New York Road Hazards Accident Lawyer

While there are many reasons for car accidents, road hazards such as debris, potholes, and construction are fairly common. Anything that is in the path of traffic can lead to an accident since drivers may slow down unexpectedly, hit the hazard or swerve to avoid the hazard. Such an accident can cause not only extensive damage to your vehicle, but could result in you, your passenger, or occupants of other vehicles to suffer serious injuries. For example, a victim of such an accident may suffer a severe blow to the head resulting in a traumatic brain injury. In other cases a victim may suffer broken bones or a back or spinal cord injury. These types of injuries involve long recovery times, with the victim being unable to work for weeks or even months. This puts the victim and their family in financial jeopardy. However, under New York law victims of vehicle accidents are allowed to seek compensation from the person or entity whose negligence resulted in the car accident. If you were injured in a car accident caused by a road hazard, contact an experienced New York road hazards accidents lawyer at Stephen Bilkis & Associates who will help ensure that the party responsible for your losses is held accountable in a personal injury claim.

There are many different types of hazards that a driver may encounter on New York roads and highways, such as:

• Road debris. Debris in a road can be quite dangerous to vehicles and their occupants. Debris sometimes falls onto the road when a load on a truck or on top of a car is not properly secured. In other instances debris such as a tree or utility pole may end up on a road after a storm. If debris unexpectedly appears in the path of a vehicle traveling on a highway at a high speed, there is as good possibility that the driver will end up in a collision after striking the debris or after swerving to avoid the debris.
• Potholes. Potholes are a major problem in New York. There are thousands of potholes in the state. Cars often swerve to avoid large potholes, and as a result collide with other vehicles, or end up off the road in a ditch. In other cases cars run over deep potholes, causing the drivers and passengers to suffer injuries from the impact.
• Construction zones. Construction zones are inherently dangerous. Large, slow-moving vehicles entering in and out of traffic are hazardous to oncoming traffic. In addition, construction workers often walk dangerously close to traffic, posing yet another hazard. As an experienced New York road hazards accident lawyer will explain, it is important to drive carefully in construction zones and follow reduced speed limits.

Those injured in car accidents due to road hazards can suffer a variety of serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, facial injuries, whiplash, lacerations, amputations, broken bones, internal injuries, and spinal cord injuries. These types of injuries are very serious and can require extensive treatment. This means substantial medical bills and missed work.

However, New York law gives injured victims the right to seek compensation from the negligent party. Depending on the type of hazard, the defendant in a personal injury claim could be another driver or a government entity. To understand who would be liable for your injuries, discuss the matter with an experienced road hazards accident lawyer in New York. The types of damages that you may be able to recover if you file a claim against the negligent party include:

• Lost wages
• Medical bills including bills
• Damage to your vehicle
• Pain and suffering

If a family member died as a result of the accident, the law allows the decedent’s personal representative and statutory heirs to seek damages through a claim based on wrongful death.

In the aftermath of a serious accidents, understandably you will be focused on healing. However, it is also important to not put off taking action to pursue your negligence claim. There are strict time limitations that must be followed when filing a claim for personal injury. If the claim is against a government entity, the time limitation is even shorter.

A car accident leaves victims in both physical pain and financial pain. Thus, it is important to hold the negligent party accountable for their actions. In order to ensure that your rights are protected, it is important to have legal representation who not only has experience handling car accidents, but who is also familiar with the medical issues victims of such accidents experience. To get the process started, contact an experienced road hazards accident attorney serving New York at 1-800-NY-NY-LAW (1-800-696-9529) to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We serve clients in the following locations: Nassau County, Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk County, and Westchester County.