This page was written, edited, reviewed & approved by Ruben Davidoff following our comprehensive editorial guidelines Ruben Davidoff ,the Founding Partner, has 30+ years of legal experience as a New York personal injury attorney.
Broken ribs from car accidents cause severe pain that lasts weeks or months. These injuries stop you from working, sleeping, and doing daily tasks. Medical bills can pile up when you cannot earn money. Simple movements hurt, and breathing becomes difficult.
At Davidoff Law Personal Injury Lawyers, our Queens car accident broken ribs attorney helps accident victims in Queens and New York. We understand the pain and financial difficulties you face after a motor vehicle accident. While you focus on healing, our dedicated accident lawyers fight for the fair settlement you need.
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Our Queens Car Accident Broken Ribs Attorney Fights for Your Recovery
When you choose Davidoff Law Personal Injury Lawyers, you get strong advocates who care about your case. Our Queens auto accident lawyer knows that broken ribs affect every aspect of your life. These physical injuries stop you from working and caring for your family. We give personal attention to every client and treat your case with respect.
Our team boasts a strong record of success in handling car accidents in Queens and throughout New York. We understand how insurance companies often attempt to pay less money after a serious car accident. We fight back with strong evidence and smart legal work. Our local knowledge of Queens courts and New York law enables us to build stronger cases for Queens personal injury cases.
Your recovery matters to us, not just legally, but also physically and emotionally. Our car crash lawyers work diligently to secure fair compensation, so you can recover with peace of mind. Whether you suffer severe injuries from rear-end collisions or other crashes, we are here to help.
Why You Need a Queens Car Accident Lawyer After a Rib Injury
Insurance companies often say broken ribs are not serious injuries. This is incorrect because rib fractures require prolonged medical treatment and time off work. Many types of car accidents lead to chest injuries that impair your breathing and daily activities. Without a car accident lawyer, you might accept money that does not cover your real costs and pain.
An experienced car accident lawyer can effectively collect medical evidence of your injuries. We work with doctors who explain how your broken ribs, neck injuries, and head injuries affect your daily life and future work. Negligent drivers who ignore traffic signals or engage in distracted driving often cause crashes that result in more serious brain injuries. We handle conversations with insurers on your behalf, protecting your case from potential setbacks.
Legal deadlines for personal injury claims are strict. Missing them means you lose the right to get money. Our competent personal injury attorney makes sure all paperwork is filed on time while building a strong case, even for wrongful death claims when families lose loved ones.
Insurance Companies May Downplay the Severity of Broken Ribs
Insurance adjusters often say broken ribs heal fast and are not serious. They push you to take quick money before you know how bad your injuries really are. These tactics help insurance companies save money while you suffer from chest injuries and other complications.
Our car accident lawyer fights these unfair practices with strong medical evidence. We show how your broken ribs affect your work, sleep, and life enjoyment. This complete approach makes insurance companies treat your car accident claim seriously instead of ignoring your pain and suffering.
Medical Bills and Lost Wages Add Up Quickly After Car Accidents
Treating broken ribs costs much more than just the emergency room visit. You need many X-rays, doctor visits, pain medicine, and physical therapy. Each medical expense adds up when you cannot work because of severe injuries from your serious car accident.
Lost wages can worsen financial problems because broken ribs may prevent you from performing most types of work. Even office work can be uncomfortable when breathing causes pain. Physical jobs may be impossible for months. Our car accident lawyers calculate all your losses to make sure your settlement covers everything you need for recovery.
Understanding Broken Rib Injuries From Car Accidents
Rib fractures happen when the curved bones protecting your chest crack or break completely. One broken rib causes bad pain, but multiple breaks can be dangerous and need surgery. Where the break happens affects how much pain you feel and how long it takes to heal.
Simple rib breaks usually heal in six to eight weeks with rest and pain medicine. Complex breaks with multiple ribs may need months to heal and ongoing medical care. During this time, patients have trouble breathing, sleeping, and moving around.
