May 2019

Car accidents happen every single day. In New York, they’re the leading cause of injury-related death in the state. A New York car accident isn’t like other types of car accidents. In Manhattan, bus accidents, taxi accidents or pedestrian and cyclist accidents are likely to occur. If you suffered any type of injury in a car accident, it’s critical to take the appropriate steps after your accident to maximize your potential to receive damages. Read on to find out what you need to do in case you find yourself...

Way back in 1998, the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the Empire State, struck down the longstanding common carrier rule. This legal doctrine held taxi drivers, truck drivers, Uber drivers, and other commercial operators to a higher duty of care. This landmark decision triggered considerable hand-wringing among many New York personal injury attorneys. But this opinion did not radically change the law. It’s still possible to hold commercial drivers responsible for the crashes they cause. Perhaps more importantly, it’s also still possible to hold employers...

Generally, car wreck victims are entitled to be in the same position they would have been in had the crash not occurred. No one can turn back the hands of a clock and go back to before the accident. So, money damages are the next best thing. Unlike a fine in a criminal case, civil damages are usually not designed to punish the tortfeasor (negligent driver). Instead, they’re designed to compensate the victim for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. So,...

A significant number of car crash victims never partner with personal injury attorneys and obtain maximum compensation for their damages. Their reasons are varied. But the bottom line is usually they do not believe it is worthwhile to work with a New York personal injury attorney. Hit-and-run claims are a good example. Many people think if the tortfeasor (negligent driver) does not stop at the scene and basically admit liability, they cannot obtain compensation. But in many cases, that’s not true. As outlined below, attorneys know how to locate...

Some people may remember the 1990s O.J. Simpson murder case. The erstwhile football standout was arrested and charged with a very brutal double murder. One of the victims was his estranged wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. After a very long trial, a jury declared that Simpson was not guilty. A few years later, another California jury heard basically the same evidence and concluded that Simpson killed his ex-wife and her companion. That civil court jury ordered Simpson to pay $25 million in wrongful death damages. How could two different juries...

In order to establish negligence by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not), the victim/plaintiff must have evidence in a car crash claim. Until very recently, New York personal injury attorneys had to rely almost entirely on witness testimony and the police accident report. These sources are still very useful, but they also have significant problems. Witnesses are sometimes biased or unqualified. Maybe they were in a car crash themselves or maybe they were not wearing their glasses. Similarly, the police accident report is sometimes incomplete. If...