New York City has a population of over 8 million people, making it the most populous city in the nation. There are so many people packed in on the island of Manhattan, and thousands of those people are involved in truck accidents each year.
NY Statute of Limitations For Truck Accidents
A statute of limitations is a law that sets out the period within which you must file a lawsuit before your action is barred. According to the New York Civil Practice Law & Rules section 214, you have to file a truck accident case within three years from the date of the accident. Therefore, if you were injured on January 1, 2023, you have until January 1, 2026 to file your lawsuit. In that example, if you try to file your lawsuit any day after the January 1, 2026 deadline, your claim is barred, and you have completely forfeited your chance to sue.
The three-year statute of limitations on truck accidents applies to personal injury, property damage and emotional distress claims.
A statute of limitations exists because, as time passes, it becomes more difficult for all individuals involved to remember details and collect evidence in relation to the accident.
If a truck accident involves a truck that is owned by the State of New York or a municipality, you only have 90 days within which you can file a claim.
NY Laws for Truck Drivers
In an effort to keep truck accidents to a minimum, New York imposes strict driving regulations on commercial truck drivers, including limits on hours of service to guarantee that they are well-rested and attentive enough to drive safely. Among other hours-of-service regulations, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) states that drivers must not drive beyond the 14th hour following 10 consecutive hours off duty.
Identifying Fault for a Truck Crash
It can be difficult to determine who is at fault in a truck accident, as many involved parties could hold some percentage of liability, including the driver of the truck, the trucking company, the truck manufacturer, the maintenance company that was in charge of upkeep on the truck, the company that loaded the truck and a third-party driver.
New York is one of 13 states that recognize the rule of “pure” comparative negligence, also called shared fault, which assigns percentages of fault between the parties involved in a truck accident.Since New York is a pure comparative negligence state, an injured party can recover a percentage of a monetary award regardless of the amount of fault attributed to that injured party.
For example, if a jury finds that the truck driver is 60% at fault and the injured driver of a car 40% at fault for a truck accident, then the injured car driver can receive monetary compensation that is equal to the percent the truck driver is at fault, or 60% of the injured car driver’s total damages. Therefore, the amount that the injured car driver will recover in monetary compensation will be reduced based upon their own degree of fault.
How Can an NYC Truck Accident Attorney Help You?
If you’re involved in a truck accident, you could hold not only the truck driver but also other parties accountable. For example, under New York’s traffic laws, a truck owner or trucking company may be responsible for your damages under the legal principle of vicarious liability.
Experienced attorneys know who to sue in order to obtain the highest possible monetary compensation for their clients who are injured or undergo property damage in truck accidents. Truck accident lawyers also know the steps that need to be taken in order to determine who can be held accountable for truck accidents.
They can also help you decide whether to accept a settlement, whether or not a settlement can be negotiated higher or if you should go to court.
How To Find the Best NYC Truck Accident Lawyer
Look for a lawyer with a lot of experience and a high success rate in truck accident lawsuits. They should also be able to work toward settlements and have a manageable caseload so that they can focus on your lawsuit. Further, a truck accident attorney must be communicative, responding within a short period of time to your queries about your case and being consistent in providing you with the status of your case.
- What’s the First Step I Should Take When Trying To Find a Truck Accident Attorney? The best way tofind a truck accident lawyer near you is through a referral. You can ask family and friends if they know of any attorneys who handle truck accidents. Your local, city or state bar association likely has a referral program, so check with them for the name of an attorney in your area who has experience with truck accidents.
- What Is the Communication Style of the Truck Accident Attorney? You want to make sure that your truck accident attorney will be able to communicate effectively with you. Attorneys’ communication styles can vary. You should ask your truck accident attorney how often you will hear from them and if you will be able to communicate via text and email as well as phone. If a paralegal will be working on your case, find out who and how best to reach them since they are often more accessible than your attorney.
- Who Will Actually Be Working on My Case? You need to know whether anyone else in the truck accident attorney’s law office will be working with you. Some attorneys pawn off their cases onto junior associates. This is not always a bad thing, as a senior lawyer is most likely supervising those associates, but you might not want to hire a truck accident attorney who will not actually be doing the work for your case.
