Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

This Central New York car accident attorney must once again report a tragic car crash in the area. As usual, I will report the facts, and then discuss the legal ramifications.

Here’s what happened: According to the Geneva Finger Lakes Times, a three-vehicle crash ocurred across from Seneca Lake State Park on Routes 5/20 in Geneva Saturday night around 9:00 p.m. Richard Riley, of Waterloo, New York, was pronounced dead at the scene. Riley had been driving the wrong way in the westbound lanes of Routes 5/20 when his car struck a westbound SUV driven by Frederick Cierei of Waterloo, which SUV was then rear-ended by another westbound vehicle driven by Kimberly Lorenz of Waterloo. An autopsy performed at Geneva General Hospital showed that Riley’s blood-alcohol content was more than twice the DWI threshold. Cieri, who had been trapped in his vehicle, had to be extricated by personnel from Border City and Geneva Fire Departments. Cieri was brought to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for treatment of a broken leg. Cieri apparently had two passengers who were also injured. We have no reports regarding injuries suffered by Lorenz.

This car crash had to be horrendous for all involved, and a double tragedy for Riley’s family, who has to come to grips not only with his death, but with the knowledge that their family member caused the injury of several innocent people by deciding to drink and drive. Unfortunately for Riley’s family, the legal ramifications of his actions will not end with his death. Riley will clearly be found at fault for having been driving intoxicated and having been heading the wrong way against traffic. Ms. Lorenz and the Cieri’s, all innocent victims, will have personal injury claims against Mr. Riley’s estate for any “serious injuries” they have suffered, as well as for any excess economic loss. While Riley’s personal auto insurance will certainly cover those claims, his insurance policy limits might be inadequate to cover all the pain, suffering and excess economic loss of the injured victims. In that case, the injured victims’ car accident lawyers, may decide to pursue the assets of Mr. Riley’s estate. If they are competent and thorough motor vehicle injury lawyers, they will also want to check the victims’ own auto insurance for possible “SUM” (supplemental underinsured motorist) coverage. Please see my prior blog post for a full discussion of SUM coverage, and how to check for it.

Upstate New York is blanketed in snow this Christmas season. So beautiful — and so dangerous for motorists. Snow is especially plentiful in the Oswego, Syracuse and Buffalo areas (the “snow belt”). Buffalo, Oswego and Syracuse motor vehicle accident lawyers have already begun fielding telephone calls from distraught family members of victims of snow or ice-related car accidents.

Here’s a tragic example of the havoc ice and snow can reap on motorists: This week a Newfane high school teacher, Christina Portale, of Lewiston, was killed in the Wrights Corners area, Niagara County. She was eastbound on Ridge Road, between Johnson and Purdy roads, when she lost control due to slippery road conditions. Her vehicle entered the westbound lane, where it was struck by a tractor-trailer. Firefighters extracted her using the “jaws of life”, and then had Mercy Flight fly her to Erie County Medical Center, but she died in the emergency room. Portale was only 29 years old and left behind two small children.

A motorist is required to maintain control of her vehicle. Most drivers don’t do everything they can to avoid slipping and sliding on icy or snowy road conditions. There are different kinds of icing conditions, but the most deadly is “black ice”, which is nearly invisible, and even more so at night. Motorists in upstate New York must learn to anticipate black ice, which is usually formed when the roads are wet and temperatures drop sharply. The first black ice usually forms on bridges and overpasses, in shaded areas, in low-lying areas, and on hilltops exposed to wind.

The Syracuse Post Standard reports that a Syracuse man, Harold Field, died Friday from auto accident injuries suffered in a three-car collision at the intersection of Stump Road and State Street Road in Skaneateles. The newspaper reports Field had injured his head, pelvis and leg in the accident. Field was driving east on Stump Road when he failed to stop at a stop sign and struck a vehicle driven by Shawn McLaughlin of Auburn, New York, which was traveling south on State Street Road. The crash forced McLaughlin’s car into the path of another car, driven by Matthew Virkler of Baldwinsville, who was traveling north on State Street Road.

Legal questions arise from this tragic accident.

First, can Harlod Field’s family bring a claim for wrongful death? Almost certainly not. Since Field was at fault for failing to observe or obey the stop sign, his estate (family) has no claim against anyone for wrongful death. Nevertheless, Field’s no-fault insurance policy will pay any medical expenses incurred before he died up to $50,000 pursuant to New York no-fault law as well as the standard $2,000 no-fault death benefit.

Like most people, I have been invited to several holiday-season parties this year. And like most people, I like to drink socially. But unlike most people, I am keenly aware of the destruction that drinking and driving can cause. Why? Because this Syracuse, Auburn and Geneva area motor-vehicle-accident lawyer represents seriously injured victims, and the families of deceased victims, of drunk driving in their claim for compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses. Unfortunately, this year the “spirit of Christmas present” will most likely mimic the “spirit of Christmases past”; several central New Yorkers from the Syracuse and Finger Lakes areas will be injured or killed by drunken holiday revelers.

