Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

The Labor Day weekend holiday has come and gone. Unfortunately, it was marred by tragedy in the lower Hudson Valley. The accidents and the lives lost are sobering reminders that drivers must use reasonable care when on the road in central New York. This is especially true with more young people on the road as school returns for another year.

While no one actually plans to be in an accident, being prepared in the event of one is critical. Indeed, it is normal to panic, or to be upset; but the following tips can help in preserving your claim and help you in the event you need a lawsuit. 

Call the authorities – Besides assessing whether either driver should be cited for a moving violation, law enforcement agencies can produce reports that detail who is responsible for the crash. For what it is worth, you should not leave the scene of an accident until the authorities arrive as well.  

With automakers bringing their newest offerings to dealerships this month, performance is likely going to be one of the things automakers will use to entice car buyers. Some will also tout the latest safety features; while others will flaunt new designs. While performance and design will cater to buyers who want the newest toy, a recent study suggests that few drivers understand the latest safety offerings.

According to the University of Iowa Public Policy Center’s Transportation and Safety program, there are large information gaps when it comes to communicating potentially life saving safety features. For example, drivers may know about the term cruise control, which keeps a car at a certain speed, but a majority of drivers do not know about adaptive cruise control, which does the same thing but also can slow the car down when approaching traffic or encountering difficult driving conditions. 

The same could be said about backup cameras. Once something that could be found only on luxury car models, the federal government has now required all new cars built in 2018 to require such cameras as standard equipment.

The concept of sovereign immunity is likely something that most people who are not lawyers will ever have to know about or deal with. However, if you are even in an accident with a vehicle controlled by a municipality (i.e. a garbage truck, public works vehicle, or fire truck) or want to hold a state agency accountable for poor road design or maintenance, this term may be used against you in order to limit or prohibit your claim.

This post will briefly explain what sovereign immunity is and how it may hamper your case. 

At its core, the concept of sovereign immunity is where a government and its political subdivisions cannot be sued unless it consents to the lawsuit. The concept is generally used to protect government employees in their daily decisions from lawsuits. For instance, a negligence claim against a sanitation department for a truck stopping suddenly to pick up trash may not be actionable depending on the circumstances.  After all, these employees must be able to do their jobs without the constant fear of a lawsuit.

We hope our readers had a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. As we have noted in a prior post, the last holiday weekend of the summer would be known for one last getaway. This would mean that a high number of people would be on the roads in central New York, and the possibility of accidents would increase as well.

While many people will get home and back to work safely, there unfortunately are some who may be in an auto accident. For those who are in accidents, it may be difficult to determine whether medical attention is necessary. After all, you may not feel as if you are injured in the minutes after the crash.

Nevertheless, this post will highlight reasons why medical attention can be helpful. 

It may be hard to believe that Labor Day weekend is upon us; but with the college football season starting, school age children going back to school and NFL training camps breaking, these are all tell-tale signs that summer is nearing its end.

Hence the last holiday of the summer. With that, millions of Americans will be travelling to their favorite destinations. A bulk of such travel will be by car. With gas prices down from years past, it is reasonable to believe that traffic volumes will be up. Because of this, we hope our readers take safe driving tactics and tips to heart, as Labor Day weekend is one of the most dangerous times to be on the road.

As such, we offer a few more safety tips through this post.

For as much as you do to make sure that you are safe while you are on the road, you certainly don’t expect to be in an accident. And why should you? After all, looking in your mirrors before making lane changes and turns is second nature to you; you don’t text or use your phone while behind the wheel, and most importantly, you don’t drive drunk.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that other drivers will exercise the level of caution that you will; because of this, accidents may happen. When they do, it is helpful to know what to provide for your attorney in order to ensure that your claim is successful. This post will identify a few. 

Insurance policy number – This may seem obvious, but it is surprising how many people do not carry their proof of insurance card with them, even though it is required by law. If you don’t have your policy number, it is easy to get it.

As Labor Day draws near, many of our readers will be focused on having one last summer party or getaway before we unofficially turn to fall. (The actual start of fall is not for a few weeks). But for car salespeople and car buyers alike, this weekend in Syracuse, New York is going to be a banner event. Many people are going to be looking for markdowns on 2015 model year cars, and dealers will likely oblige so that they can make room for 2016 models.

In a post a few weeks ago, we highlighted a couple of things that car buyers should be aware of as they shop. While body styles, bells and whistles and financing options may make some cars attractive, car buyers should not lose sight of the safety issues that could arise after they drive off the lot. With that, this post will focus on additional safety tips for prospective car buyers. 

Look for recall notices – While many recall notices have focused on cars already on the market, new cars may be subject to recalls, even though they have not been sold yet. It may be worth asking the sales people if they know of any, but they are not obligated by law to know of recalls. Checking recalls.gov is a good place to start.