Staten Island Intersection Accident Lawyer

After a Motor Vehicle Crash in an Intersection, Call Our Staten Island Intersection Accident Lawyer

Intersections are the most dangerous part of a roadway. According to federal government statistics, motor vehicle accidents occurring in intersections account for about 25% of all traffic fatalities and 50% of all traffic injuries in the United States. Other statistics indicate that 23% of pedestrian traffic fatalities occur at intersections as well. This makes sense, as intersections create instances where one vehicle crosses over the lane of travel of another vehicle. Although traffic control devices, roadway designs, traffic laws, and other features of an intersection seek to avoid traffic accidents, it requires motorists to comply. Unfortunately, our Staten Island intersection accident lawyer knows that far too many drivers fail to follow traffic control devices and traffic laws, resulting in serious or fatal crashes.

Here at the O’Connor Law Firm, we represent victims and their families who have been seriously injured or wrongfully killed in an intersection accident throughout New York City, especially right here in Staten Island. We offer free case evaluations for victims and their families to learn more about their legal rights in New York, including relating to liability, damages, and how our personal injury law firm can help. To get started, contact our experienced Staten Island intersection accident lawyer today to schedule your free consultation by dialing (718) 948-3500.

Why Intersection Accidents are Challenging

Sometimes determining liability in some types of motor vehicle accidents is simple, such as in a rear-end collision or improper lane change crash. However, sometimes liability is more difficult to determine because there are many potential causes and variables. Unfortunately, this often includes intersection accidents. That’s because there are many variables in an intersection accident that are constantly changing, such as traffic lights, traffic patterns, and other factors like pedestrians, stopped vehicles, or even outside factors like weather, roadwork, or animals.

As a result, most intersection accidents become a classic “he said, she said” type of argument. This could be who had the green light, who had the right-of-way, or whether another motorist had a directional signal on (or not). Other factors such as headlights, third parties, and distractions can also play an important role in intersection accidents. Due to these factors, many times this type of motor vehicle crash becomes a question of fact and credibility for a jury to decide. When this happens, victims and their families need to have an experienced Staten Island intersection accident lawyer to help prove their case and demonstrate to a jury or judge why their version of the story is the correct one.

How to Prove an Intersection Accident in New York

Since intersection accidents often become a question of fact and credibility, proving liability often comes down to strategy and what evidence can be gathered, presented, and argued in favor of the victim. Although all lawyers can generally do this, an experienced personal injury lawyer can often do it much better because of past experience, skill, resources, and an understanding of what works in front of a jury.

Some of the ways that our legal team can help prove a Staten Island intersection accident include the following:

Identifying and Collecting Witness Information and Statements

 One of the most important pieces of evidence in any personal injury accident is a witness’ testimony. This is particularly true when that witness is a third party not involved in the accident, such as a person in another vehicle, on a sidewalk, or who otherwise saw the intersection accident. What that witness observed before impact, at the time of impact, and afterwards can help a victim prove a case by demonstrating liability, causation, and damages. Unfortunately, some witnesses do not wish to be involved in litigation after an accident, whereas other witnesses’ memories may fade and later affect their ability to definitively say what happened and who was a fault. Therefore, it is critical that your lawyer obtain a witness’ information and speak with him or her right away, preferably in a recorded statement or sworn affidavit, to ensure that a witness’s recollection of an accident is accurately captured before it fades.

Obtaining Videotape Recordings and Photographs

Another very important piece of evidence is videotape and photographic evidence. Although only businesses and government buildings used to have surveillance cameras, nowadays doorbell cameras, home security cameras, and even dashcams are more accessible to the general public. As a result, many people have video cameras which often face outwards and into a roadway or intersection. These cameras may have captured a traffic accident and can be used to help prove who had a green light or right-of-way, and ultimately who caused a crash. In addition, cameras are also much more accessible because they are on our cell phones, and many people who witness an accident often take photographs.dentifying and Obtaining Statements from First Responders

Working with first responders is often crucial to supporting a motor vehicle accident case. Not only are first responders witnesses to the aftermath of an accident, but certain first responders (such as police officers) can also issue tickets and explain why they gave a certain ticket based on what evidence they gathered at the scene. This is particularly important when either state or local law enforcement does an accident reconstruction study, and specifically recreate an accident to determine the cause and who was at fault. Such information is often available by simply requesting it, or sometimes performing a FOIL request.

