New York Road Departure Accident

Each year in New York State there are over 200,000 car crashes. These crashes involve a variety of different scenarios including lane or roadway departure crashes. A road departure car accident occurs when a car swerves out of control, crosses the median line or any other road marking, and leaves the roadway. Road departure crashes are among the most dangerous types of crashes because they often involve the vehicle rolling over or crashing into a barrier or tree at a high speed. As a result victims of road departure accidents frequently suffer serious injuries. For example, it is not uncommon for a road departure accident victim to suffer a brain injury, broke bones, contusion, abrasions, a neck injury, or a spinal cord injury. These types of injuries may involve long recovery times, requiring the victim to miss a significant amount of work. However, under New York law victims of road departure crashes are allowed to seek compensation from the person whose negligence resulted in the accident. If you are in need of a New York Injury Lawyer because you or a loved one was injured in a road departure crash, it is important that you immediately contact an experienced New York Road Departure Accident Lawyer who will review your case and explain to you your options for seeking compensation for the losses you suffered as a result of the accident through a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

As with other types of car accidents there are a number of causes of road departure collisions. Some of the most common causes include:

• Distracted driving
• Texting and driving
• Driving while intoxicated
• Falling asleep at the wheel
• Tire blow out
• Hitting a pothole or other road hazard
• Swerving to avoid a road hazard or to avoid another vehicle
• Speeding
• Poor road or weather conditions
• Mechanical failure

Road departure accidents are sometimes single-vehicle accidents and sometimes multi-vehicle accidents. In cases where the accident is a single-vehicle accident, fault may lie with the driver if, for example, the driver was speeding, intoxicated, or texting while driving. On the other hand, a single-vehicle road departure accident can also result from the driver swerving to avoid colliding with another vehicle that is being driven negligently. Or, such an accident could result when a second car pushes it off the road.

Regardless of whether the accident was a single or multi-vehicle accident, road departure crashes often leave victims with traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, and broken bones. Such serious injuries require extensive costly treatment. Through a personal injury claim there are several types of damages that you may be able to recover from the person responsible for the accident.

• Medical expenses. The person responsible for the accident that caused your injuries may be required to pay for your medical expenses. This would include medical bills you accumulated prior to filing your claim as well as future medical expenses related to the treatment of your injury.
• Lost wages. Even a relatively minor accident may cause you to miss time at work. The person responsible may be required to pay the wages you lost. If you end up using earned sick days or vacation days, you may be entitled to receive compensation for those days. Furthermore, if as a result of your injury your earning potential declined, you may be able to recover damages for loss of future earning capacity.
• Pain and suffering. Another potential source of damages that you may be entitled to receive is pain and suffering. In the context of a personal injury claim, pain and suffering refers to physical pain as well as emotional distress.
• Property damage. The person whose negligence caused the accident may also be responsible for damage to your vehicle or other property.
• Wrongful death. If a family member was killed in the accident, the law allows the decedent’s personal representative to seek damages through a wrongful death claim

Road departure accidents can have serious consequences. Whether you were driver or passenger of the vehicle involved in a road departure accident, under New York law you can pursue compensation from the party responsible for your injuries. If you or a loved one was injured in a lane departure crash, contact an experienced attorney who understands both the legal issues associated with personal injury cases as well as the medical issues associated with vehicle accidents. The staff at Stephen Bilkis and Associates has extensive experience representing clients injured in road departure accidents, hit and run accidents, rollover accidents, head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, sideswipe accidents well as other types of vehicle accidents. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your car accident.