New York Injury Attorneys Blog

According to the National Transportation Safety Administration, there were 37,261 deaths resulting from car and truck accidents In 2008. In New York, unfortunately our car accident lawyers often receive calls from devastated people who have lost family members in a car accident, motorcycle accident or truck accident. The shock from the accident and human loss is compounded by New York's terrible laws, stringent time limitations and procedural hurdles to get compensation for their loss.

While no amount of money could ever replace a loved one, New York's laws add insult to injury. Within thirty days of the accident, the next of kin must file a no fault application with the insurance company for the car which the deceased was in. So New York's absurd laws require that while a devastated family is still mourning, they need to get to a lawyer to make sure that the paperwork is properly filled out otherwise they loose their benefits. Our New York wrongful death attorneys regularly prepare these forms for the loved ones of deceased accident victims. The insurance company is required to pay for all funeral expenses, other incidental expenses and provide a meager death benefit of a few thousand dollars.

Additionally, the family is only entitled to recover "pecuniary losses" which are those financial losses which the family can prove would have been received by them had the person lived and the value of the services which the person would have provided. Our New York wrongful death lawyers have expertise in working with forensic economists to maximize our client's recovery.

Additionally, the estate can recover for the pre-death pain and suffering of the deceased. So our attorneys regularly work with forensic pathologists to determine how long the decedent lived after the accident.

Also another hurdle which the family must face is having an estate set up because the cause of action must be prosecuted by the estate. So another initial step involves bringing a petition for letters of administration to the Surrogate Court. Our New York accident lawyers routinely prepare these applications as a courtesy to the families of those who suffer wrongful death in New York.

With New York's major interstate highways and close proximity to other states, our New York car accident lawyers often deal with cases involving New York motorists who get hurt by out of state motorists. From our White Plains office, our White Plains car accident lawyers see numerous accidents involving drivers along I-287 from either New Jersey or Connecticut. These accidents occur all along the interstate in the towns of Port Chester, Rye, White Plains, Elmsford, Tarrytown, Greenburgh and Harrison.

New York drivers often fear being unable to sue the out of state motorist, because they don't live in New York. However, New York's vehicle and traffic law protects New York's motorists and our New York accident lawyers are familiar with the unique issues involved in dealing with truck accidents and car accidents with out of state motorists.

New York Courts have jurisdiction over anyone involved in a car or truck accident in New York. Also New York's vehicle and traffic law allows service of process to be effectuated on the Secretary of State for any out of state motorist.

Our New York car and truck accident lawyers have handled numerous cases involving personal injuries from a car or truck accident with a work van. Often the drivers of the vans are working off the books and the owner has a business and they try to claim that the driver was not working for them at the time of the accident. The owners of the work vans often do this to prevent their commercial liability police from being used or to insulate their corporate or business assets. Our New York accident lawyers have seen this scenario many times in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Our Westchester accident lawyers are also seeing this occur with greater frequency in White Plains, Yonkers, Port Chester, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Ossining, Mamaroneck and Bronxville.

Our New York truck accident lawyers have gotten past these self serving denials by showing that the driver really was working through circumstantial evidence. The New York courts have recognized that whether an employee's acts are within the scope of employment is dependents on the particular facts of a case and that the question is ordinarily one for the jury.

Our New York car and truck accident lawyers have been able to prove that a defendant really was working where the accident occurred on a weekday during the normal business hours of the owner's business. Our New York accident lawyers also thoroughly investigate whether the van had a the logo or sign on it and whether the driver called the boss immediately to report the accident.

As a New York car accident lawyer, I have handled hundreds of car accidents for pedestrians hit by trucks and cars. In New York City, especially Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, there is often heavy pedestrian traffic. There is also an increasing amount of pedestrian traffic in the Westchester cities including White Plains, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Ossining and Port Chester.

The most common question that New York lawyers who handle car accident cases hear is " I just got hit by a car, who is going to pay my medical bills" . The answer is that in New York, where a person is hit by a car crossing the street, the insurance company for the car has to pay the injuried person's medical bills.

Often those who suffer personal injuries because they got hit by a car are scared to go to the doctor because they don't have insurance and are not aware of the benefits available to them. The insurance company for the car is always listed on the police report and can be identified by its DMV code. Also an application for the benefits must be filed within thirty days of the accident, so it is important to consult with an experienced New York car accident lawyer as soon as possible after the accident.

