Car Accident Attorney New York - New Jersey
Believe it or not, but car accidents cause the highest number
of personal injury claims in the United States.
This is not hard to believe, given that according to recent statistics
obtained from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
there is an injury involved car accident in the US every 10 seconds or
so.
In general, when you hire a New York or New Jersey lawyer to gain a
recovery after you've been in a car accident, the lawyer will pursue
your claim based on the theory of "negligence." A person is
said to have acted negligently if they failed to use "reasonable care
under the circumstances in question." For example, if the
speed limit is 30 miles an hour in a residential zone and it driver
travels at a speed of 70 miles an hour causes an accident, it is
obvious that in New York and New Jersey the driver going 70 miles an
hour would be held have acted negligently it would be obligated to pay
damages for any injuries he caused. However, see the person
was driving the speed limit of 30 miles an hour; they still be
negligent if there is an accident? The answer is yes, what if it is
rush-hour traffic, and the cars are bumper-to-bumper! Surely then a
person could be held to be negligent in the cause of an accident even
if they're going the speed limit. When analyzing whether somebody is
negligent or not, we must look at the totality of the circumstances to
see whether the person used reasonable care under the circumstances.
The person who was injured must prove that the other motorist caused
the accident and injuries through their negligence. Once we can prove
that the other motorist acted negligently, then we must establish what
the injuries are, to be able to establish how much monetary damages the
injured party is entitled to recoup.
Negligence and Car
Accidents in General in New York and New Jersey
When analyzing your car accident, the lawyer will look to see very
often, if the other motorist violated any traffic laws. If it can be
proven that the other motorist violated the traffic laws such as
speeding, failure to yield, failure to signal, driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs or, violating any other traffic law, then
the lawyer should have a fairly easy case in establishing the other
driver was negligent. This is referred to under common law as
"negligence per se", which means that by the mere fact that the other
motorist violated the traffic law, it is established that they were
negligent, because the traffic laws were written to ensure public
safety; therefore, violating a traffic law, automatically establishes
that the driver was acting unsafely.
Reckless Driving A driver may be liable for an accident due to his or
her intentional or reckless conduct. A driver who is reckless is one
who drives unsafely, with clear disregard for the probability that such
driving may cause an accident. The NHTSA defines aggressive driving as
a progression of unlawful driving actions such as:
One of the most tragic and common causes of accidents in this country
is drunk driving. According to recent statistics someone in this
country is killed every 30 min. as the result of a drunk driving
accident. In addition, according to other statistics
available over 1 million people were injured in alcohol-related
accidents in America. Oftentimes, under so-called Dram Shop
Laws, the person who served the alcohol can be liable for the injuries
caused by the drunk driver. This comes into play when the drunk driver
himself either has no insurance are very limited insurance to cover
your injury. It is therefore imperative choose the right attorney who
will seek all possible avenues and sources of possible monetary
recovery, such as the insurance of the driver, the insurance of the
injured party, the person who sold the alcohol or drugs as mentioned
above, the city or municipality – if it can be established that the
roads or highways in question were designed in an unsafe manner, and
any other slew of parties or people who may be responsible to pay the
damages.
Car Accidents Not Caused by the motorists Involved in the actual
accident:
Sometimes, car accidents in New York and New Jersey are caused by
factors which are unrelated to any act or failure to act on the part of
any particular motorist involved in the accident. The most obvious
example is with products liability. Meaning that there is some defect
in the car which causes the accident. For example, a car accelerates
uncontrollably or the brakes fail or it explodes upon being
rear-ended. In such cases the suit may be brought against the
person or party who sold the vehicle or, will manufacture the
vehicle. The inquiries as to the defect in the motor vehicle
can become very technical, thus a competent legal authority must be
consulted in order to ensure that no stone is left unturned when
investigating the cause of the accident.
As you mentioned before, there are several other factors, such as
improperly maintained and designed highways and roads, and
malfunctioning traffic lights and signals or a host of other problems
with the highway or road which caused the accident. Another
incidents the cause of the accident, could be improper design
construction, maintenance and placement of signs or trees or even
utility poles, which can be found to have caused accident.
When the party causing the accident is alleged to be a governmental
body there are some very strict time limits involved in bringing
suit. Therefore, it is important to contact an attorney ASAP.
If you or someone you love has been injured in auto accident, you have
rights, and can give us a call anytime for free consultation. We are
here to help you. You may also send us an e-mail with a
summary of what happened.
Email me with a summary of your injury including as much imformation about, for example, who is at fault, where did this happen, what injuries did you sustain, how did the accident or injury happen, and finally, when did this occur?