Hit-and-Run Collision Settlement

Our client was injured while she was a passenger in a motor vehicle that pulled out of a parking space when it was unsafe to do so, striking another vehicle on the roadway. Our client underwent an extensive amount of medical care, including surgical repair to the right knee. Based upon the clear negligence on the part of the driver of our client’s vehicle, the insurance company for that vehicle promptly tendered its entire insurance policy. However, our client’s injury was severe, and the compensation for such an injury was worth well beyond the amount of that vehicle’s insurance limits. We successfully argued that the other vehicle involved in the collision was operating in an unsafe manner and bore partial responsibility for the collision as well. Our attorney argued the theory of “joint and several liability,” which is applicable to New York Personal Injury Cases. Joint and several liability is a rule holding that two or more parties can be held independently liable for the full amount of an injured person’s damages, regardless of their respective degrees of fault. Under this rule, a single defendant can be held responsible for the total amount of damages, even if he or she is only responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries to a small degree. Using this theory, we were able to obtain a substantial contribution from the other vehicle’s insurance policy to settle the case during litigation.