Our New York car accident lawyers won a major decision earlier this year, in the Westchester Supreme Court. Our Westchester personal injury lawyers won summary judgement on the issue of serious injury which means that the Westchester Supreme Court agreed that we established that the car accident victim's injuries were serious as a matter of law.

This decision was a milestone because the New York Courts and many lawyers seem to be under the impression that only defendants are entitled to summary judgment on the serious injury issue. Typically defendants always move for summary judgment and try to get car accident cases dismissed. However, many personal injury lawyers have not thought to make a motion stating that the injured party is entitled to summary judgment. Our New York truck and car accident lawyers remain committed to fighting the good fight for people injured in a car accidents.

Under the serious injury law, the Courts have held that a Plaintiff can establish a prima facie case of serious injury, if they did not work for 90 our of the first 180 days following the accident. The Courts have also held that a Defendant cannot establish that the Defendant cannot meet its burden of proof where the Defendant's doctor did not examine the car accident victim within six months following the accidnet because an examination years after the accident has no bearing on the injured person's condition for the first six months following the accident. As a result, our New York car accident lawyers were able to prove that the Plaintiff was seriously injured as a matter of law. This takes away one major weapon from the defense lawyer's trick bag at trial.

Our New York car accident lawyers have represented numerous clients involved in car accident in New York City and the surrounding areas such as Rockland, Long Island, Westchester including White Plains, Yonkers, Bronxville, Ossining, Port Chester, Harrison, Mamaroneck, Pelham, Rye and New Rochelle. These accidents are especially common on the bridges such as the George Washington Bridge and the Triboro Bridge, and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, which have high inter-state Traffic. Likewise the highways, such as I-95, the New England throughway and I-287 often have car and truck accidents with multi-state drivers.

New York car accident lawyers handling personal injury cases involving car accidents and truck accidents with out of State motorists have numerous wrinkles with the applicable insurance laws. For example, motorists in Connecticut do not have medical benefits required as part of their car insurance policies. Likewise, numerous States have lower insurance limits than New York, and when New York drivers are injured because of the negligence of an out of State driver, there is often a concern that there will not be enough coverage. Some states, such as Alabama do not require insurance at all. Others such as Florida and Louisiana have very low liaibility limits.

Drivers injured in car accidents in the State of New York do not need to worry because New York has a deemer law, which means that upon entry into the State of New York any car insured by an insurance company which writes insurance in New York, is automatically deemed to provide New York's minimum insurance requirements.

New York insurance law requires that any vehicle driven in the State of New York provide no fault benefits, which include medical insurance to cover medical costs and lost wage benefits for disability. Likewise, every car in the State of New York is required to have at least $25,000 in liability coverage for bodily injury and $10,000 in property damage.

As a New York car accident lawyer, I have seen numerous car and truck accidents where my client had suspected the other driver had been drinking, but the police officer did not test them. This obviously results in the loss of critical evidence and hinders the ability of New York accident attorneys to establish liability.

A new bill pending in the New York assembly, Bill, A02092 would require investigating officers to field test and test blood alcohol levels of all drivers involved in auto accidents and truck accidents where serious personal injury or death occurs.

If this bill passes, it will result in New York auto accident lawyers being able to know for sure whether a driver was intoxicated. This will certainly ease the frustrations of drivers who suffer serious personal injuries when they are hit by drunk drivers.

Our New York car accident lawyers urge all residents of New York to contact their assemblymen and urge them to vote for this bill.

For decades, the citizens of New York who suffer serious personal injuries in car accidents and truck accidents have been vicitimized by their insurance companies, the insurance company for the other driver and even the Courts. New York car accident lawyers and even the Judges in New York have long complained about the ridiculous standards of the serious injury law.

New York Insurance Law presently requires that to recover any money for personal injuries from a car accident, the injured person must prove they have a serious injury. New York Insurance Law 5102 defines a serious injury as a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

This law has lead to absurd results which has frustrated New York car accident attorneys and truck accident lawyers. For example, a car accident victim who suffered a nondisplaced fracture, which heals within three to six weeks can recover money, but a person who suffered a herniated disc and has pain for the rest of their lives is not entitled to anything. The Courts have even been dismissing cases where car accident victims have had surgery because they didn't fit into one of these categories.

