A significant perk of living in major, densely packed urban centers like New York City is walkability. Many residents of NYC are able to forgo cars and enjoy the city as pedestrians. While opting to walk shields one from having to deal with traffic, car collisions, and the logistics of dealing with a car (e.g. parking fees, etc), being a pedestrian is not without the potential for accidents. Pedestrians move adjacent to and across busy streets and are at times in the pathway of motor and non-motor vehicles. As such, pedestrians can be involved in accidents that cause serious injuries. In recent years, New York has seen over 100 pedestrian deaths per year, and the number of pedestrian fatalities is increasing nationwide.
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If you have been involved in a pedestrian accident, it can be a traumatic experience. A personal injury or pedestrian accident attorney can be a great deal of help in the recovery process. An attorney can help you recover damages, negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf, and ensure that you are treated fairly throughout the process of filing and settling a claim or lawsuit.
The New York pedestrian accident lawyers at the New York-based Law Office of Yuriy Moshes are highly experienced in handling cases involving personal injury and pedestrian accidents. Our team will guide you through the process of making a claim and work tirelessly on your behalf to obtain the compensation you are entitled to. Our experience and dedication make us among the best NYC attorneys for handling pedestrian accident cases if you were struck by an automobile or other vehicle. If interested, please contact the office for a consultation and to discuss your options.
Pedestrian accidents are typically a product of negligence, and various contexts can give rise to such accidents. Our law office has dealt with a variety of personal injury and pedestrian accident cases. Some of the pedestrian accident cases we handle include (but are not limited to):
Drivers and bicyclists are not the only players contributing to pedestrian accidents. The design and location of crosswalks, for example, are factors that affect the occurrence of such accidents. Implicated as potential defendants, therefore, are engineering firms and governmental bodies, as they are often responsible for overseeing the design and maintenance of crosswalks.
A pedestrian “hit and run” is typically defined as an accident in which the driver of a car hits a pedestrian and immediately departs the scene without making an effort to assist the victim or offer a remedy. In New York, a driver involved in a hit-and-run can be held criminally liable in addition to being held to civil and administrative penalties.
Joggers and runners have the same legal rights as pedestrians – motorists and operators of other vehicles generally cannot use the speed in which a pedestrian was moving as the main reason for denying liability.
Left turn accidents occur when motorists neglect a pedestrian’s right of way, often due to paying attention solely to vehicle traffic.
Right turn accidents tend to occur when a motorist fails to observe pedestrian signals or pedestrians making their way across the crosswalk.
In the process of backing out, motorists may fail to notice pedestrians passing behind them. Difficulties with visibility and failure to pay attention are some causes of backing up accidents.
The accidents that occur in parking lots tend to occur as motorists back out of their parking spaces.
Pedestrian accidents, depending on the exact nature of the accident, can cause injuries of varying degrees to various areas of the body. The areas of the body most likely to be impacted first, due to their position relative to vehicles, are the lower extremities. Over a third of injuries involve those affecting the head, neck, and face, and a quarter of injuries affect the upper extremities.
Because our legal team is Brooklyn-based and licensed to practice in New York, we typically serve those filing a claim in New York.
Pedestrian accidents can occur for a number of different reasons. Some of the causes of pedestrian accidents include:
Working with an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer in New York will make it more likely that you will succeed in your claim or lawsuit. A lawyer would be able to take charge in investigating your case, seeking the appropriate remedy, and ensuring that insurance companies consider your claim fully.
One of the main remedies sought in a lawsuit involving a pedestrian accident is compensation. The amount of compensation available to the injured party depends on several different factors, including the insurance of both parties, the severity of injury suffered, and the degree to which the pedestrian was contributorily negligent.
Insurance is often a major aspect of collecting compensation. If you own and register a car in New York, you are required to have personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. Although the particulars vary depending on the insurance company, PIP insurance can cover injuries sustained as a pedestrian.
Moreover, because New York is a “no fault” state, meaning the assignment of fault in an accident does not prevent the ability to collect economic losses, a pedestrian can collect from the driver’s insurance policy even if the pedestrian was contributorily negligent. Damages, however, would decrease according to the extent to which the pedestrian was negligent. If the pedestrian is entirely responsible for the accident, the pedestrian can collect compensation resulting from insurance but would not be able to file a lawsuit.
