Queens is a city with thousands of miles of sidewalks and paths for its many pedestrian commuters. However, Queens is also home to countless drivers who are not always the most observant of pedestrians. When pedestrian accidents happen, the victim could be left with significant injuries.
Fortunately, a skilled Queens pedestrian accident lawyer can help hold drivers accountable for their negligent conduct. Pedestrian accidents can occur in numerous ways, considering the number of busy intersections and roads around the city. However, recovering compensation can be challenging because of New York’s no-fault laws. You can typically recover damages for a pedestrian accident from insurance, but there are only certain situations where you will be permitted to file a lawsuit.
If you were injured in an accident, our pedestrian accident lawyers can help you hold the negligent person accountable. For a free case evaluation, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.
Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Queens, NY
Queens is a dynamic place with thousands of pedestrians commuting across the city daily. Unfortunately, car accidents involving pedestrians are common and can result in severe injuries. The following are some common causes of pedestrian accidents in Queens:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Driving and texting
- Running red lights and stop signs
- Drunk driving
- Failure to yield the right of way at crosswalks and intersections
- Improper left turn
- Inadequate or blocked sidewalks
Queens is one of the more dangerous boroughs for pedestrians. According to a Queens Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, an average of 250 pedestrians are severely injured or killed in car accidents yearly, making Queens one of the most accident-prone boroughs in New York City. Our pedestrian accident lawyers can help you hold the negligent driver accountable regardless of how they caused your injuries.
Insurance Compensation After Being Injured in a Queens, NY Pedestrian Accident
Queens residents injured in a pedestrian accident might not realize that car insurance will play a role despite not driving when the accident occurred. New York is a no-fault state for the purposes of filing car insurance. Typically, when a car accident happens, each driver can file a claim for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits from their own insurance policy. There is no requirement to prove fault before receiving compensation from your insurance.
If you do not possess car insurance, do not fear. In that situation, you would file a claim against the negligent driver’s PIP insurance. If the other driver does not have insurance or their insurance is insufficient to cover your damages, you might be able to file a lawsuit instead.
However, PIP insurance benefits will only provide certain economic damages. In most cases, PIP benefits will cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket financial costs associated with your injuries. PIP benefits will not cover non-economic damages associated with your injury’s impact on your life. These include damages for physical pain and emotional suffering, loss of enjoyment in life, and other subjective losses the court feels you should be compensated for.
The only way to recover non-economic damages is to file a lawsuit for your pedestrian accident injuries. Unfortunately, New York’s no-fault laws prevent most people from filing lawsuits to recover damages if insurance is available to cover a victim’s financial expenses.
Our pedestrian accident lawyers can help ensure you are treated fairly in the insurance claims process and determine if your case meets one of the exceptions to the no-fault law’s bar against filing a lawsuit.
Filing a Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit in Queens, NY
In most cases, pedestrians injured by a driver will not be able to recover additional compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. There are exceptions, though, where a victim is permitted to pursue additional damages for their injuries under New York law. For instance, if you do not have car insurance and the driver is also uninsured, you could file a lawsuit to recover the compensation you are entitled to.
To recover non-economic damages that insurance will not provide, you must prove that you sustained a serious injury in the accident. I.S.C. Law § 5102(d) lists several examples of serious injuries for the purposes of filing a lawsuit:
- Death
- Dismemberment
- Broken bones
- Miscarriage
- Significant disfigurement
- Permanent loss or limitation of a bodily organ, function, or system
- A non-permanent injury that prevents you from doing substantially all normal tasks of daily living for 90 out of the first 180 days after being injured.
Unfortunately, many pedestrian accidents do result in serious injuries. Our pedestrian accident lawyers can help you file your lawsuit to recover the compensation you need to treat the full extent of your injuries.
People You Might Name in Your Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit in Queens, NY
When a person is struck by a car, more than just the victim and the driver might be involved. Although it might not be immediately apparent, other parties might share some of the blame for the accident. An attorney can assist you in determining how the accident happened, who was involved, and which parties should be brought to justice.
Drivers
As you might expect, we can help you sue the driver of the vehicle that hit you. In arguably most circumstances, pedestrians are not at fault for pedestrian accidents with vehicles. More often than not, it is the driver who has a duty to look out for pedestrians, not the other way around. For example, if you were crossing the street when oncoming traffic was supposed to stop for a red light, but a driver did not stop and hit you, that driver should be held liable. Even when there is no sign or light calling for drivers to stop, they usually must stop or at least yield at crosswalks or other places where pedestrians are expected to cross.
