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If you have been in an accident and suffered serious injury, there is a good likelihood that you have considerable expenses involved with your recovery — hospital bills, doctor bills, rehabilitation and possibly even future disability, more surgeries and more bills. It is important to understand that the insurance company’s priority is its bottom line, and if insurance companies can avoid paying for expenses, they will. Whenever they can reduce their payouts, they will also do so.
If your injuries are minor, you probably do not need personal injury representation, but if your injuries are serious, reasons to hire an attorney are numerous.
While you may be aware that someone else was at fault for your accident, perhaps you do not know whether your case is worth litigating.
Even before you recover, you will receive paperwork work and have to make important decisions. All these are questions and issues an attorney can address and handle for you.
Sackstein Sackstein & Lee, LLP has an investigative team to gather information and help build cases. Our private investigators can visit the accident scene and make inquiries to discover other relevant information for your case. Our accident specialists can reconstruct the accident, analyze the accident details and evaluate the causes of accidents.
Our attorneys have handled accident cases similar to yours for decades. We have devised the most effective strategies to deal with insurance companies and readily anticipate their arguments. Our goal is protect your best interests and work diligently to recover the compensation you deserve.
Sackstein Sackstein & Lee, LLP was listed among the top 18 New York City accident lawyers by expertise.com, and our law firm has attorneys who have received other awards and recognitions as well, such as AV ratings by Martindale-Hubbell and Super Lawyers designations.
Weather related accidents are something to be concerned about, and statistics back up this fact.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, weather related crashes are accidents that take place in harmful weather conditions (rain, sleet, snow, fog, severe crosswinds or blowing sand/snow/debris) or on slick pavement due to rain, snow, slush or ice.
What are the statistics? On the average 5,748,000 vehicle accidents occur every year in the U.S. and 22 percent of them (approximately 1,259,000) are weather related crashes. In addition, close to 6,000 people are killed and more than 445,000 people suffer injuries annually due to adverse weather.
Here are the percentages of accidents occurring:
(Based on 10-year averages from 2005 through 2015)
However, these are national averages, and keep in mind the fact that some states do not get snowfall to any great degree, which may be the reason that snow/sleet have a lower accident percentage.
A heavy snowstorm in early January dumped up to 13 inches of snow and resulted in more than 2,000 air flight cancellations. Winds in Queens reached close to 50 miles per hour, and snow fell at the rate of two inches an hour in Manhattan.
The New York governor declared a state of emergency for all of Long Island, New York City and Westchester County.
Unfortunately, quite a few Suffolk County residents ignored the weather conditions along with the warning to prevent accidents and injuries. A number of drivers got into accidents and became stranded as the snow kept falling.
NYC mass transit subways continued to operate but weather conditions resulted in track switch, signal and train car malfunctions.
If you have suffered injury or lost a loved one in a deadly crash, consult with an experienced accident attorney to find out about your legal rights. In many cases accident victims or families are able to recover compensation for medical and other accident related damages.
Mid-November, the driver of a Jeep Renegade who was speeding near Union Square, made an illegal left turn onto Square East and hit a pedestrian who was standing in the cross-walk. He ran over him with the vehicle’s rear wheels. The accident was a hit-and-run accident but was caught on video. The driver stopped and then drove off.
The New York Post reported that the injured pedestrian was a Brooklyn man named Adrian Blanc, age 24. The accident occurred around midnight and Blanc was rushed to Bellevue Hospital. He was in critical condition but died as a result of his injuries. The police are still investigating and searching for the driver of the Jeep Renegade.
NY CBS Local reported that early Friday morning on December 1, a New York City woman was killed and her companion was injured when a car struck them while they were in a crosswalk in Linden, NJ. The woman, age 44 died at the scene, and her 54- year old companion was taken to University Hospital in Newark. He had serious injuries. A few weeks ago, the couple had moved to Linden from Long Island City, Queens. The driver remained at the accident scene and cooperated with the police. People who witnessed the accident from a gas station said they thought the car was speeding. However, police have not confirmed that speed was a factor in the fatal crash and have not charged the driver.
