Pedestrian Accidents
Our New York City accident law firm aggressively represents personal injury clients who sustained serious injuries as a result of pedestrian accidents throughout New York State, including:
• Car, truck, bus or motorcycle striking a pedestrian
• Car’s side mirror striking a pedestrian
• Car, truck, bus or motorcycle striking a pedestrian on the sidewalk after two vehicles collide
PEDESTRIAN INJURIES
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable to sustain serious injuries when involved in an accident with any type of motor vehicle. The absurdity of the following statement is obvious, yet it is often said by the operator of a motor vehicle after having collided with a pedestrian: “There isn’t any damage whatsoever on the car” Or “I didn’t even feel anything when I hit the pedestrian”
It is rather obvious that the vehicle is not likely to be damaged by striking a pedestrian, nor is the impact likely to be so severe that it will be felt by the driver of the car. Nevertheless, even a slight impact between a motor vehicle and a pedestrian is likely to cause serious injuries, particularly if the impact knocks the pedestrian down to the ground.
RULES OF THE ROAD
Of course, pedestrians should exercise care when entering or crossing streets or roadways, and should cross at designated cross walks, and obey traffic lights and Walk/Don’t Walk signals. Motorists are also required to yield the right of way to pedestrians crossing the street. Often, motorists fail to realize that when the driver has a green light and is making a turn, pedestrians may also have a Walk signal giving them the right to cross the street into which the motorist is turning. The driver must respect the pedestrian’s right to cross the street.
It is often difficult to prove the motorist’s negligence, if the vehicle driver claims that the pedestrian was crossing with a red traffic signal or Don’t Walk signal, and that the driver had a green light. A thorough investigation is often imperative in order to establish the true cause of the accident. Interviewing eye witnesses such as other pedestrians, bystanders, or even other motorists is often critical.
We believe that motorists must share the road, and that they have a responsibility to respect the rights of pedestrians crossing the street. We do everything in our power to thoroughly investigate our clients’ pedestrian accidents with motor vehicles, and to vigorously represent the rights of pedestrian accident victims.
HIT & RUN ACCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS WITH UNINSURED VEHICLES
Even if the motorist leaves the scene of the accident and is never identified, the injured pedestrian may nevertheless be able to recover monetary damages for his or her serious injuries from either the insurance company insuring a motor vehicle owned by either the pedestrian or a member of his household, or alternatively by the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC).
In hit and run accident cases, a police report must be filed within 24 hours of the accident. Also, there are specific notice requirements that must be complied with in order to preserve the pedestrian’s right to make a claim against either the company insuring the vehicle in his or her household, or the MVAIC. We understand these rules and will protect your rights. It is important that you consult a New York personal injury lawyer, such as our firm, promptly after the accident in order to ensure that these filing requirements are timely satisfied.
COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE
New York State is a comparative negligence jurisdiction. Therefore, when an accident in New York State is caused either partially or completely by the defendant’s negligence, even if the injured plaintiff was partially at fault, the plaintiff is entitled to recover monetary damages for the injuries sustained (subject to the “serious injury threshold” for motor vehicle accidents in New York State), however the amount recoverable will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributable to the plaintiff.
MEDICAL & HOSPITAL EXPENSES & LOST WAGES
New York insurance policies provide coverage for payment of No-Fault benefits for medical and hospital bills and loss of earnings sustained by a pedestrian who is involved in an accident with a motor vehicle in New York State.
There are extremely short time limitations for filing an application for New York State No-Fault benefits for medical and hospital expenses, loss of earnings, and other benefits available under the NYS Personal Injury Protection Law. We are happy to assist our clients in timely completing and filing this critical form. If you file the No-Fault Application yourself, we recommend that you make sure to list all of your injuries, and keep a copy of the filed form, and give us a copy. There are also short time limitations for submitting to the no-fault insurance carrier, the medical and hospital bills incurred in a New York motor vehicle accident.
It is important that these bills be paid by the no-fault insurance company, rather than by your health insurance company, because the health insurance company may deny the claim for motor vehicle related injuries, and also because the health insurance company may be entitled to a lien against the personal injury settlement or recovery, for the amounts paid for treatment of the injuries sustained in the accident.
HOW WE CAN HELP
If you or a loved one was seriously injured in a pedestrian accident with a motor vehicle, it is important that you hire the right New York personal injury lawyer. We will conduct a thorough investigation, inspect or photograph the accident location, as well as the damage to the motor vehicle. Witnesses will be interviewed, police reports and motor vehicle accident reports will be obtained and analyzed.
TIME LIMITATIONS
There are strict time limitations that apply to New York lawsuits, including, accidental injury lawsuits and other types of New York litigation. The statute of limitations (time limit for commencing litigation) varies depending on the type of case, and in some instances, depending on the defendant being sued. Furthermore, many types of claims and lawsuits also have other time limitations (in addition to the statute of limitations), such as time limitations for filing a Notice of Claim, Notice of Intention to Make Claim, and other important documents.
FREE CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION
If you have been seriously injured due to an accident, and would like to discuss your case with a New York Accident Lawyer, call our office for a free confidential consultation, or complete our questionnaire.
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GENERAL DISCLAIMER
Visiting our website, submitting any information via questionnaire or email, or discussing your case with us does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship with our law firm can only be established with the signing of a written retainer agreement prepared by our law firm.
Under New York law, in the event there is no recovery in a contingency fee case, the client is responsible for the expenses of the litigation, including court costs and disbursements.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future case or legal matter.
NEW YORK ACCIDENT LAWYER DISCLAIMER
Our New York personal injury attorney website provides general information about NY accident cases. The New York personal injury, NY accidental injury, serious injury accident, or other personal injury legal information contained in this website is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship or lawyer-client relationship. We recommend that you discuss your accident case with a NY Personal Injury Attorney or NY Accident Lawyer promptly, since there are strict time limitations that apply to New York accident cases.
This website is not intended to solicit clients for accident cases outside of New York State. However, we do represent accident victims who live outside of New York, who sustained fractures or other serious injuries in a motor vehicle collision, hit & run accident, uninsured motorist accident, under-insured motorist collision, motorcycle collision, pedestrian accident, bicycle accident, roller blade accident, in-line skating accident, premises accident, trip & fall accident, construction site accident, or on the job accident that occurred in New York State, as well as wrongful death or accidental death caused by a NY accident.
New York Accident Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney New York representing accident victims who have sustained serious injuries in New York City, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, Rockland County and upstate New York.
Law Offices of Michael W. Goldstein, a New York personal injury law firm
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