- September 22, 2024
- Tucker Law
- Car Accident Lawsuits
When people think of car accidents, they imagine two cars crashing into one another, from the rear, side, or front. The truth is, however, that not all car accidents involve multiple vehicles. Some of the most common causes of single-vehicle accidents are having your brakes fail or swerving to avoid hitting another vehicle and hitting an object instead.
If you’ve been in a single-vehicle car accident, you could be facing mounting medical and repair bills, as well as the risk of your insurance premium shooting through the roof. But are you always at fault for the collision? At Tucker Lawyers, our car accident lawyers can help you understand what your rights are.
Contact our New York personal injury lawyers by calling (516) 399-2364.
When the Driver May Not Be at Fault in a Single-Vehicle Car Accident
Instances of Third-Party Fault
One of the most common reasons that single-vehicle car accidents occur is car defects. Malfunctioning parts, like shoddy brakes or poor alignment, can lead you to lose control of the car. In those instances, you may be able to file a product liability claim against the car manufacturer.
Even if you’re the only vehicle technically involved in a crash, the fault could lie with another driver. If they are driving recklessly or erratically, they may push you off the road or you may have to swerve to avoid hitting them or being hit. That could lead to a collision with road obstacles. You can hold the other driver responsible even if they never touched your vehicle. The same can occur if a pedestrian crosses the street without looking or if a cyclist changes lanes recklessly, leading you to use evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting them.
Road conditions are another reason you may experience a single-vehicle car accident. If there’s unrepaired road damage, unsafe construction work, or issues like flooding because of weather conditions, it could lead you to lose control of your car. If road conditions are the culprit, the government entities in charge of maintaining the roads could be held liable.
At Tucker Lawyers, we offer an immediate and free consultation. We’ll even come to you.
Proving the Driver’s Non-Liability in a Single-Car Accident
New York follows no-fault insurance laws, which means that even if you were responsible for the accident, you could receive compensation from your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. Insurance considerations to focus on include understanding that there are limits to the compensation you claim, and it isn’t always enough to cover the losses you’ve suffered.
If your injuries are severe, the state allows you to pursue a lawsuit outside of no-fault claims. This requires that you prove that someone else’s negligent or wrongful actions caused the accident that led to your losses.
In situations where another driver is responsible for the accident, you will have to demonstrate that they owed you a duty of care that they breached. Anyone on the road owes others a duty to drive safely and follow traffic laws. If they were intoxicated, distracted, fatigued, or driving recklessly, they breached that duty of care. You then have to demonstrate that the person’s actions or inactions led you to suffer injuries for which you can be compensated. To do this, you’ll have to show medical records and provide evidence of the losses you suffered.
In instances where the accident is the result of a malfunctioning vehicle, you don’t have to prove negligence, because product liability relies on strict liability principles. To prove the manufacturer of the car part that malfunctioned is liable, you have to show that the part didn’t function as it should have and led to your injuries. This isn’t always simple to prove. You may need to have access to mechanics or engineers who can corroborate that the accident only happened because there was a malfunction.
Damages You Can Claim After a New York Single-Vehicle Car Accident
Understanding Economic and Non-Economic Damages
If you choose to pursue a no-fault claim with your insurance, the only damages you can claim are those that pertain to some of your injuries and 80% of lost earnings. That is often not enough to cover your losses if you suffered severe injuries, so the better option if someone else caused the accident is to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party.
Doing so gives you the chance to claim a variety of economic damages. First, you can claim medical expenses beyond what your PIP coverage offers. This is critical if you suffered injuries that will require ongoing medical care. You can also get lost wages and claim loss of earning potential.
Importantly, a lawsuit allows you to also get non-economic damages. These compensate you for non-financial losses you experienced, like pain and suffering. If you’re unable to live your life as you used to before the accident, you also have a right to claim loss of enjoyment of life.
If a loved one died or suffered disabling injuries during the accident, close family members can also claim loss of consortium. It provides compensation for the loss of support and companionship caused by the accident.
Choose Experienced Legal Representation
If you’ve been in a single-vehicle car accident, you may not be sure whether you have any way of recovering the losses you suffered beyond filing a claim with your own insurance. However, you do have options.
At Tucker Lawyers, our New York car accident lawyers have years of experience helping people recover losses. We will assess your claim and gather evidence to demonstrate that someone else was responsible for the accident.
Negotiating with insurers isn’t easy, so you need to have qualified people doing it for you. We will aggressively fight to get you the compensation you deserve. If a settlement isn’t possible, we can take your case to court and advocate for you there.
Let us help you get fair compensation.
Call Tucker Lawyers at (516) 399-2364 to schedule a free consultation with a car accident attorney.
Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.
John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ Attorney Bio ]