Healing can be harder based on your age and health. Older people and those with health issues may take longer to recover and face a higher risk of complications, such as pneumonia.
How Broken Ribs Commonly Happen in Car Crashes
The strong force during auto accidents causes broken ribs when your body hits hard surfaces inside your car. Head-on collisions often hurt your chest when you hit the steering wheel or dashboard. Side crashes can be very dangerous because your ribs have less protection from side forces.
Quick stops during crashes cause your body to keep moving forward while your car comes to a sudden stop. This motion can make your chest hit internal parts with enough force to crack ribs, even at low speeds.
The Role of Seatbelts and Airbags in Rib Fractures
Seatbelts and airbags save many lives by stopping worse injuries during car crashes. But these safety devices can sometimes cause broken ribs because of the forces needed to keep you safe. The seatbelt goes across your ribs, and sudden tension during impact can cause breaks.
Airbags deploy with great force to protect your body during crashes, but this can also hurt your chest. While safety features may cause rib breaks, injuries would be much worse without them.
Common Car Accident Injuries Beyond Broken Ribs
Car accident victims rarely have just one injury. Broken ribs frequently occur alongside severe injuries, such as spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, or harm to internal organs. The same forces that cause rib fractures can also cause these other injuries. This is why you need complete medical checks after any car crash.
Soft tissue injuries like bruises, muscle strains, and torn ligaments often happen with broken ribs but may not show up right away. These injuries cause ongoing pain and movement problems that affect your recovery.
Spinal Cord Injuries Can Occur With Blunt Force Trauma
The same impact that breaks ribs can damage your spinal cord and possibly cause paralysis. Spinal cord injuries may not show up right away, especially if you focus on rib pain. If you experience arm or leg numbness, tingling, or weakness, seek medical help right away.
Even small spinal cord damage can have lasting effects on your movement and life quality. These serious injuries often need long rehabilitation and may stop you from returning to your old job.
Internal Bleeding and Organ Damage From Rib Breaks
Broken ribs can puncture your lungs, causing a collapsed lung that makes breathing very hard. Sharp bone pieces may also damage organs like your liver or spleen, causing internal bleeding that can be deadly without quick medical treatment.
Symptoms of internal injuries may not manifest for several hours or even days after the accident. Waiting to get treatment for these problems can cause serious complications that could have been prevented.
When to Seek Medical Attention After a Queens Car Crash
Every car accident victim should get medical care right away, even if injuries seem small at first. The body's natural response to trauma can hide pain and other signs, making people think they are not hurt when they need treatment. This delay can hurt both your health recovery and your car accident case.
Prompt medical care creates records of your injuries that insurance companies cannot argue with later. Medical records from your accident day provide clear proof linking your injuries to the crash, which is needed for your personal injury claim.
Symptoms That May Indicate a Broken Rib or Worse
Sharp, stabbing pain when you breathe, cough, or move your upper body often means broken ribs. You may also see bruising across your chest, have trouble taking deep breaths, or feel grinding when you move. These signs need immediate medical care to find out how bad your injuries are.
More serious signs include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Dizziness
- Fast heartbeat
- Bad stomach pain
These could mean internal injuries that need emergency treatment. Do not ignore these warnings or think they will get better on their own.
Delayed Pain Can Still Signal Serious Injuries
Many car accident injuries do not cause immediate pain because the body naturally responds to trauma. Natural chemicals can hide symptoms for hours or days after your accident, making you think you escaped injury when you need medical care. This delayed pain is normal, but it needs prompt attention once it starts.
Getting medical care for delayed symptoms is just as important as immediate treatment. These injuries can get worse without proper care. Also, records of delayed symptoms help your Queens car accident attorney show the full impact of your injuries when talking to insurance companies.
How a Queens Car Accident Lawyer Can Strengthen Your Case
A seasoned car accident attorney fights for your rights immediately, handling all legal work while you heal. We build a compelling case with evidence, witness testimony, and expert insights, countering insurance tactics to ensure you receive fair compensation. We also ensure that all legal deadlines are met and that your case follows proper procedures.
