NY - Ped. hit by car, police lost report

[belminf]

Hi everyone,

I'm desperately looking for help because I do not want to let this go. I was hit by a car while crossing on the crosswalk. I had the right of way but he was doing a right turn (he also had the light). I was in shock and never wrote down the plate number assuming the officer will takecare of it. He gave me his "office #" and a phone number to the precinct to "call after 1pm" to retrieve the report. Thirty days later, no report.

I was trying to pursue the case with another lawyer but since the statue of limitations (I think that's it, 30 days?) passed she thought it was best I go to another lawyer. I heard from a friend that perhaps I would have a case against the NYPD because this seems suspicious. I have the report from the ambulance and someone did call 911 so there should be some sort of record. I also have the handwritten note from the officer stating for me to call the precinct to pick up the report.

If anyone could suggest to me how to pursue this it will be greatly appreciated.

[ecmst12]

The statute of limitations in most states is 2 YEARS. But if you can't identify the person who hit you, then obviously a lawyer might shy away since there might be no one to get money from.

The police MUST have a record of this somehow, even if they lost the report, didn't the officer give the driver a ticket?? There will definitely be a record of that. You know when it happened and who the officer was.

[moburkes]

Are you saying that the person who hit you had a GREEN light, and yet you crossed the crosswalk anyway?

[ecmst12]

Even if that was the case, the driver is still at fault; drivers must ALWAYS yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk regardless of the light.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Even if that was the case, the driver is still at fault; drivers must ALWAYS yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk regardless of the light.

Agreed. However, if the person is going down the roadway at 35 MPH, then the pedestrian is STUPID for attempting to cross, regardless of the right of way. If he lost his life, or was disabled, he'd be "fighting" for his rights from a grave or wheelchair.

[belminf]

No I had the light to walk across the crosswalk. He also had the light and made a right turn right into me as oppose to stopping till I cross the street. And I'm not sure how to go about getting more information. I been to the precinct 6x and I keep getting that they don't have an accident report.

Any suggestions? This has been a horrible situation *sigh*.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by belminf

No I had the light to walk across the crosswalk. He also had the light and made a right turn right into me as oppose to stopping till I cross the street. And I'm not sure how to go about getting more information. I been to the precinct 6x and I keep getting that they don't have an accident report.

Any suggestions? This has been a horrible situation *sigh*.

This doesn't make sense. No crosswalk "go" signal should tell you to "go", when the traffic has a green light at the same time. The city is responsible for THAT accident.

[moburkes]

You're in NY, right? Do you have car insurance?

[ecmst12]

Not all crosswalks (at least around here) have walk/don't walk signs. Most, in fact, just have the same traffic lights that the cars follow. It's not unusual at all. There was a green light for traffic going straight through the intersection. OP was crossing the street with the traffic going straight. The guy who hit him was TURNING, and also had a green light to do this, but turning traffic needs to yield to anyone in the crosswalk even when their light is green.

Do all intersections in OH have pedestrian signals?

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Not all crosswalks (at least around here) have walk/don't walk signs. Most, in fact, just have the same traffic lights that the cars follow. It's not unusual at all. There was a green light for traffic going straight through the intersection. OP was crossing the street with the traffic going straight. The guy who hit him was TURNING, and also had a green light to do this, but turning traffic needs to yield to anyone in the crosswalk even when their light is green.

Do all intersections in OH have pedestrian signals?

No. And, I'm not assuming that they do. OP SAID that s/he had the "light" which I thought was their word for signal. OP also said that traffic had a green light.

[You Are Guilty]

OP: you're going to have to serve FOIA requests on the police department and EMS/ambulance to get the information you need. You can get more information about the process from google, (sometimes the departments themselves have a special form so check their web sites as well).

You should be able to piece together the ID of the driver, or, if not, who in the PD is responsible for "losing" the report. One way or another, you have a case that ought to interest a number of PI lawyers who might not want to do your investigation for you (you can always hire a private investigator to do it for you if you like).

Incidentally, you have 3 years from the date of the accident, not months.

[belminf]

@moburkes: I said that I had the light to cross the street but he also had the light and turned right into me. I'm not a driver so I'm not sure of the regulation in other states and/or cities but in NYC, cars could make turns on green lights even though the pedestrian has the crosswalk like to cross. It is my understanding that drivers are suppose to yield to pedestrians crossing. Again, I'm not a driver so I am not sure if this is correct.

@You Are Guilty: According to my previous lawyer, she said that I had 30 days to get the information to file for intent to sue for damages and what not (NY State law?). Did I get incorrect information or perhaps misunderstood her? Can someone verify this? If this is the case, what steps should I take?

I will go to the precinct again and speak to them to see how I go about getting these records. According to my previous lawyer, usually it isn't this difficult to retrieve an accident report from NYPD. The officer gave me a badge number but supposedly, according to the officer in the precinct, the badge number does not correspond to any officer (I have it in a note in what is either his handwriting or the EMS tech's handwriting).

This has been a huge headache. Hoping I could somehow at the very least get money to pay for my medical bills and get some physical therapy.

[You Are Guilty]

If this was NYPD, and the accident is more than 30 days ago, then you need to put in a written request for the report - the precinct probably doesn't have it.

How do I get a copy of an accident report?
* You must complete the request for copy of Aided/Accident Record
* Check or money order for $10.00 payable to N.Y.C. Police Department.
* Enclose a stamped, self addressed 9 1/2" X 4" envelope.
NOTE: You may appear in person at the precinct of occurrence and obtain a copy of your accident report up to 30 days of accident date. If after 30 days, all requests must be mailed.

You can also try calling 311 to get more info about making a FOIL request from the NYPD.

And there is no 30 day Statute of Limitations for anything in NY. The only thing I can think of that might apply is the 90-day SOL to file a Notice of Claim, but that's only if you intended on suing the city, or one of the city-owned entities (NYPD, NYFD, HHC, etc). If you are only suing a private person/company, it's 3 years.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by belminf

@moburkes: I said that I had the light to cross the street but he also had the light and turned right into me. I'm not a driver so I'm not sure of the regulation in other states and/or cities but in NYC, cars could make turns on green lights even though the pedestrian has the crosswalk like to cross. It is my understanding that drivers are suppose to yield to pedestrians crossing. Again, I'm not a driver so I am not sure if this is correct.

Thanks for the clarification. Appaently, I am the only one who is confused about you being given a light/signal to cross a street that has a green light.

Here in OH, when you are given the "walk" signal to cross the street, the traffic that you are crossing in front of has a red light.

[ecmst12]

There are some streets, where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic, when the only time a WALK sign will be displayed is when the traffic lights are red in all 4 directions. But this is not very common. Usually you get a WALK when the traffic light in the direction you are crossing is also green - cars are travelling in the same direction you are. But TURNING traffic could be crossing your path on the same green light.