Arverne Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Like many other neighborhoods in Queens and New York City, Arverne is a walkable area. Many people choose to walk to get around rather than drive or take public transportation. Unfortunately, drivers are sometimes too aggressive and hit pedestrians, causing severe injuries. If this happens to you, an attorney can assist you in getting compensation from the person responsible.
Accidents involving pedestrians often happen where foot traffic and vehicle traffic cross paths. Crosswalks, parking areas like lots and garages, and even sidewalks are common locations for pedestrian accidents. Before you initiate any legal action, talk to a lawyer. According to New York’s no-fault auto insurance laws, you might have to file a claim with your own auto insurance if you have any. You might get around this rule if you have a “serious injury” as defined by law or do not carry car insurance because you do not drive. However you get compensation, it might be quite significant, depending on the extent of your injuries.
Call our Queens pedestrian accident attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083 and get a free, confidential case evaluation to get started.
How Pedestrian Accidents Often Occur in Arverne
Understanding how and where your accident happened is an important step toward holding the negligent defendant liable for your injuries. Knowing this information can help us find evidence and understand what led to the collision.
Many pedestrian accidents happen in crosswalks. Crosswalks are sometimes a point of contention between pedestrians and drivers. Many drivers believe that pedestrians should get out of the way when cars are coming, while pedestrians claim that drivers in cars should yield to pedestrians. Often, the latter argument is correct. Vehicles should yield when someone is in a crosswalk if there is no traffic light, and our pedestrian accident attorneys can help you prove it.
Parking areas are another hotspot for pedestrian accidents. Drivers often relax a bit and let their guard down in parking lots because they are no longer on the road or highway. However, this might only increase the risk of an accident. Parking lots are often full of vehicles and pedestrians walking to and from their cars, and it may be very easy to cause an accident if a driver loses focus.
Sidewalk accidents are not quite as common but are still a serious risk to pedestrians. For example, a driver might lose control of their car and run up on a nearby sidewalk, injuring numerous pedestrians. Accidents like this sometimes happen because vehicles malfunction or because drivers are intoxicated.
Taking Legal Action for Compensation After a Pedestrian Accident in Arverne
After a pedestrian accident, injured victims can seek financial compensation from insurance or through a personal injury lawsuit, but there might be some legal hurdles to jump. New York is one of a handful of states that follows no-fault insurance laws, and it might be your only legal option unless special conditions are present.
Submitting Insurance Claims
Even though you were a pedestrian in the accident and not driving a car, there was still a vehicle involved, and the accident may be considered an auto accident. As such, you may seek compensation through an auto insurance claim. In New York, drivers must carry no-fault car insurance that covers them after an accident, no matter who is responsible. If you have such insurance, you may file a claim. If you are like many of the residents of Arverne and surrounding neighborhoods in Queens, you might not drive or carry auto insurance. In that case, filing a third-party claim through the other driver’s insurance might be possible.
Filing a Personal Injury Case
To file a civil case for your injuries, you need to make sure your case meets the necessary criteria. According to no-fault insurance rules I.S.C. Law § 5104(a), your no-fault insurance policy might be your only legal recourse unless you have a “serious injury.” While all injuries might feel pretty serious to the injured person, the law has set a strict definition of what is considered a serious injury.
A serious injury is described under § 5104(d) and includes injuries involving fractures, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, death, loss of a fetus, loss or limitation of body parts, organs, or systems, and non-permanent, medically diagnosed impairments or injuries that stop you from doing normal daily chores and tasks for at least 90 days during the 180-day period after the accident.
If you meet this criteria, which many injured victims do, you may step outside the rules of no-fault insurance and file a personal injury case. When filing, we must be prepared to prove to the court that you meet the above criteria and have a valid cause of action.
What Your Pedestrian Accident Case in Arverne Might Be Worth
An important topic to talk about with your lawyer is what your claims are worth. While it might be uncomfortable to talk about traumatic accidents in terms of dollars and cents, it is a necessary discussion. You need to know if your claims are worth taking to court or if other options are better suited to your needs. Generally, the more severe your injuries are, the more your claims might be worth.
Damages are the basis of financial compensation and may be assessed based on how much they cost you or the toll they take on your life. Economic damages tend to include costs like medical bills, lost income from missing work, property damage, and various other expenses you might incur as a direct result of the accident. Non-economic damages are more amorphous because they are not based on money. Instead, these damages represent painful experiences, like physical pain from injuries, humiliation, emotional distress, psychological damage, and more.
We should also consider the totality of the circumstances. How bad are your injuries? How careless was the driver? Were you careless? All these details may come together to make for a worthwhile claim.
Seek Help From Our Arverne Pedestrian Accident Attorneys
Call our pedestrian accident attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083 and get a free, confidential case evaluation to get started.