Every day pedestrians fill the streets of New York City walking to work, school, restaurants, landmarks, and other places. Unfortunately, some of these pedestrians are injured by drivers who don’t follow New York’s rules of the road. In fact, each month 849 pedestrians are injured by cars in New York City.
If you were injured by a car while walking in the city, you should consult with a New York pedestrian accident attorney to learn about compensation for your injuries. Being injured by a reckless driver can throw your life off course. Do yourself a favor and hire a knowledgeable pedestrian accident attorney in New York City at Glugeth & Pierguidi, P.C., to lead you through the claims process.
Pedestrian Rights in NYC
As a pedestrian in a chaotic city, you deserve to feel safe when you walk around and follow pedestrian signals to cross streets. Unfortunately, some drivers are in a hurry or distracted, and they hit and injure pedestrians who are complying with the laws. Pedestrians who have been hit by reckless drivers can sue the driver for compensation and damages.
New York law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks in the following situations:
- The pedestrian signal displays “Walk” or a walking person;
- The pedestrian is already crossing the street when “Don’t Walk” or the raised hand starts flashing; and
- The pedestrian is crossing the street when the light is solid green, if there aren’t pedestrian signals.
This is only a sample of New York pedestrian laws. It’s essential to have an experienced New York City pedestrian accident attorney review your situation to receive accurate information about laws that apply to your case.
What Expenses and Losses Can Compensation Cover in a Pedestrian Accident Case?
Having a committed, qualified pedestrian accident lawyer in NYC can help you understand the full extent of expenses and losses to request in your accident claim. There are two general types of damages you may be entitled to.
- Economic damages—help you pay for medical bills, hospital stays, physical therapy, and other expenses that have predetermined values; and
- Noneconomic damages—money for emotional distress, pain, suffering, and other losses that don’t have a market value.
Your claim for compensation should cover both past and future losses. Contact a pedestrian accident lawyer in NYC to learn more about compensation available for your situation.
Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
There is no singular cause of pedestrian accidents. Numerous types of negligence cause these horrific events. However, your NYC pedestrian injury accident lawyer commonly sees the following similar conduct and behaviors resulting in these unfortunate events:
- Distracted driving. Texting, talking on the phone, using your GPS, fiddling with your radio, or speaking with other passengers distract a driver from the road. Even a few seconds of looking away from the road increases the risk of an accident.
- Speeding. Driving at speeds higher than the limit posted by law creates a dangerous risk of an accident. At higher speeds, cars need more time to come to a complete stop, which makes it impossible to avoid hitting a pedestrian when circumstances change suddenly.
- Failing to give right of way. All drivers must stop to let a pedestrian entering a crosswalk or intersection cross the road safely. Some drivers fail to do so, hoping to beat the pedestrian before crossing in front of them. However, this dangerous practice often leads to avoidable collisions.
- Driving under the influence. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is illegal. These substances significantly impact a driver’s ability to operate their vehicle safely by reducing their reaction time and awareness and increasing the risk of an accident.
Your New York pedestrian accident attorney will review valuable evidence, such as accident reports, eyewitness statements, and insurance reports, to determine the cause of your accident. In most cases, determining the cause of your accident helps to identify the liable party.
Common Injuries from Pedestrian Accidents
Catastrophic injuries commonly result from pedestrian accidents because pedestrians are unprotected as they collide with vehicles or bicyclists. Drivers have several safety measures, such as seat belts and airbags, to keep the driver safe. Bicyclists have helmets. Pedestrians have nothing.
As a result, the injuries suffered by pedestrians in these collisions are severe and usually require lengthy recovery periods. The most common injuries seen in these accidents include:
- Broken bones,
- Spinal injuries,
- Traumatic brain injuries,
- Internal bleeding,
- Torn ligaments,
- Nerve damage, and
- Severe cuts.
It’s vital to your recovery to get the compensation you need to recover comfortably from these horrific injuries. No one deserves to have their life sidelined by an injury that wasn’t their fault. Let your pedestrian accident lawyer get to work immediately to get you and your family the financial support you deserve.
Who Is Liable for a Pedestrian Accident?
Holding the proper party responsible for your injuries is vital in any personal injury lawsuit. Your pedestrian accident lawyer analyzes your case’s facts and circumstances to determine who caused the accident.
