Vehicle collisions with pedestrians are preventable. When injury or death results from a pedestrian being struck by a car, truck, or bus, the motorist responsible must be held accountable.
Whether you or someone you love was the victim of a pedestrian accident, the pedestrian accident attorneys at De Caro & Kaplen, LLP can help you explore your legal options and determine your right to compensation.
Choosing an attorney to represent you for your pedestrian accident is an important decision. Because of his knowledge and experience in representing individuals injured in vehicle crashes, our partner, Michael Kaplen was selected by his peers throughout the nation to be chair of the Motor Vehicle Accident Section of the American Association for Justice. Brain injuries frequently result from these unfortunate incidents. Our partner, Shana De Caro is chairwoman of the Brain Injury Association of America and was elected by her peers to chair the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice.
The personal injury attorneys at De Caro & Kaplen, LLP understand that cars, buses, or trucks making turns must respect the rights of individuals crossing the street and wait for them to be clear of danger. With over 40 years of representing victims of these accidents, we take all steps necessary to protect your rights. We obtain photographs of the road and intersection, interview witnesses, canvass the area to determine if your accident was captured on video, retain the services of an accident reconstruction expert to show the offending vehicle had sufficient time and distance to stop before hitting you.
Pedestrian injuries and deaths continue to rise in New York City. According to research from The New York Times, on average, 1 pedestrian is killed every 3 days by a car in the City.
Between January and September 2021, at least 189 people — including 87 pedestrians and 12 cyclists — were killed by crashes on New York City streets, the highest number recorded in the period since 2013.
This is despite efforts on the part of the City of New York (termed “Operation Zero,”) designed to increase pedestrian safety. New safety measures include:
In New York City, the conduct of motorists and pedestrians is governed by NYC Department of Transportation Rules.
These rules provide that motorists must
Pedestrians also have responsibilities and the NYC Traffic rules provide that:
Other New York City and New York State Rules of the Road provide that motorists must:
A motorist must always exercise due care. Notwithstanding other provisions of the NYC Traffic rules, the operator of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian (Section4.04[d]).
A driver can be negligent in many ways, but here are a few common examples where a negligent driver could injure a pedestrian:
Vision zero is a safety campaign in New York City to reduce the risk of a pedestrian being struck by a motor vehicle. The campaign recognizes most pedestrian accidents with a car, bus, or truck are preventable if proper precautions are taken. The campaign seeks to educate motorists on safe driving, increase enforcement of vehicle and traffic laws, and redesign intersections for increased safety. Because of the campaign, new safety measures were instituted in New York City to reduce injuries and death, including reducing the speed limit from 30 miles per her to 25 miles per hour, and to 20 miles per hour in school zones; installation of cameras at intersections and roadways to records motorists failing to obey traffic controls and speed limits; fining motorists who fail to obey speed limits and traffic control devices; and redesigning and marking crosswalks.
Because of the increasing number of serious and fatal accidents between persons crossing a street and motor vehicles, the City of New York initiated a study to examine the causes of these events. Here are important findings from the safety study:
Pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle frequently suffer brain injury when their head hits the pavement or roadway. Typical brain injuries include concussions, brain bleeds also known as brain hemorrhage, dizziness and loss of balance, and visual impairments.
Pedestrians may also sustain orthopedic injuries including neck and back impairment such as fractures of the wrists, arms, or legs; torn ligaments of the wrist or knee, shoulder injuries including torn rotator cuffs, sprains, strains, and bulging or herniated discs.
Other injuries include facial injuries, scaring, disfigurement and dental injuries.
In New York State, a pedestrian suffering any fracture, disfigurement or a permanent impairment or loss of function to a portion of their body can recover for their pain and suffering, disabilities, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, medical and hospital care, and loss of earnings, past, present, and future.
If you can physically do so, obtain contact information for any witnesses including their names, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
It is important to obtain the name, address of the person operating the vehicle and the license plate number of the vehicle. If police arrived at the scene, the police accident number and police report are essential.
Consult with a personal injury attorney without delay. If an insurance company contacts you, do not speak with them, and refer them to your personal injury attorney.
New York State has a no-fault insurance law that requires every vehicle insurance policy to have coverage for medical expenses and for loss of earnings. These bills will be paid for by the insurance coverage of the vehicle that struck you without regard to fault.
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