On behalf of Smiley & Smiley, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Sunday, December 20, 2015.

Officials in New York City are aware of the vulnerability of senior citizens to becoming victims of pedestrian accidents on city streets. With a recent string of pedestrian deaths in the past few months, and the very recent death of a 62-year-old woman in Brooklyn who was hit by a public bus, the city police announced a crackdown on motorists. The intensified enforcement will be in areas where motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians have occurred.

The police will also focus on areas near senior centers or other areas frequented by older adults. The attention will be on moving violations like speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, improper turns and traffic signal violations. Surveillance will also be intensified for drivers who text or use their devices while driving.

This issue of serious injuries and death from motor vehicle accidents on city streets is important to the mayor's Vision Zero traffic enforcement plan which seeks to end such fatalities in the city. Indeed, there has been a drop in traffic deaths from 244 in 2014 to 217 so far this year. However, pedestrian fatalities have gone down only slightly from 128 to 122, according to police.

Persons who are seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents caused by careless or reckless drivers are entitled to obtain compensation for their injuries, including for medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity and pain and suffering. Where a person is killed in an accident caused by a negligent motorist, the claim -- which is called a wrongful death action -- is made by the decedent's estate, usually consisting of the next of kin. New York law dictates the procedural parameters of such legal claims, but in general, the substantive merits of personal injury claims are governed by the laws of negligence, which are fairly uniform from state to state.  

Source: The New York Times, "New York City Cracking Down on Drivers Near Senior Centers", Ashley Southall, Dec. 15, 2015

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