The Driver
Negligent drivers cause most pedestrian accidents. Drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely and to protect others. For example, drivers must stop at all stop signs and yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. Unfortunately, aggressive drivers often fail to follow these basic requirements, resulting in catastrophic collisions with innocent victims.
The Bicyclist
Just as drivers, bicyclists also have a responsibility to exercise duty when riding their bicycles to protect the health and safety of others. They are responsible for obeying all traffic signs and signals and must abide by stop signs and red signal lights. If you were hit by a bicyclist who failed to yield to traffic signals, your pedestrian injury lawyer uses evidence to establish that bicyclist’s negligence in causing the collision.
The Pedestrian
There are situations where a pedestrian may be responsible for a pedestrian accident. For example, an impaired pedestrian under the influence of alcohol or drug use may have wandered unsafely into the street without warning to passing drivers. A pedestrian may be deemed responsible if a driver cannot avoid the collision.
What Do I Have to Prove to Recover Compensation?
New York’s rules of the road require drivers to operate with a duty of care when they’re behind the wheel of their cars. To prove your claim against an at-fault driver, you need to show:
- The driver has a legal duty of care to operate their car to avoid hitting pedestrians;
- The driver failed to exercise their duty of care;
- The driver’s failure to exercise due care caused the accident;
- The pedestrian’s injuries were caused by the accident, and
- The amount of the damages the pedestrian is seeking in compensation.
Generally, New York law presumes the driver failed to exercise their duty of care if they hit a pedestrian. However, the driver can rebut this presumption with appropriate evidence.
Additionally, it can be challenging to prove the other elements and recover compensation. Talking with a knowledgeable New York City pedestrian accident lawyer is the best way to understand how the laws apply to your accident.
What Are Common Challenges to Pedestrian Accident Claims?
When a pedestrian is hit, it’s common to automatically blame the driver. However, it’s possible the pedestrian was at fault because they weren’t following New York’s pedestrian laws when they were hit and injured by the driver. Insurance companies often cite the following reasons to deny or reduce a claim:
- Ignoring crosswalk signals;
- Jaywalking by not yielding the right-of-way to drivers or crossing the road in undesignated areas;
- Walking in prohibited areas like interstates or streets with sidewalks;
- Getting distracted by a phone, music, or other circumstances; and
- Walking under the influence.
Don’t worry if you think you may have some responsibility for your accident. New York applies rules of comparative negligence in these situations. This means you’re still eligible to recover compensation, but the settlement will be reduced by the percentage assigned to your responsibility. For example, if you’re 25% responsible for the accident and had $100,000 in damages, you would be eligible to recover $75,000. Consult with a top pedestrian accident lawyer in NYC to learn how your actions impact your claim.
Benefits of Hiring a New York Pedestrian Accident Attorney
If you try to negotiate a settlement directly with the driver or the driver’s insurance company, you will most likely receive a lower amount of compensation. It’s common for injured pedestrians to reveal too much when they talk to insurance companies, which reduces their settlement amount. Additionally, the insurance company may convince you that your claim is worth less than it is. A skilled pedestrian accident attorney in New York City knows insurance companies try to pay as little as possible and can use the law to make them pay the full value of your claim.
It’s time-consuming, tedious, and stressful to gather evidence and interview witnesses to get the facts for a claim. When you’re injured and trying to heal, you shouldn’t have to divide your focus between healing and navigating the legal process. An experienced New York City pedestrian accident attorney is adept at navigating the courts and knows the type of evidence that’s most effective. Give yourself time to heal by letting a knowledgeable attorney manage your claim.
Talk to the NYC Pedestrian Accident Lawyers at Glugeth & Pierguidi, P.C, Today
The attorneys at Glugeth & Pierguidi, P.C., have been fighting for victims’ rights in New York and New Jersey for more than a decade, and we’ve recovered tens of millions of dollars for our clients. Our compassionate attorneys are responsive and will keep you updated on every step of your case. Glugeth & Pierguidi, P.C., is a top-notch law firm ready to take any case to trial to ensure you recover fair compensation. Schedule a free consultation today to learn about how to get the maximum compensation for your injuries.