Intersection collisions, like many other vehicle accidents, can be particularly serious for motorcycle riders. If you or someone you love has been involved in a collision in Queens or the surrounding area, the experienced lawyer at The Cassisi Law Firm may be able to pursue compensation for your harm.

Contact our office in Queens directly at 718-441-5050 or complete the online contact form for an initial complimentary consultation.

Drivers approaching and crossing an intersection are required to abide by traffic laws, including yielding to oncoming vehicles. Often, one driver fails to see an approaching vehicle or fails to appropriately yield. Intersection collisions thus are a common type of motor vehicle accident. Often, the legal theory of negligence serves to hold the defendant driver accountable for damages.

Proving Negligence

Under this theory, an injured individual must demonstrate that the other driver owed him or her a duty of care. This is generally established by citing the long-standing obligation of all drivers to operate their vehicles as carefully as an ordinary person in a similar situation. The defendant must have breached this duty, either by failing to follow traffic laws or through other conduct that posed a foreseeable risk of harm. For example, failing to stop at a stop sign or speeding through an intersection would be a breach of this duty.

In addition, the injured individual must be able to show that he or she was hurt because of the defendant’s breach. This means that the accident would not have happened if the other driver had complied with the standard of reasonable care. Quantifiable damages also must be identified with reasonable certainty.

What Compensation Is Available After An Accident?

Compensation in a negligence lawsuit may include both economic and non-economic damages.

• Economic Damages: These refer to relatively objective costs like hospital bills and medical expenses, as well as lost wages and income from work.
• Non-Economic Damages: Pain and suffering is an example of non-economic damages, as are emotional distress and loss of consortium. These are relatively subjective forms of harm that arise from an accident and tend to be more challenging to precisely quantify.

Statute of Limitations

New York requires that legal claims for negligence in a personal injury lawsuit must be filed within three years of the date of the accident. In a wrongful death claim, the bereaved family has only two years to file a lawsuit on behalf of their deceased loved one. If a plaintiff does not meet these deadlines, he or she generally will find that the right to compensation is barred. This makes it especially important to lose no time in contacting an attorney.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle collision at an intersection, the Queens attorneys at The Cassisi Law Firm can advise you.

Call us at 718-441-5050 or use the online form to arrange a free consultation with our attorneys in Queens.