New York Accident Lawyer Blog

For a long time, the New York Police Department has published crime statistics for the City of New York. The statistics were divided by type of crime, such as murder, rape, robbery, or burglary, and grouped into charts showing the frequency of crime within the entire City of New York, or within each borough or precinct. Information from past years, up to eighteen years ago, was also available for comparison. This information has been available for viewing online by the public anytime.

Now, due to a new city law, the NYPD must publish motor vehicle statistics in a similar manner. The information, although required to be submitted four months ago, was finally published on the website last Tuesday night here. There is an entry for each occasion the police responded to a motor vehicle accident. There is a collective citywide chart and there are separate charts categorizing the statistics by borough. The borough charts are further divided by precinct and then by intersection. There is a searchable map to ascertain which precinct you are inquiring about, but running a text search (control + F on a PC) may be a more efficient way of gathering information. Within the borough charts, each intersection's entry specifies the number of accidents, number of persons involved, number of accidents with injuries, type of vehicles involved, contributing factors, and whether those who were injured or killed were motorists, passengers, cyclists, or pedestrians.

Citywide, there were 16,784 motor vehicle accidents during the month of August, and 3,437 injuries or fatalities. Brooklyn was the borough with the most injury or fatality involved motor vehicle accidents in August, followed by Queens, then Manhattan, Bronx, and Staten Island. Brooklyn had a total of 1,569 injury or fatality involved motor vehicle accidents in August while Staten Island had only 278. Brooklyn and Queens were tied for the greatest number of fatalities (5), while Manhattan was in the middle (3), and Bronx and Staten Island were tied for the least number of fatalities (1). A number of intersections had more than 10 accidents in August. Here is the breakdown by borough:

• In Manhattan, there were 10 or more accidents at 7 intersections: Bowery and Canal Street (10 accidents, 1 accident with injuries), Canal Street and Lafayette Street (13 accidents, 1 accident with injuries), Delancey Street and Essex Street (13 accidents, 2 accidents with injuries), Delancey Street and Norfolk Street (10 accidents, 4 accidents with injuries), 3rd Avenue and East 37th Street (11 accidents, 1 accident with injuries), 3rd Avenue and East 57th Street (11 accidents, 2 accidents with injuries), Amsterdam Avenue and West 125th Street (13 accidents, 4 accidents with injuries).

• In Bronx, there were 10 or more accidents at 1 intersection: Bruckner Boulevard and East 138th Street (12 accidents, 4 accidents with injuries).

• In Brooklyn, there were 10 or more accidents at 2 intersections: Flatbush Avenue and Grand Army Plaza (14 accidents, 3 accidents with injuries), Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue (10 accidents, 1 accident with injuries).

• In Queens, there were 10 or more accidents at 2 intersections: College Point Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway (12 accidents, 0 accidents with injuries), 94th Street and Ditmars Boulevard (10 accidents, 1 accident with injuries).

• In Staten Island, there were 10 or more accidents at 0 intersections.

Proponents of the publication of these statistics say it creates transparency which enables concerned citizens to make a case to the city for changes to a particular intersection. Previously, citizens were relegated to utilizing anecdotal evidence to make their case. But these data are not what the city relies upon to change its streets. It is the Department of Transportation's analysis of police reports, including the number of accidents and their severity, which historically contributed to change.

As discussed in the Wall Street Journal, "The first batch of data covers only August. And it doesn't include information about traffic volume, so it's impossible to know whether a high number of accidents in any one month or near any one corner is due to a poorly designed street or an uptick in the number of cars passing through". Another concern that comes to mind is that police do not always list injuries when there were injuries. Of course, these statistics do not account for the many accidents and injuries for which no one notifies the police.

Notably, the majority of motor vehicle accidents, in every borough of the city, was cited by the police to be caused by driver inattention/distraction. The next most frequently cited contributing factor was following too closely, then failure to yield right-of-way, backing unsafely, improper passing/lane usage, and unsafe lane change. The possible contributing factors in injury and fatal accidents, other than driver inattention/distraction, are as follows: aggressive driving/road rage, alcohol involvement, backing unsafely, cell phone (hand-held), cell phone (hands free), driver inexperience, drugs (illegal), err/confusn ped/bike/other ped, failure to keep right, failure to yield right-of-way, fatigued/drowsy, fell asleep, following too closely, illness, lost consciousness, other electronic device, other uninvolved vehicle, outside car distraction, passing or lane usage improper, physical disability, prescription medication, traffic control disregarded, turning improperly, unsafe lane changing, and unsafe speed.

