Motor Vehicle Accidents

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In Lake v. Holzer (Sup. NY Feb. 9, 2015), a personal injury car accident pedestrian knockdown case, the court held that the “emergency doctrine” was inapplicable and granted plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment. Here are the facts: [P]laintiff Collin Lake, a pedestrian, was standing on the raised median island which separates the north and southbound lanes…

Read More Median Jump to Avoid Fender-Bender Unreasonable; Emergency Doctrine Inapplicable; Pedestrian Awarded Summary Judgment on Liability in Car Accident Case
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In Steele v. Santana (App Div. 1st Dept. 2/19/15), a personal injury injury car accident case, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the lower court’s determination that plaintiff did not suffer a “serious injury” within the meaning of section 5102(d) of the New York Insurance Law. In this case, plaintiff alleges that she suffered injuries to…

Read More Evidence of Tendon and Rotator Cuff Tears Present Triable Issue of Fact Relating to “Serious Injury” in Car Accident Case
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A recent First Department decision, Cruz v. Lise, held that the plaintiff – whose car was rear-ended by the defendant’s car – was entitled to summary judgment. In reversing the lower court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, the court held: In support of her motion, plaintiff submitted an affidavit averring that she had…

Read More But They Stopped Short! Too Bad, Says Court: Rear-Ended Plaintiff Gets Summary Judgment in Rear-End Car Accident Case
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In Delva v. New York City Tr. Auth., the Appellate Division, Second Department explained the “emergency doctrine” in the context of a pedestrian knockdown case. A jury found in favor of plaintiff, and defendants moved to set aside the verdict pursuant to CPLR 4404(a). The trial court denied defendants’ motion, and the appellate court affirmed. Specifically,…

Read More Trial Court Properly Declined to Charge Jury with the “Emergency Doctrine” in Bus Accident/Pedestrian Knockdown Personal Injury Case
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If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth… more. A recent decision, Franco v. Palmer (Supreme Court, Queens County, decided December 1, 2014), illustrates the significant benefits of video evidence in a car accident case. The court granted summary judgment to the plaintiff, finding that a surveillance video of an…

Read More Video Surveillance Tape Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in Car Accident Case
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According to recent reports, motorcyclist Miguel Mercado was killed after being thrown from his motorcycle and struck by an oncoming vehicle on the Henry Hudson Parkway. One source, citing police reports, reported: Miguel Mercado, 44, of The Bronx, was traveling southbound in the left-hand lane about 9 p.m. Saturday when he hit the highway’s center…

Read More Fatal Motorcycle Accident on Henry Hudson Parkway
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In a “typical” car accident case – i.e., one involving a collision of two cars driven by private operators – the issue is whether one of the drivers (the defendant) was “negligent”. However, as illustrated by the Court of Appeals case of Frezzell v. City of New York (decided 11/20/14) in a case where the defendant…

Read More Court of Appeals Explains the “Privilege” Enjoyed by Emergency Vehicle Drivers in Personal Injury Cases
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While many personal injury cases involve various factual issues (particularly relating to the often-contested issue of negligence) that require resolution by the trier of fact, some contain issues that may be resolved as a matter of law. One example is the so-called “pedestrian knockdown” case in which a pedestrian is struck while lawfully crossing the street…

Read More Plaintiff Entitled to Summary Judgment in Pedestrian-Knockdown Case
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Last week the New York Court of Appeals issued a decision in Pelletier v. Lahm. In that tragic case, defendant driver Brittany Lahm lost control of her car when she took her hands off the wheel after a passenger untied her bikini top. The jury found in defendant’s favor, after the court instructed it on the…

Read More Court of Appeals Approves of “Emergency Doctrine” Charge in Brittany Lahm “Bikini Crash” Lawsuit
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