement for post-accident car repairs and emergency room hospital bills. Those costs and expenses are easy to verify, and there is rarely a question of whether they were necessary.

Accident victims often incur significant additional expenses that do not become apparent until weeks or months after the car crash, including:

• Medical bills for additional diagnosis and treatment of injuries
• Wages and employment opportunities that are lost when an accident victim is unable to work while recovering from injuries
• Expenses for occupational and rehabilitative therapy
• Transportation costs for medical appointments
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium and family time due to injuries

A car accident lawyer can help clients injured due to the negligence of others to understand the full amount of his or her damages and to recover significantly greater compensation than an insurer might offer.

Can You Re-Open an Insurance Claim After I Accept a Car Accident Settlement?

Insurers generally ask car crash victims to sign waivers and releases of further claims as a condition of paying any settlements. Absent extreme circumstances, an insurance claim cannot be re-opened after an accident victim signs a waiver and release, even if the victim is incurring substantial continuing damages and losses. Parties that bear no blame for a car accident can make sure that they are not forfeiting their rights by consulting with an attorney before they have any interactions with an auto accident liability insurer.

Do You Need a Lawyer to Negotiate with an Insurer?

Insurance companies handle hundreds of car accident claims every day. They retain squads of lawyers that have extensive experience in negotiating with accident victims and settling claims for the lowest possible amounts. Accident victims that attempt to manage claims without legal representation are at a disadvantage because they have significantly less experience in resolving accident claims. Moreover, accident victims are often under pressure to pay hospital and car repair bills, and that pressure will make it difficult for the victim to keep emotions out of any negotiations.

A car accident lawyer can level the playing field between an accident victim and a liability insurer and verify that the insurance company is not taking advantage of the victim’s inexperience and emotional state.

Will a Liability Insurer Blame You Even if You Did Not Cause the Accident?

The laws in both New York and New Jersey apply a form of comparative negligence to damages allocations in car accidents. In both states, the damages that a car accident victim can recover will be reduced in proportion to the victim’s contribution to the accident. These laws create an incentive for a liability insurer to argue that even the most blameless of accident victims took some action that contributed to the car accident and the resulting losses and injuries. Even if a victim believes that a car accident was not his or her fault, that victim should retain a car accident lawyer to head off any arguments that they were partially responsible for the accident.

How New York’s 2026 Comparative Fault Rules Affect Your Claim

As of May 26, 2026, New York law bars a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault for a motor vehicle accident from recovering non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. You may still be able to recover a proportional share of your economic damages, such as medical bills and lost wages, but pain and suffering compensation would not be available. The law also eliminated the “90/180-day” rule, under which a temporary injury lasting at least 90 of the 180 days following an accident could, on its own, qualify as a “serious injury” for purposes of filing a lawsuit. These changes apply to actions commenced on or after that date and affect how much compensation an injured driver can ultimately recover. This is precisely why insurers have an even stronger incentive to argue that a blameless-seeming accident victim shared some fault: pushing your fault percentage above 50% could eliminate your pain and suffering claim entirely.

Call KGG After Your Car Accident

The law firm of Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C. represents car accident victims in Rockland and Bergen counties and elsewhere in New York and New Jersey. Please see our website or call us to schedule a private and confidential consultation with one of our lawyers after your car accident, regardless of who caused that accident. We will review your case, outline your legal options, and recommend the best path to maximum monetary compensation.