Distracted Driving Car Accidents

Distracted Driving Accidents in NYC Distracted driving car accidents in NYC are all too common. Have you been hurt in an accident in New York City caused by a distracted driver? When someone else’s negligence has caused your injuries, you may be entitled to compensation.

At the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers, we’re here to help you fight for the money you need for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

We have proudly represented NYC residents in all five boroughs for more than 25 years. Call our law office at (212) 564-2800 to schedule a free consultation with a New York City car accident lawyer to discuss your case.

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How the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Distracted Driving Accident in NYC

When you are seriously injured by a distracted driver, the last thing you should be worried about is fighting with insurance companies for fair compensation. Unfortunately, that is an uphill battle many injury victims in New York City, New York face.

At the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers, we have more than 25 years of experience fighting on behalf of accident victims. We will put our experience and expertise to work for you.

Founding attorney Jay S. Knispel has litigated multi-million-dollar injury claims and worked as a Senior Trial Lawyer for a national insurance company. This gives our law firm valuable insight into the tactics insurance companies use.

Choose a New York City car accident lawyer at our law office to represent you and count on us to:

Perform an independent investigation into your crash
Gather evidence showing the other driver was distracted or otherwise negligent
Work with experts in many fields to interpret evidence and testify
Fight back against any attempts to shift blame to you
Negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company

Jay S. Knispel is an experienced trial lawyer and not afraid to take your case to court for the full compensation you deserve. Call our law office today to schedule your free consultation to find out how we can help.

How Common Are Distracted Driving Accidents in NYC?

Distracted driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving according to some studies. It’s a common problem that comes in many forms, including using a GPS device, texting, eating, or talking to passengers while driving.

The most common type of distraction is using a cell phone while driving. Even using a hands-free device can be a distraction.

According to the CDC, there are more than 1,000 distracted driving accidents in the U.S. every day. In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 2,841 people were killed in distracted driving crashes.

Around 1 in 5 people killed in distracted driving accidents were pedestrians or cyclists. 25% of distracted drivers in fatal crashes were 20 to 29.

Distracted driving accidents in NYC are such a problem that the New York Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee called distracted driving a top contributing factor in crashes.

About 80% of accidents and 65% of near-crashes involved a driver looking away from the road just before the collision. The NHTSA found that looking away for just two seconds doubles the risk of an accident or near accident. It can also increase the danger of any road defects you might encounter.

This is an issue not only in the city streets but also in parking lots, highways, and intersections. You can even get into a single-vehicle accident due to you or someone else being distracted while driving.

Between 2009 and 2019, New York accidents involving cell phone using and texting increased by 89%. In 2009, New York made texting while driving a traffic offense.

What Is My Distracted Driving Accident Case Worth?

Because every accident case is unique, there is no way to easily value your claim. The economic damages you suffered will be the easiest to calculate as they have a clear financial value.

Non-economic damages like pain and suffering are potentially worth more than your economic damages, but this will depend on factors like:

Whether you were permanently impaired or disfigured
The severity of your injuries
The amount of pain you suffered
The circumstances and cause of your crash

The Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers will help you understand how much your personal injury claim may be worth and how long it will take your case to settle during your consultation.

What Kind of Damages Are Available to Accident Victims in New York?

When you are injured by an at-fault driver, you may be entitled to two types of damages: economic and non-economic.

Depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to compensation for:

Medical bills, both current and future
Property damage
Lost income, including disability or lost future earnings
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Disfigurement
Wrongful death

New York is a no-fault insurance state. You make a claim against your own auto policy first to recover damages. If you meet New York’s serious injury threshold, you can pursue the distracted driver for your damages.

Can I Recover Compensation if I’m Being Blamed for a Distracted Driving Accident in New York?

New York uses a pure comparative negligence rule in accidents that involve shared fault. NY CPLR Section 1411 allows you to recover damages even if you are partially at fault for your accident. In fact, you can even recover compensation if you are 99% at fault!

Be aware that your share of liability in your accident will directly reduce your recovery.

For every percentage of fault assigned to you in court, your damages will be reduced by an equal share. This system can benefit parties who shared fault in a crash, but insurance companies take advantage of this rule as much as possible.

The insurance company will try to shift blame to you to reduce the amount they must pay. An experienced New York City car accident lawyer will work to defend you against these blame-shifting tactics.

We Will Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Distracted Driving Accident Injuries

A car accident can change your life forever. You may be left with a painful recovery, the need for invasive treatment, and even permanent impairment.

The Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers will fight for full compensation for injuries such as:

We will also build a case for your injuries that are not visible such as depression, PTSD, and anxiety which affect your quality of life.

What Causes Most Distracted Driving Accidents in New York City?

Distractions while driving can take many forms. Anything that takes a driver’s attention away from the road is considered a distraction. According to a study based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the following are the most common types of distraction in fatal crashes.

Lost in thought or inattentive (62%)
Cell phone use (12%)
Distracted by object, event, or person outside the car (7%)
Passengers in the vehicle (5%)

Other common distractions include reaching for an object in the car, eating or drinking, and adjusting vehicle settings.

There are many other surprising causes of distracted driving, too.

According to research, even the following can contribute to an accident:

Driving while angry, sad, or distressed increases your crash risk tenfold
Driving with an unrestrained pet in the vehicle
Driving with kids in the car. Children are 4x more distracting than adult passengers and infants are 8x more distracting.

Your personal injury lawyer in NYC will conduct a careful investigation into your accident to determine if the other driver was distracted and what they were doing at the time of your crash.

How Do I Prove the Other Driver Was Distracted in an NYC Accident?

If you suspect the other driver involved in your accident was distracted at the time of the crash, your New York City accident attorney will investigate your case to gather evidence of negligence.

There are many ways to prove someone was using their cell phone or otherwise distracted at the time of the accident.

The best time to gather critical evidence is shortly after the accident. If you can, look for signs the driver was distracted, particularly if you noticed they were looking down at something before the crash.

Take a video or photo of any evidence you see at the scene if safe to do so.

Evidence proving negligence may also be gathered from:

Cell phone records or the cell phone itself if confiscated by police. It may be possible for your injury lawyer to subpoena cell phone records.
Social media activity, emails, or other forms of online activity may be found with a timestamp.
Vehicle data that recorded the driver’s activity such as the speed and even whether they were adjusting electronic controls.
Witness statements from passengers, pedestrians, and people in other cars
Police reports that might have notes about suspected distracted driving or evidence that supports your claim.
Surveillance footage from nearby stores, police and civilian dash cams, traffic cameras, and more

At the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers we will leave no stone unturned in gathering the evidence necessary to show the other driver was negligent and distracted at the time of your accident.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After a Distracted Driving Accident in New York?

You have a limited amount of time to file a personal injury lawsuit after a distracted driving crash in NYC. The New York statute of limitations for personal injury is three years. If your case is not filed before this deadline expires, you will be barred from recovering any damages.

If a loved one was killed in a distracted driving accident, you have just two years to file a wrongful death claim.

Contact Our NYC Car Wreck Lawyers for a Free Consultation

Distracted driving accidents in NYC are, sadly, all too common on our city’s congested roads. If you or someone you love has been hurt by a distracted driver, our New York distracted driving accident lawyers are here to help. We will go up against the insurance companies on your behalf to fight for the full compensation you deserve.

Call the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers today to schedule a free case review. We work on a contingency-fee-basis; you pay nothing unless we are successful in recovering compensation.