Gathering Medical Records and Police Reports
Your car accident case needs complete records of your injuries and crash details. We get all medical records, including emergency room reports, x-rays, surgery notes, and follow-up care records. The thorough medical evidence shows the extent of your injuries and their daily impact.
Police reports give official records of the accident scene, witness statements, and the officer's assessment of who was at fault. We also gather other evidence, like traffic camera footage, cell phone records, and expert accident reconstruction, when needed to build the most compelling case possible.
Proving Fault in Complex Car Accident Cases
Finding out who caused your accident is not always easy, especially in crashes with many cars or when both drivers share some blame. Our seasoned car accident lawyers look at every part of your case to find all possibly responsible parties and establish clear fault. This complete approach can greatly increase your compensation.
Our accident reconstruction experts analyze vehicle damage, physical evidence, and road conditions to find out exactly how your crash happened. This scientific approach provides strong evidence that insurance companies cannot easily dispute.
What to Expect in a Car Accident Lawsuit for Broken Ribs
Most car accident cases settle out of court through talks between your attorney and the insurance company. If a fair settlement isn’t possible, your case could go to trial, leaving the compensation decision to a judge or jury. Understanding this process helps you make smart decisions about your case.
The lawsuit process usually starts with filing a complaint that explains your injuries and damages. The other party then gets a chance to respond, and both sides share evidence. During this process, settlement talks continue, and most cases are resolved before trial.
Filing Deadlines and Legal Requirements in Queens
New York law gives car accident victims three years from the date of their accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline means losing your right to seek compensation completely, no matter how strong your case is. Acting quickly also helps save evidence and witness testimony that may be important to your case.
Also, New York's no-fault insurance laws require you to file a claim with your own insurance company first before seeking money from the other driver. Properly understanding and following these requirements is necessary to protect your legal rights.
Settlements vs. Going to Trial
Settlement talks offer the benefit of resolving your case faster and with less stress than going to trial. You also have more control over the outcome since you can accept or reject settlement offers. But settlements may result in lower compensation than what a jury might award at trial.
Taking your case to trial gives the chance for maximum compensation but involves more time, cost, and uncertainty. Our experienced car accident lawyers help you weigh these factors and make the decision that best serves your interests.
Factors That Impact the Value of a Car Accident Case
The compensation for your broken ribs and other injuries depends on several important factors. The severity of your injuries and their long-term impact on your life play the biggest role. Other factors include fault determination, insurance policy limits, and your actions after the accident.
Calculating economic damages—like medical expenses and lost income—is more straightforward. Non-economic damages for pain and suffering need a more complex analysis. Our skilled personal injury lawyer excels at presenting your damages persuasively to secure the maximum compensation for you.
The Severity of Your Broken Ribs and Recovery Time
Single rib breaks that heal completely in a few weeks usually result in lower settlements than multiple rib breaks needing surgery and months of recovery. The location of your breaks, whether they have shifted out of place, and any issues during healing all impact the value of your case.
Permanent limitations or chronic pain from your rib injuries can greatly increase your compensation because these effects will impact you for life. Medical expert testimony about your future health and limits helps show these long-term effects.
Loss of Work and Long-Term Pain or Disability
Your lost wages include not only the time you have already missed from work but also any future earning ability that your injuries have reduced. If your broken ribs stop you from returning to your old job or limit the work you can do, this lost earning potential represents a big part of your damages.
Chronic pain that continues even after your ribs heal can affect your quality of life for years. Recording this ongoing pain through medical records and personal testimony helps establish the full extent of your suffering.
Soft Tissue Injuries and Their Role in Queens Car Accidents
Soft tissue injuries like bruises, muscle strains, and torn ligaments often happen with broken ribs but may be overlooked right after a car accident. These injuries can cause major pain and movement limitations that last long after your ribs heal. Insurance companies often try to dismiss soft tissue injuries as minor, but they can greatly impact your daily life.