The New York legislature initially passed this law on the basis that people injured in car accidents would get no fault benefits, which is lost wages and payment of medical bills without regard to fault. However, this system has proven to be rampant with abuse and fraud with insurance companies cutting people off from treatment, even though they are injured and in need of treatment. As a result New York car accident victims got a raw deal.

Finally New York may get the reform that is long over due in Assembly Bill A10739, which was sponsored by Assemblymen Titone and co-sponsored by Assemblymen (and women) Lavine, Quinn, Ortiz, Spano, Rosenthal, Benedetto, Stirpe, Rivera J, Weprin D, Maisel, Schroeder, Cymbrowitz, Peoples-Stokes, Paulin, Lancman, Millman, Markey, Kellner, Dinowitz, Castro, Meng, O'Donnell, Colton, Schimel, Scarborough, Zebrowski, Robinson, Jeffries, John, Aubry and Koon.

This proposed law adds categories of injuries to the definition of serious injury, which car accident lawyers, judges and doctors have always considered to be serious. Unfortunately, the Courts, especially the intermediate appellate courts have overlystringently applied the serious injury law to exclude injuries, which are serious, but don't fit squarely into artificial tests created by the Courts.

The new law would define serious injury as a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; a partial or complete tear or impingment of a nerve, tendon, ligament, muscle or cartilage, injury to any part of the spinal column that results in injury to an intervertebral disc, impingment of the spinal cord, spinal canal or nerve, tendon or muscle, loss of a fetus; permanent total or partial loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; a surgical procedure to any injured part of the body, any other permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, function or system and any other significant limitation of use of a body organ, member, function or system; or any other medically determined injury or impairment of a permanent or non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

New York car accident lawyers and New York truck accident lawyers need to support this bill and urge their clients to support this bill, as it is truly needed. The Law Office of Michael H. Joseph PLLC applauds the sponsors of this bill as finally addressing a needed reform.

New York car accident lawyers often handle cases invovling car and truck accidents which involve stop signs. Car accidents often involve serious personal injuries and even death when pedestrians and cars are struck at intersections with stop signs.

In New York, lawyers and attorneys who handle personal injury cases involving car accidents at intersections must be familiar with the responsiblities of motorists at intersections. New York Vehicle and Traffic law 1142(a) requires every driver of a vehicle including a car and truck approaching a stop sign tol stop. The law also requires that cars and trucks after stopping to yield the right of way to any vehicle, car, motorcycle or truck which has entered the intersection from another highway or which is approaching so closely on said highway as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such driver is moving across or within the intersection.

New York car accident lawyers must also be familiar with the car driver's responsibilites towards pedestrians crossing the street. New York Vehicle and Traffic law 1142(b) requires drivers of vehicles, including cars and trucks, approaching a yield sign to slow down to a speed reasonable for existing conditions, or stop if necessary. The law also requires that motorists yield the right of way to any pedestrian legally crossing the roadway on which he is driving, and to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another highway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time such driver is moving across or within the intersection.

The law provides a powerful weapon for New York car accident lawyers who represent injured pedestrians. The law states that if a driver is involved in a collision with a pedestrian in a crosswalk or a vehicle in the intersection after driving past a yield sign without stopping, such collision shall be deemed prima facie evidence of his failure to yield the right of way.

The Courts in New York have repeatedly recognized that where a driver has violated a traffic law designed to ensure the safety of others, and this violation causes another's injury, the court may find judgment in favor of the injured plaintiff so long as no comparative negligence has been established. Courts have reasoned that a driver of a car or truck who fails to yield the right of way after stopping at a stop sign is in violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1142(a) and is negligent as a matter of law. A driver is required to see that which through proper use of his or her senses he or she should have seen," and the driver with the right of way "is entitled to anticipate that the other motorist will obey the traffic law requiring him or her to yield.

Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, § 1111(a)(1) car and truck drivers are legally obligated to yield the right of way to pedestrians in the crosswalk who are crossing when the "Walk" signal is in their favor, and a driver's failure to do so establishes prima facie negligence as a matter of law. An injured pedestrian is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, where plaintiff was in the crosswalk with the light in their favor, and the car strikes them while making a left turn. A motor vehicle driver has an obligation to observe and watch for pedestrians, and is negligent where he has failed to see what through the proper use of his senses he should have seen.