New federal traffic safety data proves once again that the daily death toll from drunk driving is higher during the holiday season than the rest of the year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released data showing that, from 2001-2005, the average death toll per day from alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. was about 36 deaths, but that this average shot up to 45 during the Christmas season, and then catapulted to an astounding 54 deaths per day during the New Year celebrations.

As a result, the NHTSA has announced a nationwide crackdown on drunk driving for this holiday season. The campaign, whose slogan is “Over the Limit, Under Arrest”, is supported by a $7 million nationwide television and radio ad campaign, running from yesterday, December 16, through January 3. Expect local law enforcement to be out and about in force, especially during the evening hours, checking for drunk driving.

Sadly, seriously injured victims of motor vehicle crashes in upstate New York are often surprised to learn that neither the negligent driver nor the owner of the at-fault car had purchased sufficient “liability” insurance to fully compensate them for their pain and suffering and other losses.

Why? In the Syracuse area and in all of central New York, including Geneva, Auburn, many people are of limited means (in case you haven’t noticed, good jobs are hard to come by around here!) and thus purchase only this cheapest insurance. This minimal automobile liability insurance in New York State pays out a maximum of only $25,000 per injured person and $50,000 per accident.

So what do you do if you are seriously injured by a minimally insured car? Well, you have the option of refusing to accept the insurance policy limits. You can instead sue the negligent driver (and the car owner) and hope to get at their personal assets. But what personal assets? We just said that Upstate New Yorkers with small insurance policies generally have limited income. As a corollary, they also have no assets worth pursuing.

In my last blog, I wrote about a real car-on-pedestrian accident in Cicero, New York. That got me thinking about pedestrian safety. Car accident lawyers in New York, and everywhere, see a lot of cases involving cars striking pedestrians. It’s too common. And it’s not a fair match; the car always wins!

Automobile drivers are largely at fault when their vehicle strikes a pedestrian. Usually the driver fails to observe the pedestrian, drives too fast in an area of pedestrian traffic, or ignores pedestrian crosswalks..

Pedestrians, however, can take some simple steps (pun intended!) to protect themselves from inattentive, careless or speeding drivers. Here’s my list of top safety tips for pedestrians:

A New York Times article today, entitled “Pregnant Women are Particularly Vulnerable during Car Accidents,” provides food for thought. The article says that 300 to 1,000 unborn children die in car accidents in the U.S. each year. An unborn child has a four times greater chance of dying in a car accident than a child up to age 4.

The biggest risk for an unborn child in a car crash is “placenta uterine attachment”. The placenta can detach easily in crashes, which in turn causes the baby to lose its oxygen supply. That accounts for about 80 percent of fetus losses in auto accidents.

What’s the main culprit in causing this detachment? The steering wheel. If you are a “very” pregnant woman, the steering wheel is probably only inches from your belly. The impact between your belly and the steering wheel in a crash, even a minor one, is what usually causes the placenta to detach.

Stop signs only work, obviously, if people see them and obey them. This fact is demonstrated by a recent car accident near Geneva, Ontario County, New York. The Finger Lakes Times newspaper reports that two motorists were treated at Geneva General Hospital following a car collision in the town of Seneca, Ontario County, on December 1. Vincent Gleason was traveling south on County Road 20 when he failed to see the stop sign at the intersection with County Road 4. Gleason ran into a vehicle being driven by William Hart of Geneva as he was passing through the intersection. The police ticketed Gleason for failing to stop at a stop sign. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts. The car accident injuries do not appear to be serious (Seatbelts save lives — where them!)

In the U.S., more than 40,000 people die in automobile accidents each year. It is the leading cause of death for people under 40 years old. On average of 112 people die each day in car crashes in the U.S. Many of these deaths happen at intersections because a driver failed to observe a traffic control device (red light, stop sign, yield sign, etc.).

At Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, we have handled hundreds of car crash cases where the collisions were caused by drivers failing to stop at stop signs. Think these are easy cases? They should be, but believe it or not, even when a driver “blows” a stop sign, and we ask his insurance carrier to compensate our innocent client, insurance carriers often won’t pay without a fight. They often take the position that the innocent driver, our client, was not truly “innocent”. Incredibly, they claim that our client should have seen the other driver as he was approaching the stop sign, that he should have observed that the other driver was not going to stop, and that he should have reacted in time by braking or otherwise avoiding impact! These insurance adjusters, and their lawyers, argue that it was the fault of BOTH drivers, and therefore they should get a discount on paying for our client’s pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, and other losses.