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New York City is an exciting place to live, work, and play. The streets and sidewalks are full of people who may or may not call our City home. But while folks from out of town take in the sights and stand on sidewalks gazing up in wonder at our skyscrapers, New Yorkers rush about the business of getting safely to their jobs and back home to provide for their families.

With the sheer numbers of people moving through the streets of our City, on foot or in motor vehicles, it’s inevitable that an accident will happen. Something as simple as tripping over a mop bucket left outside a restaurant, being clipped by a taxi that went through the pedestrian crosswalk too quickly, or getting rear-ended by a driver who’s not paying attention to the stop-and-go traffic — any imaginable type of accident could change your life in the blink of an eye. The accident may not have been your fault, but it could put you deeply in debt, unable to pay your bills or provide for your family. If this applies to your situation, call a New York City injury lawyer at Kaplan Lawyers PC and take the next step toward financial recovery.

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The firm of Kaplan Lawyers PC has the experience and dedication you’re looking for to help you win the compensation you and your family members are entitled to if you were involved in a motor vehicle accident or other type of personal injury anywhere in New York City. We are members of the Injured Workers’ Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Association for Justice. Call a New York City injury lawyer at Kaplan Lawyers PC today at (212) 563-1900 (NYC) | (516) 399-2364 (Long Island), or complete and submit the free and confidential online form

Once Kaplan Lawyers took over my case I knew that I made the right decision. I was able to get medical care paid for and they negotiated for much more than my insurance had offered. I am a client for life! Katrina S.

Commack, NY

The staff at Kaplan Lawyers was friendly and compassionate. They made me feel special. My case was settled faster than I ever imagined and it will provide for me for the rest of my life! Mary T.

Northport, NY

The lawyers at Kaplan took the time to explain the law to me and identified what would have to be proven to win the case. They brought in experts and worked tirelessly to get evidence that showed neglect on the owner’s part. Robin A.

Huntington, NY

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There Are Far Too Many Bad Drivers on New York Roads

There Are Far Too Many Bad Drivers on New York Roads

by John J. Tucker | Apr 24, 2018

A mid-March school zone speeding accident in Brooklyn, in which two pedestrian children were killed and their pregnant mother injured, has renewed public outcry for a crackdown on traffic violators throughout NYC.  On the other hand, a recent Wall Street Journal analysis of vehicle traffic violation data in the city amplifies the challenges faced by law enforcement to prevent even the most outrageous offenders from racking-up violations, proving that such crackdowns have little effect. City records of automated red-light and speed-zone camera violations reveal that the license plate of the car involved in that deadly crash had four citations for running red lights and another four for speeding in school zones between July 2016 and two weeks before the fatal Brooklyn crash. City-wide during that same 19-month period, more than 19,000 license plates on passenger vehicles had at least eight moving violations for offenses such as running red lights, speeding in school zones, or both; and 36 license plates were issued 40 or more red-light and school-zone speeding violations. One passenger car with a New York plate returned a whopping 65 violations for speeding in a school zone. A New Jersey license plate had 28 red-light citations in the audit. Why are these initiatives at greater vehicle safety having little effect?  State law is essentially toothless, because it actually makes it possible for serial violators to avoid punishment. Driving violations caught on a camera are tied to a vehicle, not to the driver. Also, one fine for camera tickets – assuming it is paid – is $50. And because it’s a violation caught on camera – the city doesn’t report the violation – or payment – to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. This means no penalty points go on the driver’s record, and that means the driver won’t lose their license for repeated violations. The city can – and does – report unpaid tickets to the DMV. The state can suspend a vehicle registration for three unpaid red-light or speed-camera violations within an 18-month period; but the suspension stems from the failure to pay the violation, not the violations themselves. The only time drivers are issued “real” tickets is when police stop the violator. Those convictions can appear on a driver’s record and result in penalty points on their license, hundreds (or sometimes thousands) of dollars in fines and surcharges and, most certainly, dramatic increases in their insurance rates. If the driver in the Brooklyn school-zone accident had had actual convictions for any of her previous school zone speeding tickets, her license could have been revoked. Sadly, it wasn’t. What are the Options for Change? New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters Lawrence Byrne said in a recent news conference that vehicle forfeiture is one penalty that the State Legislature might consider making a state law...
Recalls Fell Last Year, but Are Vehicles Safer?