New York car accident lawyers should always use these firm statutes to represent their clients who sustain serious personal injuries in car accidents involving intersections with stop signs.

As a Car accident lawyer in New York City, I have handled numerous car accident cases in which someone riding a bicycle was hit by a car or truck. In New York City, especially Manhattan, bicyclists are very common on the roadway. The streets congested with fast moving traffic and cars which are often switching lanes and stopping suddenly create a hazardous situation for bicyclists on New York City Streets.

The issue of fault is almost always a he said, she said situation with bicycle accidents. Nevertheless, New York law provides a powerful weapon for New York accident lawyers who represent bicycle injury victims in New York. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 1146 states that every driver of a car or truck shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist, or pedestrian upon any roadway and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary. Therefore in any accident in which a car or truck driver sees a bicyclist before the accident, they have some degree in fault for not avoiding hitting the bicyclist.

As a New York car accident lawyer, who also handles a large number of commercial trucking accidents, I have handled numerous personal injury cases involving out of state motorists who cause car accidents in New York.

One of the first questions every personal injury victim of a car accident asks their car accident lawyer is where can I sue. The answer is that New York law provides for jurisdiction over a defendant if the accident occurred in New York. Generally, the lawyer will have to file the lawsuit in the County where injured Plaintiff resides. The New York vehicle and traffic law provides that every out of State resident who drives into the State of New York, by entering New York appoints the New York Secretary of State as his agent for process of service. That means that the New York car accident lawyer can serve the summons and complaint upon the Secretary of State who will accept it on behalf of the out of state motorist. The New York car accident lawyer is required to serve an additional copy by certified mail upon the out of state motorist.

Another question New York car and truck accident lawyers hear is how much insurance is available. Many victims who have sustained personal injuries caused by out of state motorists are told by their insurance companies that they don't have insurance to cover bodily injury, or they only have minimal policies. The law in New York, which all New York car accident lawyers must be familiar with is that New York is a deemer state. This means that any insurance carrier which writes policies in New York is deemed to automatically provide the minimum requirements of the New York Insurance law to the out of state car, regardless of their actual policy limits. This means, that if the out of state car or truck is insured by a company that writes policies in New York, the out of State car is deemed to have New York's minimum requirements, the moment that the car enters the State of New York.

New York's minimum requirements are $25,000 in liability coverage and $25,000 in no fault benefits. If you have suffered a personal injury in New York with an out of state car, you should consult with a New York car accident lawyer, who is experienced in handling car accident cases involving out of state motorists.

As a New York City car accident lawyer and Westchester car accident attorney, I have handled numerous hit and run cases. The first question people ask when they suffered an injury in a hit and run car accident is what do I do? If is frustrating and confusing to not know who hit you.

The answer is don't worry, you are entitled to benefits and to recovery damages for your serious personal injury. Who is responsible to pay your benefits and to compensate you for your personal injuries depends on how your car accident happened and whether you were in a car or truck or were a pedestrian.

The New York Insurance Law has set up a fund called the New York Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnity Corporation pays for the medical bills, wages and compensates car accident injury damages for personal injuries, if there is no other insurance available. There is no other insurance available if the other car was either uninsured or it left the scene (hit and run). However, New York law requires car accident insurance companies to provide no fault and uninsured motorist benefits.

So if you were in an insured car, which was involved in a hit and run car accident, the insurance company for the car which you were in has to pay your no fault benefits and provide uninsured motorist benefits.

If you were a pedestrian and were hit by a car, which was either uninsured or fled the scene after the accident.

There are time limits to get these benefits. For example, New York Insurance Law 5208 requires that someone who sustained an injury in a hit and run car accident report the accident within 24 hours or as soon as reasonably possible to a police, peace or judicial officer or to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicle. However the law also states that the fact that the accident was not reported within twenty-four hours after the accident shall not prejudice the rights of the person if it is shown that it was not reasonably possible to make such a report or that it was made as soon as was reasonably possible. Many car insurance policies have similar language as requirements to get uninsured motorist benefits.

