Pedestrian Injuries

Vulnerable On The Street, But Formidable In Court

Drivers and bicyclists who hit pedestrians will blame the pedestrian, distractions on the street or any other reason to avoid the blame. As the victim of a pedestrian accident, you may need the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer in order to obtain the compensation you deserve.

At Caesar & Napoli, our attorneys are skilled at investigating pedestrian accidents and countering the tactics of insurance companies. We seek full compensation for our clients’ losses and suffering in such cases, including the financial resources that can pay for needed medical care. For skillful advocacy in a pedestrian accident case, turn to the NYC personal injury attorneys at Caesar & Napoli

Dedicated And Effective Lawyers For Injured Pedestrians

Our law firm has experience in cases involving catastrophic injuries that are typically caused by bicycle accidents, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and broken hips. In cases involving these types of life-changing injuries, we utilize the services of a life care planner and an economist. The life care planner is a medical professional who can develop a complete list of all of the medical care, rehabilitation therapy and personal services the accident victim will need for the rest of his or her life. We then provide the plan to the economist, who projects the costs of these services into the future, adjusting them to reflect the effects of inflation. Our New York pedestrian injury attorneys will then seek full compensation for these costs, as well as other compensable losses, including lost income and pain and suffering.

The Right Of Way Rules That Decide These Cases

New York places a heavy duty on drivers around people on foot. Section 1151 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk where traffic control signals are not in place or are not operating. At a signalized intersection the signal rules govern instead. Section 1146 applies on every road, requiring every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian, and it carries added penalties when a failure to exercise due care causes serious physical injury.

Within New York City there is a further protection. Section 19-190 of the Administrative Code makes it a traffic infraction for a driver to fail to yield to a pedestrian or cyclist who has the right of way, and a misdemeanor when that failure causes contact and physical injury. The section does not reach a driver whose failure to yield was not caused by a lack of due care, so the evidence about how the vehicle was being operated still decides the question. A violation can be offered in a civil case as evidence of negligence.

These rules matter because the first move in almost every pedestrian case is to blame the person who was walking. A driver says the pedestrian stepped out, or was looking at a phone, or was outside the lines. The statutes are what shift that conversation back to where it belongs.

Evidence That Disappears Quickly

Pedestrian cases are usually decided by what can be recovered in the first weeks:

• Camera footage from storefronts, residential buildings, parking facilities and buses, most of which is overwritten within days
• Traffic and intersection cameras
• Dashcam and vehicle camera footage, including cameras carried by taxis and for hire vehicles
• The vehicle’s event data recorder, which can capture speed and braking in the seconds before impact
• The police accident report, and in cases involving critical injury, the more detailed investigation that follows
• Witness names, which vanish once the scene clears
• City records of prior complaints about the intersection, including signal timing and sightline problems

The physical scene changes too. Signal timing gets adjusted, construction sheds come down, and parked vehicles that blocked a sightline are gone within the hour. Photographs taken at the same time of day, early on, preserve conditions that cannot be recreated later.

Who Pays The Medical Bills

A pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle in New York is generally entitled to no fault benefits through that vehicle’s insurance policy, even though the pedestrian owns no policy of their own. Those benefits pay medical expenses and a portion of lost earnings regardless of who was at fault, and they carry short deadlines. Written notice to the insurer is generally due within 30 days of the accident, and medical bills are generally due within 45 days of treatment.

When the vehicle is uninsured or fled the scene, the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation may provide coverage instead. That route has requirements of its own, including that the accident be reported to the police within 24 hours and that notice be given within 90 days. Those windows are short enough that a delay can close the door entirely, which is why a hit and run should be reviewed immediately. Our page on fatal hit and run cases covers the most serious of these situations.

The Serious Injury Threshold

No fault benefits are separate from a lawsuit for pain and suffering. To bring that claim, an injured pedestrian must have a serious injury as Section 5102(d) of the Insurance Law defines it, which includes fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent loss or significant limitation of use of a body function or system, and injuries that prevent a person from performing substantially all of their usual activities for 90 of the 180 days after the accident.

Most pedestrian injuries clear that bar, but insurers litigate it, and gaps in treatment are the argument they use most often. Consistent follow up care is part of protecting the claim.

Deadlines That Apply To A New York Pedestrian Claim

• Personal injury lawsuit: three years from the date of the accident (CPLR 214)
• Wrongful death action: two years from the date of death (EPTL 5-4.1)
• A city vehicle, a sanitation or police vehicle, or a transit bus: a notice of claim within 90 days and suit within one year and 90 days (General Municipal Law 50-e and 50-i)
• No fault benefits: notice within 30 days, bills within 45 days of treatment
• Uninsured vehicles and hit and run: a police report within 24 hours and notice within 90 days for a claim through the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation

Questions From Injured Pedestrians

I was not in a crosswalk. Do I still have a claim?

In many cases, yes. New York follows pure comparative fault under CPLR 1411, so a share of responsibility reduces a recovery by that percentage instead of ending the claim. A driver still owes a duty of due care under Section 1146 to everyone on the road, including a person crossing mid block.

The driver left the scene. Is anything possible?

Yes, and quickly is the key word. Camera footage may identify the vehicle, and where it cannot be identified there is still a route through the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation or through uninsured motorist coverage on a household policy. Both depend on reporting and notice deadlines measured in hours and weeks.

I was hit by a city vehicle or a bus. Is that different?

It is, and the difference is the 90 day notice of claim. That requirement applies to the City, its agencies and public authorities, and missing it can bar an otherwise strong case. Those claims should be reviewed right away.

The insurer already offered me money. Should I take it?

Early offers are usually made before the full extent of an injury is known, and accepting one closes the claim. It is worth understanding what the injury will require before signing a release.

Do you handle pedestrian cases in Queens and the Bronx?

Yes. Where the crash happened matters for a second reason. The New York City right of way rules described above apply within the five boroughs. In Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester the Vehicle and Traffic Law alone governs, which changes what has to be proved.

What is a pedestrian accident case worth?

It depends on the injury, the treatment it requires, the earnings it costs, the strength of the liability evidence and the coverage available on the vehicle. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Related Pages

• Car accidents
• Distracted driving accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Uninsured and underinsured motorists
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Injuries to children

Call Our New York Office Today

To schedule a free consultation about a pedestrian accident case, contact Caesar & Napoli We represent clients in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and elsewhere in the New York metropolitan area.