Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York
What percentage of liability entitled to?
I turned left onto a main road and proceeded straight.A commercial delivery vehicle pulled from the curb(no indicator)and hit me in the rear passenger side door.When he was curbside,he was between 2 no standing bus stops and 2 fire hydrants.Since there was another vehicle(illegally parked,he had to make a sharp left turn and he ran into me.
When he got out the car he exclaimed''where did you come from?'' which I took to mean that I must have been in his blind spot.Would you agree with my insurance's investigational report of making me 0% liable for this accident?
Even if he didn't intend on running into me,I sustained injuries which are currently being treated for the past 15 months.
The police report shows that he ran into me and I found out that he told the police that I ran into him(lies).
His insurance company is now stating that they have a witness that states I was on my cell and I ran into him.I spoke to a detective with 20 years experience and they told me that it sounds like the driver lied to keep his job and the insurance company is doing the same to see if I was really injured.
Does this sound about right?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: What percentage of liability entitled to?
Under New York law, each driver had the duty to see what was there to be seen. The truck driver had a duty to make sure it was safe to pull away from the curb. Were you in the middle of your left turn or were you already going straight when the accident happened? That is an important fact because the law puts a duty on cars turning left to exercise caution. I hope you have a lawyer that you are asking your questions to. You should not try to settle your case with the insurance company without a lawyer as they will do everything they can to take advantage of you. My firm handles these cases on a regular basis if you wish to discuss the matter.