Resources:

The Wall Street Journal, NYPD Offers First Glimpse Into Crashes, By Andrew Grossman, 10.13.2011.

By Kathleen Beatty

Imagine this horrible scenario:

You are operating your own car in New York and are hit by a car that runs a red light or disregards a stop sign. You have severe permanent injuries including a fracture to your leg which requires surgical intervention. The car that hits you carries, the New York minimum, $25,000 in liability coverage. Your injuries are so severe that you miss work and will never be able to use your leg the same again. You look at your own auto policy and realize that you had been smart and purchased an insurance policy that would precisely fix this miscarriage of justice. You have paid your insurance company, GEICO, additional premium year after year in order to carry liability and Underinsurance Coverage of $100,000.00. You retain counsel who goes and fights for the tortfeasor's insurance to pay you. They do after protracted litigation. The next step, you assume, getting GEICO, the company you have paid premiums to for years for this added protection, will be resolved quickly and they will compensate you with a payment of the full $75,000.00. It would be $75,000.00 because, under the present law of New York you get to recover the difference between your Underinsurance coverage and the tortfeasor's liability policy hence $100,000- 25,000.00= $75,000.00.

Yet, GEICO, decides that even though they have no legal defense to your claim, and even though your injuries are both serious and permanent; that you don't deserve the additional $75,000.00. Why??? JUST BECAUSE WE, AT GEICO, LIKE TO COLLECT YOUR PREMIUM'S AND NOT PAY YOU EVEN THOUGH WE ARE LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO DO SO.

Sadly, this happens every day for many people of New York. People who are driving around believing that they have purchased insurance, that when needed, will be there for them. Whether it's Allstate, State Farm, or other's; New York Law has no "bad faith" which would hold your own insurance companies liable for such terrible business practices.

They can simply refuse to pay, require you to file for arbitration or to litigate the matter taking years and just hope that the fact finder will determine you should get less. Even if the arbitrator/mediator determines you get more, you are still limited to the limits of your insurance with no penalty to the carrier that has collected and held your money and refused to compensate you for years and years.

At Leav & Steinberg, LLP, we have fought for our clients and have successfully arbitrated and litigated many cases against insurance companies in order to ensure that our clients' receive a full and complete recovery, even if it means fighting for every last dollar that they are legally entitled to.

Whether you typically abide by pedestrian signs or not, soon it may be harder to do so in all areas of New York City.

What do you do when the pedestrian light is green and red at the same time? At this point in time, NYC pedestrian signals are nearing the end of their expected seven-year lifespan and are giving mixed signals or no signal at an increasing rate. Replacing the approximate 100,000 signs in New York City that are anticipated to soon be defunct is an extensive, daunting, and expensive task for the city.

While the city is responsible for maintaining pedestrian lights and may be liable for injuries that occur due to malfunctioning lights that simultaneously tell a pedestrian to both "walk" and "don't walk", pedestrians are not completely off the hook from looking for dangers in an intersection. In fact, even when the light is functioning properly, a pedestrian could be found partially or wholly liable for personal injuries that occur when he or she is struck by a vehicle in the road. Regardless of the status of the light, pedestrians must look where they are going and avoid entering the road in front of a vehicle which is so close as to present a danger. Yet, drivers are bound to exercise due care to avoid striking pedestrians. Thus, who is at fault for an accident is heavily dependent on the facts of each case.

Children and the elderly are at an increased risk for confusion and personal injury as a result of the inability to rely on a proper, functioning, signal. Those who frequent the same intersections should keep in mind that a light could malfunction at any point in time, rendering a seemingly safe and familiar intersection suddenly much more dangerous to them. If you notice a malfunctioning light, contact the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) by telephoning 311 as soon as possible. Remember that the signal may not be repaired immediately, and be sure to maintain your guard every time you cross the street.

Leav & Steinberg, LLP recently represented a woman, age 45, who was crossing at an intersection in Manhattan when an off duty traffic cop turned left and struck her. She was treated for knee and shoulder injuries with arthroscopic surgeries and underwent treatment for a back injury that the defendant argued was not caused by the claimed accident. The defendant's doctor had stated that the Plaintiff made a full and complete recovery from her injuries and was not disabled. The Plaintiff had not returned to work and claimed that it was difficult for her to continue working and commuting. Before trial, she recovered a settlement of $1,225,000.

Resources:

My Fox New York: "NYC Crosswalk Signs on Last Legs"

CBS New York: "Stay? Go? NYC Crosswalk Lights Give Mixed Signals"

By Kathleen E. Beatty