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Taxi Accidents

NYC Taxi Accident Lawyer

Using a taxi cab to get around New York City has always been very popular, but unfortunately, there are countless taxi accidents that occur every single day throughout all five boroughs. These unique types of car accidents are often very confusing for taxi passenger victims, partly because it’s difficult to navigate the liability coverage of several insurance companies and decipher which third parties owe your fair compensation.

The good news is that teaming up with a New York City taxi accident lawyer through The Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers will go a very long way in helping you or your loved one cover your medical bills and progress your taxi cab accident claim through the most efficient and appropriate legal strategies.

Our law firm has supported many injured passengers in their efforts to hold taxi drivers and any particular taxi cab company accountable for their roadway negligence, and we’ll be more than happy to assist you while you initiate a personal injury claim through a free consultation today.

RIGHTS OF INJURED PASSENGERS

Every victim of a taxi accident has the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent party that was ultimately responsible for the taxi crash. Serious traffic accidents, unfortunately, occur on a daily basis in New York City, which is why it’s so important to be informed and act swiftly when trying to hold a taxi company accountable.

In general, you’ll be able to file a lawsuit to receive financial compensation oriented around a serious injury when any of the following scenarios occur:

  • Taxi drivers dropping you off in a location that’s unsafe
  • The taxi driver running over your foot while driving away
  • The cab driver behaving recklessly/carelessly and causing a car accident
  • Taxicab drivers operating a city taxi under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol
  • NYC taxi operators being distracted or inattentive behind the wheel
  • Taxicab accidents involving a pedestrian legally crossing a street and being struck by taxis
  • A third party driver colliding into an NYC taxi in which you or your loved one was riding within as a passenger

Taxi accidents are all too common throughout New York City, which is why you’re undoubtedly going to need the legal expertise of an experienced taxicab accident law firm to support you as you’re developing your best course for legal action.

CAUSES OF NEW YORK TAXI ACCIDENTS

There of course are countless different causes that can result in New York City taxi accidents, but the vast majority of NYC taxi accidents are rooted in the following causes:

  • Distracted driving: There are limitless distractions that can cause a taxi driver to momentarily lose their concentration on the road, and roadway distractions can be anything that takes a driver’s eyes, hands, or mind off of their current act of driving a motor vehicle. Although cell phones tend to be the most common type of roadway distraction that leads to car accidents, there really can be a whole array of distractions while driving in New York City.
  • Reckless driving: Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1212 from the New York state department defines what reckless driving pertains to, which includes driving a motor vehicle in any unreasonable manner that interferes with the proper usage of public roadways. Reckless driving also includes an unreasonable endangerment that one driver puts on another. An NYC taxi may exhibit reckless driving through excessive speeding, weaving in and out of traffic lanes, tailgating another vehicle, and much more.
  • Driver fatigue: New York taxi cabs will often operate for extended hours, which leads to driver fatigue. Driver fatigue is also a serious issue within Uber and rideshare accidents as well. Although a taxi company may prohibit a driver from working over 12 straight hours, this typically doesn’t stop an individual from switching to a rideshare provider and operating a motor vehicle for extended hours.

Whenever taxi accidents are ultimately caused by a taxi driver’s negligence, you’ll have the ability to file a claim against the individual cab driver, the taxi cab company, or potentially a third party that caused the taxi crash.

Experienced taxi accident attorneys like our team will help you hold any and all responsible parties accountable for your injuries and subsequent medical expenses.

TYPES OF INJURIES THAT MAY RESULT FROM NEW YORK CITY TAXI ACCIDENTS

What’s particularly alarming about NYC taxi accidents is that many passengers will choose to not wear their seatbelts during short trips. Unrestrained vehicle passengers contribute to around 4% of all car accident fatalities each year in the United States, so it’s always in your best interest to buckle up when you enter taxis or rideshare vehicles.

Some of the most common injuries that our New York City cab accident attorneys come across include the following:

  • Whiplash: Whiplash injuries are one of the most common types of neck injuries that result from rear-end car accidents, and a whiplash will entail an incredibly swift back-and-forth movement that throws an individual’s head forward and then back to normal positioning. Whiplash will often lead to persistent neck stiffness, neck pain, and headaches.
  • Scrapes/Lacerations: Many auto collisions will result in skin, muscle, and tissue being seriously cut by broken glass and other debris. These common injuries will likely necessitate the need for stitches, and they’ll often lead to permanent scarring.
  • Head injuries: It’s very unfortunate, but traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are common after serious taxi accidents in New York City. Although other minor head injuries are also frequent, TBIs are a common injury that our taxi accident lawyers will support individuals with.
  • Broken bones: Bone fractures of any kind are always very painful, and many New York City taxi accidents will involve a passenger experiencing broken/fractured ribs, vertebrae, femur, collarbone, sternum, and/or ankles. These injuries will many times require surgery and extensive physical therapy.
  • Internal bleeding: High-impact collisions can sometimes lead to penetrating/blunt trauma that damages an individual’s blood vessels and initiates internal bleeding. These injuries are often severe and may require surgery.
  • Contusions: Contusions are serious bruises that can lead to all sorts of discomfort and swelling. One common type of contusion involved in many New York City taxi crashes is a pulmonary contusion, which is a bruised lung.
  • Knee trauma: Taxi passengers will frequently be thrown forward during a collision, which can cause them to strike their knee on the seat in front of them at a high speed. This can lead to knee issues like a shattered patella, torn meniscus, patella chondromalacia, and much more.
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): There’s no denying that a serious taxi accident can be extremely debilitating on passengers from a mental standpoint, which is why PTSD and other forms of anxiety are common after taxi cab crashes. Many people will be afraid to ride in cabs after their accident for many years afterward.
  • Wrongful death: Although deaths are relatively rare in New York City taxi accidents, there still are at least a handful of deaths each and every month in these situations. In a wrongful death lawsuit, a passenger’s surviving family members will be the plaintiffs seeking damages from at-fault parties.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE AND WHAT QUALIFIES AS AN INJURY?

