Is the City at Fault for My Car Damages and Injuries in New York?

Most times car damages and injuries are caused by a car accident where there are at least two drivers involved but sometimes there are situations that can cause car damages and injuries to the driver of the vehicle that do not involve another driver. Situations like this may occur if:

• A city owned tree falls on a car
• Roadways are severely damaged 
• Debris from unsecured or broken objects
• Improperly secured or damaged road signs or traffic signals 

Situations such as listed above can sometimes cause the city to be at fault but certain factors have to be identified by either yourself or the lawyer representing you against the city for your injuries and damages done to your car. Some of the factors in proving that the city was at fault for the accident occurring including proving that there was negligence involved and that it was not just an "Act of God". Generally you or the attorney representing you against the City of New York will provide information proving that the city was already aware of the danger of the cause of the injuries/damages or that they should have been aware. 

An example of a situation where the City of New York may be held at fault for car accident injuries and car damages is if there is a tree that is dead and there has been a reasonable amount of time to realize this or there was a complaint filed or there was someone who inspected to find out if the tree was dead and New York City officials did nothing about taking the tree down to make the location safe and the tree fell down either by a storm or wind or other natural causes and fell on a car driving by which injured the driver and/or passengers and damaged the car. The City of New York would more than likely be held liable because the tree was unsafe and they either knew it was unsafe or should have known it was unsafe. This may sound like a far fetched situation to some but this is something that happens around the country everyday. 

For more information on starting a lawsuit against the City of New York for injuries and car damages call 718.979.4300 or fill out our contact form.