Multiple parties may be held liable for your damages depending on the facts and circumstances of your taxi accident. This could include the cab driver, the taxi company if they failed to hire, train, or supervise the driver, or the car part manufacturer that caused the crash.
Regardless, a successful claim requires that you prove liability and damages. An experienced injury attorney can assist with this process.
Determine Who Was at Fault
The individual or entities whose unreasonably dangerous decisions or actions led to your taxi accident may have legal liability for the crash’s damages. A taxi accident injury attorney with a history of successful compensation awards can uncover all parties with a legal responsibility to pay for your property damage and injuries.
Immediately after a taxi accident, your primary concern should be to seek medical treatment. Even if you do not think you are severely injured, a physician can detect injuries that take time to manifest.
Afterward, you should gather the following information to help build your claim:
Gather Evidence
When a taxi collides with your vehicle, or you are injured as a passenger in a taxi, the legal process is much the same as for any other accident involving two cars. The person bringing the claim must prove liability (who was at fault) and damages (how badly they were injured).
Taxi drivers, like other drivers, are required to carry minimum insurance coverage. However, this is often insufficient to cover all of a person’s losses in an accident. This is particularly true in crashes involving multiple passengers.
Therefore, it is important to document as many details as possible at the crash scene. For example, take photos of the crash site from a few different angles and collect information about any eyewitnesses. This can help establish a record of the observations close in time to when the accident occurred and may provide valuable insight into determining liability. You should also seek medical treatment promptly to document your injuries.
Investigate the Accident
Most people rely on taxis because they’re convenient, safe, and easy to use. However, taxi companies are responsible for ensuring their drivers have adequate insurance coverage to cover injuries sustained in crashes. They must also do background checks and only hire drivers with clean records.
When a taxi driver causes a crash, their liability is determined as in any other car accident case. That means they could be sued by the person who was injured.
In addition, determining liability can get complicated if there are multiple injured parties in the case. This is because the total damages will likely exceed the insurance coverage available. In these cases, it’s possible to recover additional compensation through the other vehicle driver’s insurance policy or a lawsuit filed against them. A Queens taxi accident lawyer can help with this. The other party’s insurance company may try to reduce or deny your claim.
Hire an Attorney
Injuries from taxi accidents can be severe and expensive to treat. You deserve compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and other financial losses from the accident. Do not settle for less than you need or agree to anything that may affect your legal rights.
Even if you were partly at fault for the crash, you can still file a claim to recover damages. In some cases, the value of your injury claims may exceed the insurance coverage for a single driver. This is why hiring a personal injury attorney is important to help you determine who should be held liable. They will know what to look for and how to find evidence that other parties are also liable. This can include the taxi company, other drivers on the road, municipalities responsible for maintaining roads and others.