Working with Treating Healthcare Providers 

Treating healthcare providers are often the most important witnesses to prove a victim’s damages. They are also important because they can connect the victim’s injuries to the accident, especially when there is a potential claim for a pre-existing injury that could affect the outcome of a case. Treating providers include EMTs, hospital emergency department staff, primary care physicians, and specialists, as well as their support staff such as CRNAs, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare providers that worked with a victim.

Obtaining “Black Box” Data

Some newer vehicles now have recording devices that are similar to an airplane’s black box, which can help prove the speed, direction, and whether a driver was braking or turning prior to a collision. All commercial vehicles, such as buses and tractor trailers, have similar types of record devices known as an electronic control module, or ECM. Obtaining this data and having an expert analyze it right away is very important to supporting a Staten Island intersection accident claim.

Common Personal Injuries from Intersection Accidents in New York

Unfortunately, intersection accidents can result in many serious, life-changing, and life-threatening types of personal injuries. Many times, these personal injuries are due to the reckless, careless, or negligent conduct of another driver, business, or third party. Some of the most common types of serious or catastrophic personal injuries that could be caused by an intersection accident include the following:

• Broken bones
• Head injuries
• Paralysis and spinal cord injuries
• Brain injuries
• Back injuries and neck injuries
• Significant scarring
• Burn injuries
• Loss of a limb
• Nerve damage
• Joint injuries
• Organ damage
• Loss of eyesight
• Wrongful death, and
• Many other injuries that could be caused by a negligent defendant in New York that our Staten Island intersection accident lawyer can obtain compensation for you and your family.

Types of Compensation in an Intersection Accident in New York that Victims and Families May be Entitled to

 There are many different types of compensation that victims and their families may be entitled to in New York. This compensation is awarded in the form of “damages,” which is the relief that a court can give a party in a lawsuit. Since victims in a personal injury accident cannot have their pain and suffering reversed, oftentimes this is the largest source of compensation. However, there are many other sources of compensation for victims and their families in a motor vehicle accident case in New York, including the following:

• Past pain and suffering – measured from the date of the accident and injury to the date of payment (either settlement, verdict, award, or other claim resolution)
• Future pain and suffering – an award to compensate victims for the pain and suffering they will experience for the rest of their lives, measured from estimating the remaining life expectancy of a victim at the time of payment
• Medical bills – reimbursement for past expenses as well as payment for reasonably proven future medical bills, including for surgeries, treatment, physical or occupational therapy, imaging studies, medication costs, and other expenses
• Lost wages – lost income due to the accident, injuries, disability, or other reasons related to a motor vehicle accident
• Lost future earnings – the amount of compensation lost when a victim cannot work in the same pre-accident job, which is generally measured from the difference between old income and the new income for each year that the victim is expected to continue working before retirement (often adjusted for inflation)
• Loss of consortium – an award recognizing the relationship between victims and dependents, which is more than just relations between spouses but also society, companionship, protection, guidance, and other familiar relations between the victim and other dependents such as children, parents, siblings, and others
• Home or vehicle modifications – after an accident, victims may need home or vehicle modifications in order to try to live a more normal life like they did before a crash, such as ramps, handrails, lifts, and other changes which can be compensated in a case
• Nursing care – including anything between sporadic in-home assistance or around-the-clock healthcare for serious and life-changing injuries
• Punitive damages – awarded only in rare and exceptional cases of egregious negligence to punish a defendant and deter a defendant and the community at large from such conduct
• Wrongful death damages – including burial costs, funeral expenses, loss of income support to a family, and other damages due to the loss of a loved one; and
• Other damages from your motor vehicle accident that our Staten Island intersection accident lawyer can fight to obtain for you and your family.

Hurt in a Motor Vehicle Crash at an Intersection? Call Our Staten Island Intersection Accident Lawyer for Help

If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a Staten Island intersection accident, call the O’Connor Law Firm for help. Our personal injury law firm offers free case evaluations and consultations for victims and their families, allowing them to ask important questions and get helpful, accurate, and informative answers. Even when liability may appear clear to you, it is important for victims and their families to obtain an experienced Staten Island intersection accident lawyer to represent them because, once an insurance adjuster or defense lawyer gets assigned to a claim, the truth is that defendants often make victims fight to prove every single detail of their case.

That shouldn’t be the case. To learn more about how the O’Connor Law Firm can help fight back to protect what you may be entitled to under New York law, contact us today by dialing (718)-948-3500 or by sending us an email through our “Contact Us” box available here.