Even when all precautions are taken, motorists may still become involved in motor vehicle accidents. This is because any one driver may drive safely, but one cannot control how other drivers on the road may handle their own vehicles. Regardless of who is driving, every motorist has a duty to operate his or her vehicle in a reasonable manner given the circumstances to prevent causing harm to others. Any manner of reckless or careless operation may rise to the level of negligence for which a driver may be held liable to the persons harmed as a result. Some accidents can result in serious personal injuries, such as spinal injuries or traumatic brain injuries, and even death.
In fact, many Hudson car accidents take place in parking lots and roadside spaces. Pulling out of a parking space too fast, or without signaling, or without looking for other moving vehicles and pedestrians can be considered reckless, careless and even negligent. While motorists in parking lots may not be driving fast, significant injury can be caused to pedestrians who are hit by slower moving vehicles. Quite frankly, one may become bruised by simply bumping into a table at home. So it isn’t hard to imagine the type of harm that can arise when a vehicle weighing thousands of pounds, even if only moving 15 miles per hour, strikes a pedestrian. Keep in mind that soft tissue injury may cause significant long term damage as do bone fractures.
If a vehicle in a parking lot has backed into you, and even if you believe the injury to be slight, you should still seek medical care because injuries no matter how small may have long term effects. An experienced Hudson car accident attorney knows how to negotiate the court system and all relevant legal grounds available so that you can be compensated for your injuries.
Consider how Section 1162 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law will lend aid to your case. This statute dictates that parked or stopped cars must not move unless such can be done with reasonable safety. Courts have applied this law to the letter; simply, if it is not reasonably safe to move the vehicle, then the car should not be moved at all.
Once a driver has moved his or her vehicle when it was not reasonably safe, and a pedestrian has been injured as a result, the above mentioned law will help to establish negligence. That is, negligence can be found when a law was broken when that law was written to prevent the harm that ended up occurring; this is called negligence per se.
Additionally, New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1163 states that a driver shall not turn any vehicle without giving an appropriate signal to express such intention to turn. The law even states that it must be done not less than 100 hundred feet before the turn and that the driver shall not suddenly stop or decelerate for the turn without giving the turn signal.
If you are hurt by a motorist pulling out of a parking space, sections 1162 or 1163 may help because if the motorist violated these statutes when you were injured, the motorist could be negligent per se. You only have a small window of time to seek compensation, so please call an experienced Hudson car accident attorney so that you get a much deserved recovery.
The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle car accident cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County. Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents. Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.