Additional compensation can also be achieved through a lawsuit. As noted, if the pedestrian is entirely responsible for the accident, the pedestrian can only collect compensation from insurance. If there is a chance that the motorist was at least partially at fault, however, the pedestrian can initiate a lawsuit if the injuries sustained in the accident are “serious.” Some factors pointing to a serious injury include death, 90 days of disability, damages of greater than $50,000, among others. Most claims do not end with in-court litigation, but rather, an out-of-court settlement.
The attorneys at the New York-based Law Office of Yuriy Moshes are highly experienced in handling cases involving personal injury and pedestrian accidents. Our team will guide you through the process of making a claim and work tirelessly on your behalf to obtain the compensation you are entitled to. If interested, please contact the office for a consultation and to discuss your options.
As with any personal injury case, the amount of compensation stemming from a claim or lawsuit depends on the circumstances of the case, particularly the nature and extent of injury.
In personal injury cases involving pedestrian accidents, there can be major medical expenses. The extent of those expenses depends on the injuries sustained in the accident. In many cases, injuries tend to be physical, and given that injuries are generally caused by vehicles (i.e. cars, motorcycles, bicycles, etc), they can be severe, often requiring surgical intervention. The severity of the accident depends on the nature of the impact or collision. It is important that you keep a detailed record of your medical expenses so that you have evidence of the expenses when making a claim or initiating a lawsuit.
The injuries sustained in a pedestrian accident can affect the victim’s current and future wages. If you miss work due to injuries sustained in the accident or if the injuries cause long-term disability or inability to work, you may have grounds to seek compensation for lost wages.
Injured pedestrians can also seek recovery for the pain and suffering. Pain and suffering is a generalized term encompassing physical, emotional, and mental injuries. You will typically be able to collect at least some compensation for pain and suffering, but the exact amount will depend on the extent of your injuries, the type of medical treatment sought, and the length of treatment. Insurance companies may also use a particular method for calculating pain and suffering settlements.
Mental anguish or emotional distress is typically a part of pain and suffering damages. Mental anguish refers to injuries that are mental in nature and result from the trauma of the accident, such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia. An emotional distress claim requires a showing of medically significant, persistent distress that was caused by the accident.
Loss of consortium is a kind of claim made by the spouse or domestic partner of the victim, which serves to compensate the spouse/domestic partner for non-economic losses sustained as a result of the accident (e.g. loss of companionship, strain in relationship, etc).
If the victim of a pedestrian accident dies as a result of the injuries, the victim’s family members can file a wrongful death claim. In New York, you are able to recover reasonable funeral expenses if you succeed on a wrongful death claim. Although the law does not make explicit what reasonable means in this context, funeral expenses amounting to what is average are typically considered reasonable.
The length of time required to reach a settlement following a pedestrian accident depends on multiple factors. Both the severity of the injuries sustained in the accident and negotiations with the insurance company are among the factors that affect the process of reaching a settlement.
Often, a settlement cannot be reached until the victim completes medical treatment. This means that the extent of the injuries and the length of time needed to recover from those injuries will affect the time it takes to reach a settlement.
Negotiating with the insurance company is crucial to obtaining a high and fair sum. Insurance companies do not always offer a fair settlement and may low-ball claimants. A pedestrian injury attorney can advocate on your behalf and ensure that the insurance company takes your claim seriously.
Our team of pedestrian injury lawyers at the Law Office of Yuriy Moshes is highly knowledgeable in personal injury law, and therefore, equipped to deal with complex cases involving pedestrian accidents. We are also highly invested in our clients’ stories and want to obtain the best outcome possible for our clients. We will ensure that your interests are optimally represented throughout the lawsuit.
We are detail-oriented, results-driven, and highly motivated to serve our clients. Professionalism and integrity are very important to our law firm. We have an excellent track record, having obtained good results for former clients. We encourage you to contact us for a consultation with our office so that we can review your case and determine whether our firm would suit your particular circumstances.
The NYC pedestrian accidents attorneys at the New York-based Law Office of Yuriy Moshes are highly experienced in handling cases involving pedestrian accidents.
Our team will guide you through the process of making a claim and work tirelessly on your behalf to obtain the damages you are entitled to. Please contact the office for a consultation and to discuss your options.
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