Just remember, this is not always the case, and there are less typical circumstances in which a pedestrian might be the one at fault. For example, if a person crosses lanes of traffic where there are no lights, signals, or crosswalks instructing drivers to stop or yield, the pedestrian might be in the wrong. As such, it is important to talk about the exact location of your accident with your lawyer. Chances are the driver should have stopped but failed to do so.
Businesses
You might not realize it at first, but the person who hit you might have been on the job at the time of the crash. If that is the case, we might be able to sue them and their employer for your damages. This is a common scenario when the negligent driver is a taxi driver, bus driver, delivery driver, or someone else who drives as part of their job.
If you are not sure about the employment status of the driver, talk to your lawyer. They can figure out who the defendant works for and whether they were on the clock during the accident.
Under the legal theory known as respondeat superior, employers may be held responsible for accidents and harm caused by negligent employees who were acting in furtherance of normal job duties. This means if a delivery driver was speeding to get their job done faster and neglected to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk, they and the delivery service company they work for might be on the hook for damages.
Public Transportation Agencies
Suppose the driver who hit you was on the job at the time of the accident, but they do not work for a private company. Instead, suppose they work for the government in some capacity. In that case, you might have a legal claim against the governmental entity the defendant works for. This is not unusual in cases where a pedestrian is hit by a city bus or people who work for public offices or agencies.
Suing the government comes with additional legal hurdles. Perhaps the biggest hurdle is your deadline to notify the government of your claim. When suing a governmental entity, you must first submit a notice of your claim to the relevant government office or agency. They might agree to compensate you or deny your claim. The notice of your claim must be submitted no later than 90 days after the accident, according to G.M.U. Law § 50-e(a). This is an extremely narrow deadline. If we miss it, you might be unable to sue the government for damages.
Damages Available in Many Queens, NY Pedestrian Accident Cases
Damages in pedestrian crashes might be quite high, as pedestrians are very vulnerable to severe injuries. Damages stemming from bodily injuries alone are likely to be substantial. First, we should consider the intense pain caused by these injuries. Many people spend weeks or even months in utter agony while they slowly recover. For some, this takes a deep psychological toll. Depression, anxiety, and residual feelings of fear are somewhat common. You should be compensated for these painful experiences.
Next, we should evaluate the cost of your medical treatment. As mentioned, pedestrians are very vulnerable to serious injuries, and they often require extensive medical treatment. Enormous hospital bills are very likely to follow. Keep a thorough record of all your hospital bills so we can accurately tally up your damages. We can also estimate the cost of future medical needs if your injuries are expected to last for a long time.
To make a bad situation even worse, people recovering from bad injuries often cannot return to work for a while. Some might never be able to return to full-time work. We can help you claim the income you lose because of your injuries. If you cannot work indefinitely, we can also claim lost future earnings.
Examples of Evidence in Queens, NY Pedestrian Accident Cases
Evidence is the backbone of any lawsuit. We need to obtain as much evidence as we can to support your claims so you can get fair compensation for your injuries and losses. We should begin by talking to people who might have information about the accident.
Witnesses are extremely valuable and have been known to turn the tides in difficult cases. If other people saw the accident happen, we should find them and talk to them about what they saw. Additionally, we might find people who were not present at the accident but have other first-hand knowledge pertaining to the case. For example, suppose the defendant was intoxicated during the accident. In that case, we might find the bartender who served them before the accident and have them testify about how much alcohol the defendant consumed.
We should also look for video footage from nearby security cameras. If the defendant had a dashcam in their vehicle, we should demand to see that footage, too. Video evidence of the collisions might be very persuasive to a jury.
Contributory Negligence in a Queens, NY Pedestrian Accident
Many injured pedestrians wonder if any conduct on their part will impact the amount of their compensation. Even if you did nothing to contribute to causing the accident, many insurance companies will argue that you did in an effort to pressure you into settling your case quickly. However, injured pedestrians can recover compensation in a lawsuit even if they were partially to blame for the accident.
According to C.V.P. Law § 1411, if an injured pedestrian is found to have also been negligent in causing an accident, they can still recover an award from the court, but reduced by the percentage they were found to be at fault. For example, if you were found to be 50% at fault but awarded $100,000, you would recover $50,000 in compensation. Further, under New York’s pure comparative negligence rule, injured pedestrians can recover damages even if they were determined to be up to 99% at fault for their injuries. Our pedestrian accident lawyers can help you address any acts that could be used against you to reduce the compensation you are owed.
Our Queens, NY Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Can Help
If a negligent driver has injured you, our pedestrian accident lawyers can help you develop the right legal strategy for your case. For a free case assessment, contact The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.