Long Island, Manhattan Accident Attorney Blog

Defective Car Cases

When attempting to show a car manufacturer or seller’s liability for a car defect, you do not need to show that they were careless. Unlike personal injury claims that are based on negligence, liability in car defect cases is controlled by strict liability. Regardless of the steps a manufacturer says it takes in creating or handling a car, you can make a strict liability claim based on a car defect if certain conditions are present:

1) The car had an unreasonably dangerous defect that harmed you. The defect may arise from either the car’s design, during handling, manufacture, shipment, or through a failure to warn consumers of a dangerous aspect of the car.

2) An injury arose from the defect, while the car was being used properly.

3) There were no substantial alterations to the car from its original condition when sold.

Manufacturer Defenses

The car manufacturer and the seller may have a defense to your strict liability claims, particularly if you have owned the car for some time, if it can be shown that you knew about the defect but continued to use the car anyway. This can be established through either the car’s condition or from your description of the use of your car. In some states, a manufacturer or seller may also be able to defend against your lawsuit under the theory that your contributory or comparative negligence was the cause of your injuries.

Punitive Damages

There has been an increasing trend in car liability of awarding more punitive damages for those who have successfully brought a claim against a manufacturer or seller. These punitive damages awards are above and beyond damages to compensate a plaintiff for his or her injuries, and can range into tens of millions of dollars in certain instances. Punitive damages are intended to punish manufacturers and encourage them to fix defects that have resulted in injury. Traditionally, car manufacturers have engaged in what is known as a "cost-benefit" analysis when deciding whether to change a potentially defective design. In this process, the manufacturer will calculate the cost of implementing a design change, and weigh that cost against the potential cost of litigation and settlement after the defect causes injuries. Punitive damages are often awarded in order to add to the potential costs a manufacturer will face if it decides not to fix a design defect, thus shifting the cost-benefit analysis toward the elimination of defects.

It's Better to Be Sure: Get OBEL Coverage on Your Insurance

What if the accident is really bad?

What if you are out of work for a few weeks?

What if the medical bills and property damage go over the coverage limits of your policy?

In New York, policyholders have the option to purchase Optional Basic Economic Loss coverage, or OBEL for short.

What OBEL does is provide up to $25,000 worth of coverage above the $50,000 no-fault minimum requirements. In the event that your initial coverage is exhausted, OBEL coverage not only supplies you with more money, but also covers any passengers or pedestrians that were injured in the accident.

What is also important about OBEL coverage is that you get to decide how that extra $25,000 will be spent. That is much better than the options that you have with just the basic New York no-fault coverage.

Talk to your insurance provider about OBEL coverage today.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a New York car accident, contact Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.

Don’t Postpone Car Safety Inspections

New York requires yearly safety inspections for any car that is on the road, and this inspection exists for a very good reason.

Cars are machines made of moving parts. Any machine with moving parts inevitably breaks down. The safety inspection for your car involves a trained mechanic taking a look at all of the parts of your car that are crucial to keeping you from getting into an accident.

They inspect things like the brakes, the tires, the horn, as well as the lights, reflectors and blinkers. These might seem mundane and not important, but each of these parts can play an important role in helping you avoid an accident.

Even if it seems inconvenient to do so, getting your car inspected can let you know if you need new tires, or if your turn signals aren’t working correctly, or if your brakes are about to fail. It is better to have that information before it’s too late for you to do anything about it.

Any car accident is bad enough, but one that is caused by a driver who neglected to get his or car up to safety standards is nothing short of a tragedy.

If you or a loved one has been in a car accident in the New York City area, contact Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.

Black Box Technology Can Work for You

If you follow this link:

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1105364095740

you will find an article from Law.com that describes how the readings from a cars "black box" data recorder can be admissable as evidence in a murder trial.

The "black box" records lots of data, including the speed limit that a car was going when the airbags deployed.

This could prove to be an interesting development in accident cases. Quite often, car accident cases get stalled based on insurance company denials and stalling tactics, and the readings from a black box could conceivably help prove the car accident cases of accident victims.

As car accident attorneys in New York, it's important for us to gather as much data as we can to help prove the cases of our clients. Black box data can certainly be an important part of this process.

Do You Live Near one of The Most Dangerous Intersections in New York?

New York's Liquor Liability Law - Too Much Holiday Cheer Comes With a Price...

Under New York Law, bartenders, shopkeepers, wait staff and other persons who serve alcoholic beverages to "visibly intoxicated" persons can cause their employers to be held legally responsible for injuries or death to innocent third parties. This liability extends not only to motor vehicle accidents caused by drunk drivers, but also to victims of assaults or brawls precipitated by continuing to serve intoxicated patrons.

Employees who serve alcohol are trained to see if patrons have slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, exhibit loud or abusive behavior, or have problems with balance. They are expected to use good judgment in whether or not to continue to serve a patron who appears to be drunk.

Parents or other adults who serve alcohol or provide drugs to minors at parties in their home can similarly be held responsible if injuries result.

Enjoy the holidays----but let common sense prevail.

If you or a loved one has been injured because of such poor judgment, consult an attorney to explain and protect your rights.

New Child Accident Chart Out

The New York Times has put together a chart about child accidents using data from the World Health Organization.

The chart breaks everything down in categories that are more than a little heartbreaking.

One particular statistic that we noticed was that road and traffic accidents are ranked at number one or two among three different age groups. While a great deal of these accidents occur in the third world, it goes without saying that a fair percentage of auto accident deaths occur here in New York City.

This underscores the importance of driving carefully and teaching your teenagers to do the same once they get their licenses.

As always, if you or a loved one have been involved in an auto accident in New York, contact Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/12/10/health/10injury.graphix.ready.html