$3.02 Million Highway Accident Settlement in New York

Raphaelson & Levine recovered $3.02 million for a passenger who sustained fractured ribs, facial injuries, and head trauma when a trailer collision on a New York highway triggered a multi-impact crash — and the trailer driver fled the scene.

Chaos on a New York Highway

A trailer traveling on a New York highway struck a bridge overpass and became stuck, blocking the travel lane. The vehicle carrying our client sideswiped the immobilized trailer, causing the driver to lose control and slam into the center median. The trailer operator left the scene without stopping.

Our client — a passenger with no control over either vehicle — bore the worst of it. The crash left them with fractured ribs, severe facial lacerations, injuries to the mouth and teeth, head trauma, cervical and lumbar spine damage, and injuries to the left leg and knee. The road to recovery required multiple medical interventions and an extended period of rehabilitation.

Tracking Down a Hit-and-Run Trailer Operator

Hit-and-run cases add a layer of difficulty that many firms are not equipped to handle. The trailer driver's departure from the scene meant our highway accident attorneys had to reconstruct the collision using physical evidence — gouge marks on the bridge, debris patterns, and highway surveillance footage — to identify the trailer and its operator.

Once identified, the trailer company denied that the bridge strike caused the secondary collision. Our truck accident lawyers retained accident reconstruction engineers who demonstrated a direct causal chain: the trailer's illegal height clearance caused the bridge strike, the bridge strike created the lane obstruction, and the obstruction caused the crash that injured our client.

Justice Despite a Hit-and-Run in New York

The $3.02 million settlement compensates our client for surgical and dental reconstruction, treatment of head and spinal injuries, lost wages, and the lasting physical and emotional consequences of a crash caused by someone who tried to escape accountability.

"The trailer driver left our client bleeding on a highway median. We tracked down the operator, proved the causal chain from bridge strike to crash, and made sure our client received every dollar their injuries warranted — despite the hit-and-run."

— Andrew Levine, Founding Partner at Raphaelson & Levine

If you have been injured in a highway accident or truck collision in New York — even one involving a hit-and-run — our truck accident attorneys have the resources and experience to identify responsible parties and fight for full compensation. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.