Unfortunately, if there was an accident, often the New York City Police Department does not respond to hit and run calls and if they do, they often loose reports. New York insurance companies are notorious for trying to deny claims because of the lack of an accident report. To prevent insurance companies from taking advantage of sloppy police work to harm their insureds who were car accident victims, the courts have consistently afforded a very liberal interpretation to the notice requirement, accepting police contacts that fall far short of the operator's obtaining a written report. If you were injured in a hit and run, in New York City or Westchester, call our New York car accident lawyers for a free consultation.

Unfortunately, many people who have suffered serious personal injuries in car accidents are victims to inadequate insurance coverage. This typically occurs where the person who is responsbile for causing the car accident or the truck accident has only a minimum policy.

Where an accident victim has suffered a serious injury caused by someone with only a minimum liability policy, New York injury lawyers who represent car accident and truck accident victims must explore the availability of supplementary underinsured benefits. The minimum insurance requirement in New York is $25,000 of liability insurance. Where an accident victim has suffered a serious personal injury such as a fracture or back injury that requires surgery or is disabling, that is insufficient.

Where the accident victim has higher insurance limits, their own insurance can be made to pay the difference between the low insurance policy of the defendant and the policy limits of the accident victims. For example, if the car accident victim has $100,000 in insurance and the person who caused the car accident has $25,000 in insurance, then, the defendant's insurance company will pay $25,000, and then the car accident victim with serious persoanl injuries can force their own insurance company to pay $75,000 (the difference between the $100,000 policy and the $25,000).

Under New York law, every car insurance policy automatically must include a S.U.M., endorsement. New York car accident lawyers must put the no fault carrier on notice of an SUM claim as soon as possible after learning the policy limits of the under insured vehicle. Also New York car accident lawyers must get consent from the S.U.M. adjuster prior to settling with the insurance carrier for the car or truck that caused the accident, or else S.U.M. benefits might be lost.

New York car accident lawyers who represent clients who sustain personal injury in auto accidents or truck accidents must be familiar with the rules of the road in the New York vehicle and traffic law.

Michael Joseph, an experienced car accident lawyer and truck accident attorney has won numerous cases by proving the other driver violated New York's vehicle and traffic law. New York V.T.L. § 1111, requires motorists facing a steady circular red signal to stop at a clearly marked stop line or before entering the crosswalk (if there is no stop line) and remain standing until an indication to proceed (green light).l

We have used these rules to prove the other driver was 100% at fault. Often insurance company lawyers will try to argue that the injured party was partially at fault becuase they were not careful enough when the defendant blew a red light or stop sign. The law in New York is while a driver entering an intersection with a green light must exercise caution, summary judgment should be granted where the defendant's action of running a red light was the sole cause of the accident. The New York courts have recognized that operators of cars which havethe right-of-way, are entitled to expect that other vehicles will obey the traffic laws requiring them to yield.

New York car accident lawyers must remember to adequately research the vehicle and traffic laws to adequately represent victims of personal injuries from car accidents in New York.
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Continue reading "New York Car Accidents- Red Lights and The Rules of the Road" »

If you were injured due to a slip and fall on snow or a car accident caused by ice in Westchester County, you should speak with a Westchester county personal injury lawyer right away. This winter, all of the Westchester towns including White Plains, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, Tarrytown, Scardale, Ossining and Hartsdale were all blanketed with snow. Likewise, the streets in all of the Westchester towns are frozen over with ice.

As a result, there have been numerous snow and ice accidents resulting in personal injury. The major highways such as I-287, the Hutchinson Parkway, and I-95 have had numerous snow related car accidents and truck accidents in Port Chester, Rye, Mamaroneck, White Plains, Tarrytown, New Rochelle and Yonkers.

As a Westchester personal injury lawyer based in White Plains, I am thorougly familiar with the legal issues involving in these types of cases. Often, defendants will claim they are not responsible for causing car accidents or truck accidents because of snow and ice related conditions. This is not true, because everyone driving a car has a responsibility to drive at a safe speed and to make adjustments for the weather conditions including snow and ice.

Also property owners in the Westchester towns, must make their property safe, which means they need to clean the snow as soon as it is practical to do so. Additionally, commercial property owners are responsible for cleaning the sidewalks in front of their propery.

So if you were injured in a car accident or a slip and fall caused by snow or ice, you need to speak to a Westchester County personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Also, if possible, you should take a picture of the area where the accident happened to document the condition.