This accident happened two blocks from another pedestrian accident, which took place on Thanksgiving morning. However, the driver who struck the pedestrian in this accident was intoxicated.
This particular area has been the scene for a number of pedestrian accidents. According to a local businessman, during the summer, another woman was killed on the same road. The road is well known by locals for speeding cars and heavy traffic during morning business hours.
When pedestrians die in fatal car crashes, it is often the driver’s fault. If you’ve lost a loved one in a deadly crash, consult with an attorney to find out about your legal rights. We are often able to recover compensation for medical and other accident related damages.
On October 22, the driver of a box rental truck slammed his truck into seven cars and tried to flee the scene. He ended up climbing into a fire truck and fighting with fire fighters.
According to the New York Post , the driver was near Times Square between 42nd and 44th streets when he crashed into the seven vehicles. He exited his bashed up truck and began ranting that someone was chasing him, according to one eyewitness who watched the incident unravel from Landowne Road bar across the street. A driver in a black Mercedes Benz pulled up and accused the truck driver of hitting his and other vehicles. The witness grabbed the crazed truck driver in the middle of the street to keep him from running and prevent him from fighting with the Mercedes owner. Firemen soon arrived to help keep the two apart. They took over and the truck driver began fighting with them, got loose and tried to climb into the front seat of their fire truck where he got into an altercation with the fire truck driver.
Nine people were injured and went to the hospital, which included the fire truck driver. The truck driver was held for observation at Bellevue Hospital, according to officials. Officials suspected the truck driver was on drugs.
In May of 2017 an even more disastrous incident occurred at Times Square when Navy veteran, Richard Rojas drove his car down the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue and injured 22 people and killed an 18-year-old girl. Rojas was apparently high on synthetic marijuana called K2.
Unlike the recent incident where the driver ran into vehicles, Rojas crashed into pedestrians.
When someone else is responsible for causing your injuries or a death in the family, consult with a lawyer to understand your legal rights. In many instances, grounds exist for pursuing compensation to offset medical and other accident related expenses.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the Tesla fatal car crash that occurred in May of 2016. The Tesla semi-automated car driven by Joshua Brown crashed into a tractor-trailer and hit it broadside as the trailer made a left turn. More than a year later after the crash, in September 2017, the NTSB stated that Tesla should have had more operation limitations on drivers of semi-automatic cars.
The New York Post reported that the accident occurred in Williston, Florida (southwest of Gainesville) at an intersection. Joshua Brown had set the cruise control for 74 mph two minutes before the crash occurred. The speed limit was 65 mph and neither the driver nor the autopilot sensors noticed the tractor-trailer and consequently neither applied the brakes. An under-ride accident occurred with the car passing under the trailer.
In June 2016, Tesla said that Autopilot “is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert.”
Brown’s family released a state in September that stated, “We heard numerous times that the car killed our son. That is simply not the case,” the family’s statement said. “There was a small window of time when neither Joshua nor the Tesla features noticed the truck making the left-hand turn in front of the car.”
The statement went on to say, “People die every day in car accidents. Change always comes with risks, and zero tolerance for deaths would totally stop innovation and improvements.”
The family’s lawyer and spokesperson for Tesla declined to answer whether Tesla and the family had reached a legal settlement.
Certainly the truck driver and car driver had responsibility in not noticing each other’s vehicles. However, the NTSB also holds Tesla accountable. The Board believes the car needs safeguards such as the following:
Semi-automatic cars are the bridge between driver controlled cars and completely automated cars. Accidents can occur until the correct balance is achieved and automation changes can actually prevent human errors.
Three people died in a Medford, Long Island car accident when a car crashed into an SUV on August 15, 2017.
ABC 7 reported that Suffolk County Police arrived at the accident scene and found that Dominick Lopez, who was driving a 1995 red Honda Civic had lost control of his vehicle and crossed the double yellow line while traveling south on Station Road in Medford. His car crashed into a northbound 2016 Nissan Pathfinder.
