Injured in NYC Pedestrian Accident?

New York City Injury Lawyer Jeff Antin Explains Your Legal Rights

Video Transcript:

Jeff Antin: 

As a practical matter, it behooves somebody to hire an attorney.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So do you know your rights if you're a pedestrian in New York City and you're injured after a collision with an automobile? Well, we're gonna find out right now because that's what we're gonna ask the lawyer on this episode. Hi again, everybody. I'm Rob Rosenthal with askthelawyers.com, and my guest is New York City attorney, Jeff Antin. I wanna remind you, if you'd like to ask Jeff questions of your own, you just go to askthelawyers.com, there's a button at the top of the page, it says ask a lawyer, you click on that and it'll walk you through the very simple process or you can just call the phone number that's on the screen during our conversation. Jeff, it's good to see you as always, thank you for making some time to answer our questions.

Jeff Antin: 

Thank you, thank you for having me. No problem.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So I'm doing the math in my head. There's lots of cars in New York City, there are a lot of pedestrians in New York City, I'm gonna guess there's a lot of car versus pedestrian collisions. Is that what you've seen in your experience?

Jeff Antin: 

Oh yeah, it's for sure, yes. I mean, you know... In fact, I mean, listen, as the city comes back to life and then more and more people... More and more people are out on the streets, yes, definitely. I mean, pedestrian versus car or car versus pedestrian, you know, many accidents. You know, it's even more so today at the... There's so many bicycles in the city, there are a lot of bicycle accidents with motor vehicles.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So let's talk about a few of these individually. So if a pedestrian, let's say they're in the crosswalk, they're struck by a vehicle and they're injured, what's your advice? What should they do? Obviously, you first get medical attention, but what's your advice after that?

Jeff Antin: 

Just contact a lawyer. I mean, the first thing to do, I would try to make sure that there's a police report. Obviously, that's before you get to the hospital, but I wouldn't leave the scene until hopefully... Obviously, it depends upon how serious the injury is, I mean, if you need medical attention, immediate medical attention, you're gonna call for an ambulance, why not? I'm assuming once you call for an ambulance that police probably will come at the same time. If you're calling 911, both are gonna come I would imagine, police and an ambulance, in any event. So after that, it's important to hire a lawyer right away for multitude reasons, but the first of which is we are... New York is a no-fault state. And again, no-fault just means that no matter who's at fault for your accident, the car that hit you, in this case as we're talking about pedestrian, the car that hit you is gonna be responsible for your medical expenses no matter what, but there are time limits in place where you have to advise that insurance company that you're in this accident. So the most important thing to do is contact the lawyer right away so that you don't miss any of those really important time limits.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Let's talk a little bit now, what about... Everybody's got a camera on in these days with their phones, so how important is it that if not the injured person, maybe someone with them or somebody try to collect evidence, pictures, that sort of thing on the scene?

Jeff Antin: 

Sure. Well, listen, obviously, if... The first thing we would try to do is we would try to... We would canvas the area to see... And a lot of times the stores or what not, or even apartment buildings they have cameras, they have surveillance cameras, and you would be surprised at how often we are able to come up with a video of an accident actually taking place. But it's another reason why to contact the lawyer right away, because there's only so long that the footage is kept by different... Whatever, different companies or people or stores that have these cameras, so it's important to go out and have someone conduct that investigation as soon as possible to make sure that if there is any surveillance footage, that it's preserved.

Rob Rosenthal: 

And let's talk about once you're in the hospital, the injured person is in the hospital. How do you recommend they pay for their hospital bill? Should they use their health insurance to do it? Do they use their automobile insurance? The other person... How does that work?

Jeff Antin: 

Well, there's two ways that you could do something in that situation. The first is that hopefully someone in your household, either you or someone you're related to, who you live with owns a vehicle, because then... Being a member of the relative's household, you're automatically an insured under that policy and you would be able to make an uninsured motorist claim under the policy for that person in your household. So it's very important, and it wouldn't make anybody's rates go up. A lot of times people will worry, "Well, if I make a claim under my father's insurance and my mother's insurance, they're gonna get mad at me." They paid very little for this coverage to begin with. Second of all, it's nothing to do with... There's no strike against you, it wasn't as if you were at fault for causing this accident, so there shouldn't be any penalty to anybody for making this claim.

Jeff Antin: 

Unfortunately, if there is no insurance in your household, there is one other... The state has a fund, a Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Cooperation, MVAIC, but it's... They make it so hard to make a claim against it. It's very hard, and the most you could ever get is $25,000 dollars for your pain and suffering. I mean, they're obligated to pay your medical expenses up to $50,000 and that shouldn't be that hard. So if you're in an accident with an uninsured vehicle and you're injured and there is no coverage in your household, nobody that you live with owns a car, you can make a claim for your medical expenses and your lost earnings with a New York State agency.

Rob Rosenthal: 

It sounds like it's even more important then to have an attorney who can help you get through this whole... Navigate those waters.

Jeff Antin: 

Oh, without a doubt. Yes. No, no, it's... The people think they could do it themselves, and maybe some small percentage can, or depending upon how much coverage there is, I mean, if there's only a limited amount of coverage, you might be able to get as much as you think you're entitled to, but as a practical matter, it behooves somebody to hire an attorney.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Tons of great information, Jeff. Thank you for making some time to help us out again today.

Jeff Antin: 

Hey, no sweat. Thank you. Thank you again for having me.

Rob Rosenthal: 

That's gonna do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been New York City attorney Jeff Antin, and I remind you again, if you'd like to ask Jeff questions about your situation, it's easy. Go to askthelawyers.com, click the button at the top of the page that says, Ask a Lawyer and it'll walk you right through that process. Thanks for watching, I'm Rob Rosenthal with Ask the Lawyers.

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