Recalls Fell Last Year, but Are Vehicles Safer?

by John J. Tucker | Apr 17, 2018

U.S. motor vehicle recalls fell to 30.7 million in 2017. That’s the fewest since 2013, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It follows a record number (53 million) in 2016, owed largely to an expansion of the Takata airbag inflator recalls and ongoing ignition switch recall of General Motors (GM) vehicles – the latter linked to 124 deaths so far. Since the beginning of the Trump administration, NHTSA has not imposed any new vehicle safety fines and the agency remains without a permanent head. That’s one of many reasons why owners need to better know about specific vehicle recalls. It would be a mistake for you to assume that because your car is several years old, or you responded to a recall a few years back, there may not be others associated with your vehicle. In December 2017, Fiat Chrysler issued a recall which covers faulty gear shifters in more than a million Dodge Ram trucks, dating back to their 2009 models. What else is out there? It’s easy to keep track by logging onto the Consumer Reports Car Recall Tracker. Enter your car’s make and model and you’ll get a list of recalls, along with information on how to get the problems fixed. All repair work associated with safety-related recalls is usually offered free of charge at authorized dealerships. Does NHTSA Protect Consumers or Promote Automakers? The federal agency which was established as a protector of America’s drivers and auto buyers has a well-documented record of missteps that goes well beyond its failure to identify defects in cars and trucks bought by consumers. Even as more cars were recalled for safety problems before 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was awarding yearly increases in certain vehicles’ safety ratings. Fully two-thirds of 2015 models tested by NHTSA received top safety ratings. According to an investigation by the New York Times, the safety “winner” information was then embraced and promoted by the proud automakers’ marketing teams.  But wait, there’s more. Who Do You Trust? There is also a history at the NHTSA of the “blurring of lines” between government regulators and the companies they are charged to monitor and control.  Several years ago, USA Today ran an exposé which contained some unsettling revelations. From 1984 to 2010, the Department of Transportation inspector general revealed that 40 NHTSA officials left the safety agency to take highly-placed jobs with automakers and their law firms or as auto industry consultants or lobbyists. The group included four administrators, two deputy administrators, seven associate administrators and two chief counsels. And from 1999 to 2010, 23 auto industry executives moved into equally influential government transportation agency jobs. The climax to this dual migration came in 2014 when NHTSA’s top safety administrator, David Strickland, a key author of strong auto mileage and emission...
What a Major Setback for Uber Means for Road Safety

What a Major Setback for Uber Means for Road Safety

by John J. Tucker | Apr 9, 2018

A self-driving Uber SUV struck and killed a pedestrian on a street in Tempe, Arizona, in late March. This was the first known U.S. fatality involving a pedestrian and a fully autonomous car, and the incident has spurred discussion about whether or not tests of self-driving vehicles should continue — and, if so, how aggressively. The self-driving Volvo XC90 SUV killed a 49-year-old woman as she walked her bicycle across a street, according to the Tempe Police Department. Preliminary information reveals the car was going approximately 40 mph in a 35 mph zone. There was a test driver at the wheel but the car was in autonomous mode at the time of the crash. There is no indication that the driver was impaired when police arrived at the accident scene. In 2017, Uber briefly pulled its self-driving vehicles from roads after a test vehicle landed on its side, also in Tempe. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting an investigation. Why two accidents in Arizona? The state doesn’t have as much inclement weather – particularly rain or snow – as the rest of the U.S. This makes it a practical location to test self-driving cars at this point in their development. Many companies have targeted 2020 as their hoped-for date when self-driving vehicle technology could be the dawning of a renaissance on America’s roads. Whether developers can keep to that optimistic schedule remains to be seen. Problems with Tesla Self-Driving Vehicles? Since autonomous vehicles began street testing, motorcyclists and bicyclists have expressed their concerns about self-driving cars. For the most part, their concerns have fallen on deaf ears within the industry, the news media, and government. Fred Heppell, an avid British cyclist who had participated in bike tours all over the world, was reportedly riding on a straight country road in good weather with excellent visibility in November 2017 when a Tesla Model S 90D struck him from behind. The accident killed the 80-year-old Heppell and raised concerns among international road riders about whether the Tesla had been in “autopilot” mode at the time. Neither the police nor Tesla has publicly commented on that question. So far, the case has received little attention from the news media in Great Britain and virtually none in the United States. If it turns out the Tesla vehicle was on autopilot, it could further impact testing in the U.S. and other countries. The autonomous vehicle industry, a loose configuration of traditional auto companies and tech start-ups, is aggressively selling the promise of rational, computer-controlled vehicles, free from road rage or driver error. But they have been woefully short on specifics about how they can ensure the safety of those with whom autonomous vehicles will share the road, according to cycling and consumer advocates in general. The League of American Bicyclists has been...