Driving a motor vehicle is something many people do not take seriously enough. Every day millions of people operate an extremely deadly machine that can easily cause injury or death. Highly populated areas like New York and Long Island present even greater risk of accidents, due to the higher volume of cars, higher impatience and recklessness among drivers, and higher number of non-motorists who are nearby.
New Yorkers are used to dealing with other aggressive drivers, but many are not aware enough of pedestrians and bicyclists. In 2015, Long Island saw approximately 15,000 pedestrian accidents. Suffolk County pedestrian accidents are particularly common. Nationally there were over 5,000 pedestrian deaths. According to the NHTSA, this is one of the few groups of road users with increased year over year fatalities.
The main reason why we see so many car accidents involving non-motorists is simply because they are harder to see. A big car is easier to note in your mirrors than a person on a bicycle. Simple as that. To account for it, drivers need to be more aware and be able to anticipate non-motorists.
Most pedestrian and bicycle accidents are the driver’s fault. So many drivers are distracted, whether it be their phone, GPS, radio or anything else that takes their attention off the road. Additionally, many drivers fail to yield the right-of-way. They don’t realize that a pedestrian always has the right of way, or that a bicyclist is to be treated like another vehicle on the road.
Another hazard presents themselves in parking lots, where drivers don’t back up slowly or look carefully when pulling out. This is a serious problem in busy parking lots especially around holidays and weekends. Any obstructed view in general presents a greater risk for non-motorists.
Each person can do their part to make the roads as safe as possible. No one wants to be the cause of a pedestrian or bicycle accident. Here are some tips on how to share the road with a Bicyclist or Pedestrian to avoid potential injury.
The first and most important thing to do if you find yourself in this situation is to seek medical attention for any injuries, no matter how minor. Often injuries that result from a motor vehicle accident intensify in the hours and days following an accident. It’s best to be cautious.
Next you will want to call the police. This is important because you need a Police Accident Report. It is always a good idea to call the police to the scene of the accident. However, it is also possible to file a police report following the accident.
Then, you will need to contact the automobile insurance carrier for the vehicle that struck you. Any medical bills will need to be paid by that no-fault insurance. That information can be obtained through the police accident report. It’s important that you do not give any statements to the other vehicle’s insurance company without first consulting with an attorney.
Finally, when you have been injured by another driver, you will want any and all financial burdens covered and compensated. This is why we recommend you contact a car accident lawyer for a free consultation if you have any issues.
Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents, and slip and fall injuries.
His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.
This year has flown by, and although it seems like yesterday we were enjoying the summer, Halloween is right around the corner. Unlike the last couple of years, for most people, covid-19 is not playing as much of a factor. With low infection rates, low hospitalizations and deaths, and a high vaccination rate, the risk of covid is thankfully not as looming as it was in the years prior.
That being said, there are other dangers that Halloween can present. Especially for families who have children, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks and take precautions so that your family can be safe and have a fun Halloween. Additionally, anyone who goes out on Halloween needs to be cautious, especially if they are going out late and are driving on the road.
If your children are going trick-or-treating, it’s important to make sure they are as safe as possible. There is safety in numbers so make sure your kids are going with a group. Ideally, an adult would be present. But if your children are older, you can have them join their friends so at least there is someone looking out for them without interfering with their fun.
For younger children, you will need to have an adult at hand to keep track of your kid during Halloween. It could be you, an older sibling, or a known parent that you trust. This is important because it is not wise to leave decisions like what route to take and when to cross the street.
Additionally, make sure you are aware of where your children are going and what neighborhood they will be in. Have your kids stick to your neighborhood where you and familiar neighbors can keep an eye out for them. Additionally, give your child a smartphone, if they don’t already have one, so that you can have their location tracked, and you can call each other if needed.
Finally, your child should never under any circumstances enter a stranger’s home. This is something that you should make crystal clear if you want to ensure that they remain safe during Halloween trick-or-treat trips. You should also instruct them to avoid strangers, especially those roaming the streets.
Believe it or not, a lot of costumes can present a high risk of injury. Many Halloween decorations involve candles, lanterns and fire. With a lot of accessories such as wigs and clothes, your costume could be a potential fire hazard. By law, Halloween costumes and accessories are supposed to be flame resistant, so make sure you know if that is the case for your costume. If your costume is homemade, this presents a greater risk of it being a fire hazard.
Additionally, be mindful of other potential hazards your costume or others can present. If you have a lot of loose fabric, this could easily become a tripping hazard. Another risk of injury are sharp or point accessories. Objects like sticks, pointed props such as swords, spears and wands can poke out the eyes of excited children (or adults) gathered too close.
Finally, giving yourself eerie eyes could be dangerous as well. Before you put those crazy contacts into your eyes, be aware that they could contain chlorine, iron, and other harmful chemicals, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Many of the decorative contacts sold online and in gas stations and beauty parlors are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They could easily contain harmful colorants used to create tints and patterns on the surface of the lens.
If you are going out on Halloween whether to a party, a friend’s house, or to a bar, it’s important to also be aware of the potential dangers that go along with that. Many go out drinking on Halloween, and that makes the roads especially dangerous. Additionally, with trick-or-treaters walking the streets, it increases the risk of causing pedestrian injury. The risk of a child getting hit by a car actually doubles on Halloween.
NHTSA statistics show that during a four-year period, 14% of all pedestrian deaths on Halloween involved drunken drivers. Overall, the agency says Halloween drunk-driving fatalities are on the rise, with 44% of all people killed in car crashes on Halloween night involving a drunk driver.
Therefore, it is imperative that you drink responsively, and drive defensively. If you know you will be drinking alcohol, make sure you have a responsible, designated driver to get everyone home safely. If you are driving in a residential area, drive slower than normal. Have the awareness that there could be a child running in the street at any given moment.
Not only that, it’s very possible that there could be other drivers on the road who are intoxicated, especially as the night progresses. If you notice a car that is swerving, making sharp turns, and braking and accelerating suddenly, it may be an intoxicated driver.
If you feel you are sharing the road with a drunk driver, it’s best to slow down or pull over and possibly record and report the car to the police. Do not try to get them to pull over and do not try to pass them. Alcohol can be a catalyst for disaster. Keeping in mind the very real risks that come along with it will hopefully reduce the risk of penalties, accidents, and injury.
These Halloween safety tips will definitely come in handy this coming holiday. The important thing to do is to ensure that you are sufficiently prepared to keep an eye out for your kid whether in person or remotely.
Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents and slip and fall injuries.
His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.
As a Long Island car accident lawyer, I speak to people every day that have been in motor vehicle collisions. One of the most common topics I am asked about by them is car damage claims. Most people can’t afford to be without a car on Long Island. Our community is not known for its public transportation.
Unfortunately, It can be one of the most confusing issues that car accident victims have to deal with following a crash. Whose insurance carrier do you file a claim with? How much are you entitled to receive? How long will the claim take to be resolved? All reasonable questions that I will attempt to answer in this blog.
There are generally two options for getting your car damage paid following a motor vehicle accident. The first is to pursue a claim through your car insurance policy. The second is to pursue a claim through the other party’s auto insurance policy.
Depending on your car insurance policy, one option you may want to explore is using your automobile insurance carrier to pay for your damaged vehicle. Of course, this is only an option if you have purchased collision coverage for your vehicle. In New York, you are not required to maintain collision coverage on your vehicle. Therefore, if you have declined this coverage, you cannot pursue a claim for your car damage.
However, if you have paid for collision coverage, this may be your best option. First, there is no need for your insurance carrier to complete an accident investigation prior to resolving your damage claim as the carrier is obligated to repair or replace your vehicle regardless of fault. Also, your car insurance carrier is likely going to want to make you a satisfied customer by being responsive to your needs and acting quickly to inspect and repair your car.
The only drawback to pursuing a claim through your car insurance carrier is that there is usually a deductible to deal with. A deductible is an amount of money that you have to contribute to the repairs or replacement cost of your vehicle. Most deductibles are either $500 or $1,000 dollars. The good news is that if you are not at fault for the accident, your carrier will seek to be reimbursed for the cost of the claim from the at-fault party’s insurance carrier. If they are successful, they will also obtain your deductible back for you.
If you do not have collision coverage or you cannot afford to pay for your deductible, you will want to pursue a claim for your damaged vehicle through the other party’s insurance carrier. This is only an option if the other party is at fault for the accident. If you are at fault, the other party’s insurance carrier will refuse to pay for your damage as they are only legally liable to repair or replace your vehicle if their driver is at fault for the accident. If their driver is only partially at fault for the accident, the carrier will likely only offer to pay for their driver’s proportionate share of fault.
This type of claim is not always the best option to get your car damage reimbursed as the other carrier will only make a voluntary payment on your claim after a full investigation and only if they deem their driver is at fault after that investigation is complete. Unfortunately, this process will often take weeks to complete. So, you will be stuck in limbo until this process plays out.
Further, if the carrier decides that their driver is not at fault, they will deny your claim. If you should disagree with their assessment, you will have to pursue your claim in court. This may require the help of a lawyer and may take several months or even years to be resolved. That’s why I always recommend pursuing a claim through your insurance carrier if it is an option.
Property damage claims are generally limited to the value of the property that you lost. In other words, you can recover the amount of money it costs to repair or replace your vehicle. In some instances, an insurance carrier may also agree to pay reasonable towing and storage charges, as well.
This often depends on whether you are making a claim through your car insurance policy or the other driver’s car insurance policy. If you are presenting the claim to your carrier the process is generally faster than proceeding through the other driver’s policy for the reasons I explained above. In such instances, a claim can take as little as a week to resolve.
Going through the other driver’s insurance policy will take longer. You can expect it to take several weeks. But often times it can take longer and in certain instances, the carrier may even refuse payment leaving you with the option of either dropping the claim or suing in court.
Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents, and slip-and-fall injuries.
His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.
A recent article about Tesla CEO, Elon Musk and substandard working conditions got us thinking about employees’ legal rights under New York Law. It is important that you know your rights. So here is a brief outline of things that you should know.
Should you feel your legal rights have been violated at work you should reach out to the State of New York Office of the Attorney General to file a complaint or contact a local employment lawyer.
Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents, and slip-and-fall injuries.
His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.
If you’ve just been injured in an accident due to someone else’s negligence you may be asking yourself, what steps should I take next? The fact is that after an accident you may be faced with some difficult issues to parse through. First, you may be facing serious medical bills. An emergency room visit alone can cost several thousand dollars. Next, you may be missing time from work. Finally, your everyday enjoyment of life may be impacted due to your injuries. The good news is there are often solutions to these problems. In fact, in most cases, there is one or more insurance companies responsible for compensating you after an injury.
However, navigating the world of insurance claims can be like navigating a minefield. One wrong move can damage your ability to receive compensation for your losses. There are professionals that can help you with the process. Personal injury lawyers are experts in dealing with insurance companies and can guide you through the claims process. But you may be asking is it worth it to hire a personal injury lawyer? Here are five good reasons why you should consider hiring one after an injury.
The claims process is incredibly complicated. There are so many forms to complete and often there are deadlines that must be met for your claim to be considered. This is no accident. Insurance companies purposefully make the claims process complicated hoping you will get frustrated and give up. That’s where a personal injury lawyer can help. They are familiar with the claims process and can cut through all that red tape making sure your claims are filed properly and in a timely manner. However, you should make sure your attorney doesn’t charge extra for filing insurance claim forms on your behalf and that it’s included in their overall service.
They will do this under the guise of conducting a “fair investigation” into your accident. They will ask you to give statements about your accident and supply medical records documenting your injuries. While you think your claim is being evaluated fairly, they are pouring through those records looking for any reason to deny the claim. A personal injury attorney knows how to present your claim in a way that is most supportive of your position eliminating the opportunity for an insurance company to deny the claim.
With years of experience, a personal injury lawyer has usually dealt with similar cases and is in a good position to know how much money you’re entitled to receive for your claim and can fight to get you that amount of money. Studies have shown that on average a personal injury lawyer receives three times the amount of compensation for their clients than an individual that represents themselves.
The biggest concern an injured individual has when hiring an attorney is the cost. Not only are you dealing with medical bills and lost wages, but now you’re expected to come up with the money to hire a lawyer? The good news is that most lawyers work on a contingency basis. That means that the lawyer does not earn a fee unless they win your case. Further, they get paid out of the insurance proceeds. So, you never have to worry about coming out of your own pocket to hire an attorney. The fee an attorney eventually charges varies depending on the type of case. However, the most common amount of money that a lawyer charges is 1/3 of the recovery. For example, if a lawyer recovers $100,0000 dollars for you, their fee will be $33,000.
Not all insurance claims go smoothly, especially if there is a large amount of money at stake. It’s not uncommon for an insurance company to make a lowball offer or deny your claim outright. If this happens you may be left in the cold with your only chance of recovery being a lawsuit. This is definitely something the average person is not equipped to take on. The litigation process is complicated. It takes years to learn how to pursue a case in court. This is something that only an experienced personal lawyer should take on. By hiring a personal injury lawyer from the beginning, you will reduce the risk of your claim being denied because it will be filed properly and the insurance company also knows that denying the claim will likely lead to a long and expensive court battle. But if the insurance company refuses to accept responsibility for your accident, your lawyer will be there for you fighting in court to protect your rights and get you the compensation that you deserve.
Being injured in an accident is never expected and rarely something you are prepared to handle on your own. It’s never a bad idea to consult with a qualified personal injury attorney to see what your rights are and learn if you have a case where you are entitled to compensation. Most attorneys offer a free initial consultation to discuss your case. So, you have nothing to lose by speaking to one.
Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents, and slip-and-fall injuries.
His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.