The same forces that break ribs can stretch or tear muscles, tendons, and ligaments throughout your torso. These injuries may not show up on X-rays like broken bones do, making them harder to document, but no less real in terms of pain and disability.
How These Injuries Can Be Overlooked or Dismissed
Insurance adjusters often argue that soft tissue injuries are not serious because they do not show up clearly on X-rays or CT scans. They may claim these injuries should heal quickly without major medical treatment or time off work. This dismissive stance overlooks the fact that soft tissue injuries often lead to lasting pain and restricted mobility.
Our car accident lawyers know how to document soft tissue injuries through medical records, physical therapy notes, and expert testimony. We work with healthcare providers who specialize in treating these conditions to show their impact on your life and recovery.
Linking Soft Tissue Damage to the Crash Event
Establishing a clear connection between your soft tissue injuries and your car accident is needed to get compensation. We gather medical evidence showing that your symptoms developed right after the crash and correspond with the type of trauma you endured. This documentation stops insurance companies from arguing that your injuries came from somewhere else.
Expert medical testimony can explain how the forces involved in your specific accident commonly cause the soft tissue injuries you are experiencing. This scientific evidence provides strong proof that your injuries are directly related to the crash.
Your Legal Options After a Queens Car Accident
A car accident causing broken ribs or other harm could leave you eligible for legal compensation. Most cases begin with filing a claim against the other driver's insurance company. Still, you may also need to file a lawsuit if the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation.
Your choice of legal action depends on factors like how serious your injuries are, how clear the fault is, and what insurance coverage is available. Our experienced personal injury attorneys look at these factors and recommend the approach most likely to result in fair compensation.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim vs. Lawsuit
Filing a personal injury claim is often the first step in pursuing compensation. This involves submitting a demand to the other driver's insurance company along with records of your injuries and damages. This process is generally faster and less expensive than filing a lawsuit, and many cases settle successfully at this stage.
If an insurance company denies responsibility or offers too little, filing a personal injury lawsuit can help. Filing a lawsuit shows your commitment to pursuing fair compensation and often motivates insurance companies to make more reasonable settlement offers.
Working With a Law Firm to Maximize Compensation
Proficient car accident lawyers like those at Davidoff Law Personal Injury Lawyers craft strong cases to secure maximum compensation for our clients. We know which evidence is most convincing, how to present your damages effectively, and when to reject inadequate settlement offers in favor of pursuing a lawsuit.
Our knowledge of insurance company tactics and negotiation strategies gives you a big advantage in securing fair compensation. We take care of all the legal details in your case, so you can concentrate on recovery, and we’ll fight for your financial recovery.
FAQs
How Much Is a Rib Injury Worth in a Lawsuit?
The value depends on many factors, including:
- Number of ribs broken
- Complications during healing
- Time off work
- Long-term effects
Simple single rib breaks may settle for several thousand dollars. Complex cases involving multiple breaks and complications can be worth much more.
How Long Does It Take to Settle a Car Accident Case in Queens?
Most car accident cases settle within six months to two years. Simple cases with a clear fault may resolve quickly. Complex cases requiring extensive medical treatment take longer.
Do I Need a Lawyer if My Ribs Are Only Bruised?
Yes, even bruised ribs can cause significant pain and time off work. Insurance companies may try to minimize these injuries, but an accomplished attorney understands their true impact.
Can I Still Sue if I Delay Seeking Medical Attention?
You can still pursue a car accident claim even if you delay medical treatment, but it may complicate your case. An experienced personal injury attorney can help explain the delay and build a strong case.
Contact a Queens Car Accident Lawyer for a Free Case Consultation
Do not let insurance companies take advantage of you after suffering broken ribs in a car accident. Contact Davidoff Law Personal Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation about your case. Our experienced car accident attorney works on a contingency fee basis, which means you incur no upfront costs and only pay attorney fees if we successfully recover compensation for you. Call us now to learn how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.