New York City taxi accidents can be rather confusing legal proceedings because multiple parties can possibly be liable for the accident’s occurrence, including:

  • The taxi cab driver
  • The taxi cab company
  • Other drivers
  • The taxi cab manufacturer
  • Government agencies

The complexity of taxi accident personal injury claims can never be understated, particularly when there are multiple vehicles/parties involved in the collision. An experienced lawyer can support you or your loved one’s claim by thoroughly reviewing the police report and arranging an independent investigation.

It’s always crucial that you reach out to an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as you can to protect your legal rights and initiate the first stages of your legal strategy.

NEW YORK TAXI ACCIDENTS AND INSURANCE

New York City hosts over 13,000 yellow taxi cabs that provide transportation throughout each of the city’s five boroughs. Although rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft have become popular in recent years, taxis are still commonly used throughout the city. Yellow taxi cabs are required to carry minimum insurance coverage that covers the following:

  • $100K/person and $300K/group
  • $200K personal injury protection
  • $10K within property damage liability

At The Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers, our lawyers will go above and beyond to ensure that you or your loved one obtains their full and fair compensation for your injuries and subsequent damages.

It’s also important to note that we’ll support you when you’ve been injured as a passenger while riding within gypsy cabs, which are unlicensed cabs. Many of these taxi companies will only have minimum liability coverage for $25K/individual and $50K/group.

HOW COMMON ARE TAXI ACCIDENTS IN NEW YORK CITY?

It may not be all that surprising, but New York City, unfortunately, experiences thousands of taxi crashes each and every month. When you calculate the monthly averages out, it equates to around 46 daily collisions and a little bit less than two accidents per hour in New York City alone.

Although the majority of NYC taxi accident statistics come from Manhattan, each borough is known for experiencing these types of car accidents on a daily basis.

DAMAGES AVAILABLE TO TAXI CAB ACCIDENT VICTIMS

If you or a loved one was involved in an NYC taxi accident, then you’re going to need experienced taxi accident attorneys supporting you as you seek compensation for your damages.

Some of the most common damages associated with these personal injury scenarios include the following:

  • Lost earnings: If an accident victim must take time off from work or won’t be able to perform within their job going forward, then they’ll be able to receive compensation for all past and future lost earnings. Being able to work within a limited capacity can also allow you to obtain compensation for your loss of future earning capacity.
  • Medical bills: All your medical expenses that are directly related to your accident will be compensated for in these types of personal injury claims. This can include ER visits, surgeries, extended hospitalizations, lab fees, physical therapy, prescription medications, and much more.
  • Pain and suffering: This is considered to be non-economic damage that particularly pertains to emotional and physical distress that individual experiences as a result of their injuries.
  • Wrongful death: If your loved one passed away in a taxi accident, then you’ll be able to seek wrongful death damages to cover many forms of financial loss. You’ll also be able to seek non-economic damages like loss of companionship and loss of quality of life.

The skilled personal injury lawyers at The Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers will assist you when it comes to accurately calculate your damages, which is an incredibly important step when trying to maximize your settlement amount. We’ll work with many different specialists like care planners and investigators to thoroughly prove our calculations, so you can rest assured that the damages we help you present will be upheld in settlement negotiations and court.

TAXI ACCIDENTS FAQ

The first thing you should always do when you’re involved in any kind of car accident tends to your injuries through professional medical assistance. If it’s at all possible for you to take pictures/videos of the accident scene, then by all means you should collect as much evidence as you can. Speaking with the police and ensuring that a proper accident report is filed is also a critical step to take in the moments after a taxi accident as well.

Time is always of the essence when you’ve been injured in an auto collision, and you’ll want to contact a lawyer as soon as possible so evidence can be properly preserved and your legal strategies can commence.

What’s great about working with an NYC taxi accident lawyer at The Giordano Law Offices Personal Injury & Employment Lawyers is that we work on a contingency fee basis, which means that you won’t have to pay for our legal services until you obtain your settlement amount.

The statute of limitations within these cases is three years when you’re seeking a personal injury lawsuit and two years for wrongful death. These time constraints are based upon the date of the accident.

If you’re seeking damages against a municipality, then it’s likely that your statute of limitations will be much shorter. This is something you should discuss with our lawyers quickly so you know you’re not missing any filing deadlines.

New York is a comparative negligence state, which means that you can be compensated by a negligent party based upon their proportion of the blame for the accident’s occurrence.

So if a cab driver isn’t 100% at fault for the accident’s occurrence, you can still obtain compensation for your injuries and subsequent damages through them.

CALL OUR NEW YORK TAXI ACCIDENT LAWYERS FOR A FREE CONSULTATION

When you’re in need of an experienced New York taxi accident lawyer, you’re going to need to ensure that you’re working with the best law firm to obtain your maximum compensation amount.

Our case results truly speak for themselves in terms of the countless New York residents we’ve supported within personal injury lawsuits against taxi drivers, and we’re more than confident that we’ll flawlessly guide you through every step of the legal process.

Reach out to us online or call us at 646-217-0749 to get a free case evaluation from our experienced NYC taxi accident lawyers today!

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