Victims injured in New York City hit and run crashes tend to have a challenging time securing just compensation for their losses, especially if the driver has not been identified or found. A recent article in the New York Daily News tells the story of 38-year-old Joe Stallings who was severely injured in a hit-and-run crash in Queens last month and is struggling to find justice and compensation to help pay for his medical expenses.
Life Upended by Hit-and-Run Crash
According to the Daily News, Stallings was walking across 43rd Avenue at 37th
Street in Long Island City the night of Jan. 14 when a yellow taxi struck him. Surveillance video seen by the Daily News shows Stalling crashing into the windshield and back to the pavement, the report states. In the video, the taxi driver stepped out of the car and watched as Stallings hobbled to the sidewalk and then fled as witnesses chased him.
Stallings says he spent four days in the hospital and has four broken ribs as well as knee injuries. He tells the Daily News he hasn’t been able to work in five weeks. Even though NYPD responded to the crash initially, he has not heard anything from police since, Stallings says.
The victim said he was on his way to work at the time of the accident and that the aftermath has turned his life upside down. Stallings said he used to work as a pastry chef and had been planning to launch wholesale deliveries of pastries to coffee chops at a famous chain store just three days after his pedestrian collision. But, he says he has now lost the business and would like help identifying the hit-and-run driver.
Liability Issues
This hit-and-run victim is not alone. In many of these cases, victims are left with not just injuries to recover from, but severe financial burdens as they are unable to return to work and pay their medical bills and other expenses. In such cases, it is in the victims’ best interests to contact an experienced New York City car accident lawyer who can help stay on top of the official investigation and protect their legal rights and options.
In a hit-and-run crash, the driver and vehicle owner are both responsible parties even if the owner was not driving when the accident occurred. If the driver was on the job and/or operating a company vehicle at the time, his or her employer can also be held liable. So, in a case where a taxi driver strikes and injures a pedestrian, his or her employer (the taxi company) can be held liable.
When the driver is apprehended in a hit-and-run case, he or she can be held financially liable for the injuries, damages and losses caused. Such drivers can be held financially responsible whether or not they are arrested and/or charged. If a hit-and-run driver has injured you, please remember that you can seek compensation through the uninsured motorist clause of your auto insurance policy (even though the driver has not been identified) or through a quasi-state agency if there is no motor vehicle in the victim’s household.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in hit-and-run collision, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent (careless) driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
For over 50 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-taxi-hit-and-run-video-20220218-ifyfg3442fbyhlvvut2kq2dshu-story.html