Can I Be Successfully Sued For Waving A Car In Front Of Me?

Small acts of kindness can backfire.

Although it may seem unfair, gestures such as waving another motorist through an intersection can have serious, unexpected consequences.

Here’s what you need to know about waving accidents in New York:

Waving Accidents

People sometimes use the term “waving accident” to describe a common scenario: a driver, idling at an intersection or a stop sign, signals to another motorist that it’s safe to proceed onto the roadway.

However, instead of merging safely into traffic, brakes squeal, and glass shatters.

A good Samaritan’s act of kindness can lead to a collision in an instant. Determining liability can prove challenging for the victim from an ethical standpoint and when filing an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.

New York has no clear-cut law on waving accidents, but decades of court rulings have set a hard precedent: more often than not, the good Samaritan will, at least in part, be held liable for the cost of any ensuing accident.

Liability in Waving Accidents

Anyone who suffers serious injuries in a New York car accident may be entitled to file a claim for compensation against the person or party who caused the collision. This could be the driver who waved the victim into oncoming traffic or another motorist whose negligence caused or contributed to the crash.

In general, the plaintiff in a car accident lawsuit can only recover damages if they establish the following:

1. The at-fault driver owed them a duty of care.
2. The at-fault driver violated their duty of care by acting negligently.
3. The at-fault driver’s negligence was the direct or proximal cause of the accident.
4. The accident caused the plaintiff to sustain damages.

Although every personal injury lawsuit differs in details, victims must typically prove that a reasonable motorist would have responded to the “waving” driver’s signal by attempting to traverse an intersection or merge into traffic. This can be very difficult; in many cases, it may result in a finding of shared or partial fault.

However, under New York state law, comparative negligence is not a bar to recovery. Even if an insurance company, a judge, or a jury finds that the “waved-on” driver was negligent, they may still be entitled to reduced damages.

Potential Damages After A New York Waving Accident

Since New York is a no-fault state, car accident victims can only file a personal injury lawsuit if they have sustained serious physical injuries, severe economic loss, or some combination thereof. In a legal context, “damages” describes compensation for these types of losses.

The most common kinds of damages awarded in car accident claims include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The repayment of existing medical expenses;
2. Compensation for the victim’s anticipated care needs;
3. Payment for physical rehabilitation;
4. Income and wage replacement;
5. Compensation for emotional pain and suffering;
6. Compensation for physical pain and suffering;
7. Compensation for disfigurement; and
8. Compensation for wrongful death.

New York does not cap damages in most waving car accident claims, meaning you could obtain as much money as you need to eradicate your medical debt and rebuild your life.

However, you can’t afford to wait too long before taking action: waiting can cause the New York car accident statute of limitations to lapse. If and when it lapses, you could lose your right to compensation.

Don’t take chances with your rights: call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. to schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation.