Personal Injury Lawyers For Car Accidents Caused By Traffic Light Defects In Buffalo, New York

Jed Dietrich, Esq. and His Elite Team of Hard-Hitting, Tenacious, and Attentive Attorneys at the Dietrich Law Firm P.C., Acclaimed by Expertise LLC as Best Car Accident Lawyers, Fight to Obtain the Greatest Outcome for Victims of Collisions Involving Malfunctioning Traffic Signals in Buffalo, New York, Throughout New York State, and Beyond.

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Traffic lights are signaling devices that are designed to facilitate the safe movement of pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles. These signals are commonly positioned at pedestrian crossings, busy intersections, and other vital locations. When traffic signals are defective or broken, it is easy for everyone on the road to get confused, which can cause even the best drivers to make dangerous choices. There are various reasons why traffic lights stop working, such as power outages, lighting damage, high winds, normal wear and tear, poor maintenance, and vandalism. Regardless of the reason, broken traffic signals can instantly transform the safest intersection into a critical safety hazard.

Unfortunately, broken traffic signals cause far too many unnecessary car accidents, such as rear-enders, crashes involving failures to yield the right-of-way, and T-bone collisions. Suffering any type of injury in an accident can be extremely difficult. Fortunately, you can always depend on the Dietrich Law Firm P.C.’s battle-tested litigators to aggressively pursue your personal injury claim against the liable party. The Dietrich Law Firm P.C.’s compassionate team sympathizes with the physical and emotional pain that you may be suffering. You may have the right to seek monetary compensation for your past and future hospital bills, lost wages from missing work, pain and suffering, reduced future earning capacity, loss of enjoyment, and all other expenses related to your accident.

For over 23 years, Jed Dietrich, Esq. has exclusively fought for victims of severe accidents. Jed Dietrich, Esq.’s dream when he established the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. in 2005 was to provide accident victims with the best available legal representation. Insurance companies have been forced to pay Jed Dietrich, Esq. over $175,000,000.00 in verdicts and settlements for his clients’ damages. Our commendable commitment to surpassing your expectations and producing the most favorable outcome is what differentiates us from the competition. Take advantage of our obligation-free consultation and case evaluation. Please, contact us today at 716-839-3939 to discover more about how we can help you!

How Should You Approach a Malfunctioning Traffic Signal?

Drivers are heavily dependent on signals to assign priorities to vehicles and influence traffic flow. Without properly located, designed, and maintained traffic lights, busy intersections would be too dangerous to drive through. Consequently, when signals malfunction or totally blackout, drivers often become disordered, and intersections are left in disarray. In situations where motorists are uncertain who has the right-of-way, serious accidents are bound to happen. It is best to use extreme caution in this type of situation and apply the right-of-way rules. If you are approaching a defective traffic signal, our veteran personal injury lawyers recommend the following:

1. A Flashing Yellow Signal: Flashing yellow lights alert drivers to proceed with caution. Motorists are permitted to drive through the intersection, but only after yielding to vehicles already passing through. Thus, drivers must slow down and carefully observe all traffic and advance only after it is safe to do so. If there is heavy traffic, your safest move may be to stop completely before moving forward.
2. A Flashing Red Light: If the incoming signal is flashing red, you are required to treat it as a stop sign. In other words, you must come to a full stop and check all directions for approaching vehicles before proceeding.
3. Blackout Traffic Signal: Drivers are required to treat inoperable lights as a 4-way stop sign. The first motorist to reach the intersection should be the first to proceed, but only after reaching a complete stop and looking for traffic already in motion. If two vehicles arrive at the intersection at the same time, or neither motorist knows which arrived first, the vehicle to the right has the right-of-way. Anytime there is uncertainty, you should only go after all traffic has completely halted.

Although some drivers may be confused about when to go, the right-of-way rules mainly involve common sense and good judgment. Oftentimes, traffic will establish a pattern resembling an adequately functioning light, and you can easily determine when it is your turn to go by simply paying attention.

Liability for Your Defective Traffic Light Collision

Despite a driver’s best efforts, nonfunctional traffic lights still provide additional obstacles to reaching their destinations unharmed. Regardless of why a traffic light is malfunctioning, every driver has a legal obligation to react safely and in compliance with applicable NYS Vehicle and Traffic Laws. Failing to do the same significantly increases the risk of being involved in a car accident. Determining liability in car crashes involving defective traffic lights can be rather complicated. Suppose another driver collides with you because he disregarded your right-of-way at a defective signal. In that case, the driver may be held accountable for his negligence. Besides careless motorists who cause collisions, other negligent parties can also be held liable. Just as motorists are obligated to exercise reasonable care, municipalities must keep our roads safe. The responsible municipality, electrical engineers, or contractors may be held accountable if the traffic light was installed incorrectly or inadequately maintained. For instance, if conflicting traffic lights cause an accident, both drivers may be entitled to pursue cases against the engineer that programmed the lights.

After an accident caused by a substandard signal, it is vital to hire an attorney to begin gathering evidence before the defect is repaired. Upon retaining the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. to litigate your case, we will work closely with our team of accident reconstruction experts and electrical engineers to uncover what led to the signal malfunctioning. We will also review area traffic cameras, records of prior complaints regarding the signal, and past accident reports to determine if the signal had previous issues. If city officials had prior knowledge of the failure but failed to repair it promptly, we may be able to build a strong case against the metropolitan municipality. Our highly experienced team is extremely talented at systematically proving the negligence of other motorists and municipalities.

If you, or someone you know, have been seriously injured due to a broken traffic light, you owe it to yourself to contact Jed Dietrich, Esq. Awarded with a Better Business Bureau A+ Rating, our seasoned law firm promises to develop an extremely effective legal strategy to establish all sources of fault, prove liability, and get you the maximum compensation for all injuries suffered. Insurance companies and negligent municipalities have forfeited at least $1,000,000.00 or more 44 times to compensate the Dietrich Law Firm P.C.’s clients for their injuries. Our highly qualified lawyers are available for your complimentary consultation 24 hours per day and 7 days per week by calling 716-839-3939 or by filling out the online consultation form. Please contact our top rated team today so that we can start negotiating an extraordinary outcome!

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Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 716-839-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Buffalo, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!

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