Lopez and his passenger Derek Buff were ejected during the accident and were pronounced dead at the scene. Lopez, who lived in Shirley, was 20, and Buffa, who lived in Mastic Beach, was 23.
The backseat passenger in the Nissan, a Seldon resident, Aida Cardenas age 67, was transported to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center. She died from her injuries at the hospital.
The Pathfinder driver, who was age 41 and his wife, age 33, both residents of Bellport were hospitalized. The couple’s 11-year-old and one-year-old sons were also treated and none of them had life threatening injuries.
As you might suspect, people who aren’t wearing seat belts have a higher rate of ejection in accidents than people wearing seat belts. According study results published at US Roads, the ejected rate for unbelted passengers or drivers is 15.38 times greater than people wearing safety belts.
In fatal crashes, 2.49 percent of belted persons were ejected, whereas, 29.43 percent of unbelted persons were ejected.
When comparing different types of accidents, rollover accidents had the highest occurrence of ejections. Rollover accidents also typically involved vehicles traveling at high speeds and people in certain vehicle types, such as light trucks.
Our lawyers at Sackstein Sackstein & Lee offer a free consultation to evaluate the accident and determine whether negligent parties were to blame. We seek compensation for damages and can help injured victims pay for medical costs related to serious injury.
On Sunday morning, July 17, a Grand Central Parkway car accident took the lives of two people and left seven others injured. The accident occurred near 188th St. in Jamaica Estates around 6:30 a.m.
Andrew Shakespeare, age 33, lost control of his 2014 BMW SUV when he tried to speed past another car and sideswiped it. The New York Post http://nypost.com/2017/07/17/cops-arrest-suspected-drunk-driver-in-deadly-queens-wreck/ reported that after losing control, his vehicle cut across three lanes and struck a Nissan SUV. Then both vehicles collided through a metal divider, entering eastbound lanes. A woman driving east in her Mercedes SUV rolled her car after she swerved to miss the two cars. Her car landed on the highway shoulder.
Two passengers in Andrew Shakespeare’s BMW SUV were ejected, Akeam Grant, age 16, and Layon Campbell, age 24. Both died. Akin Grant was thrown from the backseat and died at the accident scene. Layon Campbell was transported to Elmhurst Hospital Center where he died several hours later.
The other seven people suffered minor injuries and were treated at nearby hospitals. Shakespeare was taken to Long Island Jewish Hospital and only suffered from a minor head injury.
Police arrested Shakespeare after he refused to submit to a sobriety test and charged him with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, DWI and reckless driving.
When a loved one dies in a car accident or is seriously injured and someone else is at fault, consult with an attorney as soon as possible. Our attorneys at Sackstein Sackstein & Lee can evaluate the accident, identify liable parties and hold the parties accountable. Seeking compensation for damages can help families recover expenses and help an injured victim pay for medical costs due to serious injury.
Distracted driving is a growing problem that all too often leads to serious injuries and fatalities.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2015, there were 391,000 people injured and 3,477 people who died in vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers. Teenagers were the age group with the largest percentage of individuals killed in fatal crashes.
Authorities suspect that much higher numbers of accidents occur that involve distracted driving than people report.
Today we have apps for almost everything, and that includes apps for preventing distracted driving. Since cell phone use is a major source of distracted driving here are some apps you may find useful:
Lifesaver. Lifesaver is easy to install. If you have a teenage driver, you can lock the driver’s smartphone while the car is in motion. It provides arrival notification when the driver arrives safely. You are notified of driver status so you can avoid texting a driver or calling while they’re on the road. The app also notifies you if the driver unlocks LifeSaver while driving. For safety reasons in an emergency, the driver can unlock the app and the app sends a text notification to the parent. Another great feature is that teenagers can receive rewards for safe driving. Parents can choose to use iTunes or other rewards. (Available for Android and iOS)
Cellcontrol. Cellcontrol is an app made by Verizon for Android and iOS and consists of a hardwire device placed in the vehicle and an app on your phone. You can use it for teenagers, employees, company vehicles, etc. You can customize the distracted driving rules in your account and the device works on vehicles you want to block from texting, messaging, social media and music apps while driving. You can also get detailed reports on the driver’s performance, such as speeding, braking and accelerating.
