In 2014, car crashes in Manhattan sent 3,176 people to the emergency room for medical care, while 330 people required hospitalization. Forty people lost their lives in crashes that year.
Those emergency and hospital visits resulted in $36.5 million in medical bills. The emergency room patients walked out the door with a bill for almost $3,000, while the average charge for someone hospitalized was $82,974.
That only covers medical care they received shortly after the collision; it's likely that patients also had to pay for any subsequent medical care, surgeries, examinations, or physical therapies they may have needed.
And of course, medical bills aren't the only sources of financial pain that people may suffer following a serious car wreck. They may miss work during recovery or, depending on the gravity of their injuries, some may even lose their jobs or an entire career.
When examining the cause of the crashes, the state concluded that drivers who used alcohol or were speeding were more likely to cause crashes resulting in the most severe injuries.
The most expensive injury-related crashes were most frequently caused by driver distraction, failure to yield to right-of-way, or disregard for traffic control. Recently, and especially in the Upper West Side and other boroughs of NYC , there was enacted a speed reduction from 30 mph to 25mph to help curb the number of accidents and traffic fatalities .
What's particularly stunning about these findings is that, according to New York State’s Department of Health, “These crashes are not accidents! They are not random, uncontrollable acts of fate, but occur in predictable patterns, with recognizable risk factors, and among identifiable populations. A crash-related injury is a predictable and preventable event!”
In other words, in most cases, someone was clearly responsible. They had made a decision that endangered others, and it resulted in tragedy.
With a 100% success rate from 2014-2020, Ed Lemmo, Esq. is one of New York's top personal injury trial attorneys—representing plaintiffs in cases ranging from car accidents and slip-and-falls to medical malpractice. Lemmo practices in all five boroughs and upstate New York, and he serves as trial counsel for several of New York's finest law firms. Attorney Ed Lemmo has achieved numerous verdicts and settlements in excess of $1,000,000 one million dollars and has represented all classes of people, including immigrants , and working class people NYC , who needed a fighting chance at justice. Just a few years ago Mr. Lemmo achieved a 1.4 million dollar verdict in Supreme Court Bronx County, representing a taxi driver who was struck by a truck that crossed the double yellow line and hit his vehicle head on, causing the driver to sustain injuries to his hand and multiple herniated discs in his back. Mr. Lemmo has a very high rating from AVVO, the prestigious attorney rating service, and he is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in an accident, call LemmoLaw today for a free consultation. Pick up the phone and call 646-522-9082 for a free consultation or email us at [email protected] or [email protected] . Visit our website at www.lemmolaw.com for further information.