Drive Safe Mode. Drive Safe Mode is another app (Android and iOS) for parents to use that prevents texting and emailing while driving. It also notifies parents when the phone is in use and if the driver turns off the app while driving.
When someone else causes a serious accident that results in severe injury or death, the crash is a legal matter. Consult with a lawyer as soon as possible. We can guide you through the legal process and advise you on how to deal with insurance companies and pay bills until your case is resolved.
At 4:00 a.m. on August 24, an NYPD off-duty officer crashed into the rear end of a Honda. The Honda’s driver Vanessa Raghubar, her sister Maria Raghubar and Maria’s boyfriend, Justin Harricharra were returning from celebrating Maria’s 21st birthday. Vanessa had refused to drink any alcohol when toasting her sister because she was the designated driver.
The cars were traveling on the Van Wyck Expressway, southbound at Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park. Weather conditions were foggy.
Vanessa, the 22-year old driver, died from her injuries early Monday after being rushed to Jamaica Hospital. She was a psychology student and talented artist. She attended York College and would have graduated in June.
Her sister Maria was also rushed to Jamaica Hospital where staff evaluated that she was in critical condition and surgeons worked to save her life. She had a broken pelvis, smashed bladder and damaged intestine.
Justin suffered from brain, back and spinal injuries.
According to ABC7, the off-duty policeman, Neville Smith was charged with vehicular assault, assault, DWI and refusal to take a breath test. He is also suspended from duty.
In a rear end accident, the driver who rear ends the vehicle in front is typically liable for the accident. If the court determines the officer was driving while intoxicated, such a finding would also point to his liability.
In this case, it looks like the Raghubar family has a civil cause of action to pursue damages for the wrongful death of their daughter and for the serious injuries incurred by their other daughter.
If you suffer serious injury or a loved one dies through the fault of another driver in a car accident, seek legal counsel as soon as possible. Attorneys will advise you how to deal with insurance companies and guide you through the legal process.
Social media and lawsuits are not something most people think about. Texting, posting on Facebook and interfacing with other social media networks seems like second nature today. Yet, not that long ago a woman’s post on Facebook was a pivotal factor in losing her case.
According to an article published in The Morning Call , a woman suffering from Lyme disease was misdiagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. Under the Pennsylvania statute of limitations, she had two years to file a civil lawsuit to sue for misdiagnosis.
The woman argued that she did not know about Lyme disease until she tested positive for it in 2010, which was nine years after she had first developed the symptoms. She claimed that the statute of limitations began to run when she was diagnosed.
However, she had posted on Facebook for years, saying that she thought she had Lyme disease. Her posts provided evidence that undermined her own argument about when the statute of limitations began.
Slate.com published an article that tells the story of a Long Island high school girl, 15 years old, who was the victim of a teacher’s sexual abuse. Subsequently, four other female students came forward and alleged similar abuse.
After the criminal case resolved, the girl’s family filed a civil suit against the teacher, the school district and school officials based on damages of:
However, opposing counsel for the school investigated the girl’s life and discovered photos on Facebook of her hanging out with her boyfriend, working at a veterinary hospital, rock climbing and drinking with friends.
The judge ordered the girl to turn over every photo, video, status update and wall message she had ever posted on Facebook. People often only post the happy moments on social media, and they may not disclose something like depression. However, Facebook worked against the plaintiff in this case where she sought damages based on a depressed emotional state.
If you or a loved one believe you have cause for a lawsuit to seek damages, seek legal counsel as soon as possible and follow your attorney’s advice about posting on social media.