Protecting the safety of innocent people is the priority for the law firm of Harford, P.C.
On April 23, 2018, we obtained a ruling of negligence as a matter of law against a Geico insured driver on behalf of our seriously injured client. The decision and order was issued by Judge Peter P. Sweeney in the Brooklyn Supreme Court in the case Patterson v. David and Joseph Mittelman (502887/2017).
It is a rare occurrence for a plaintiff in a personal injury action to obtain summary judgment on liability against the defendant. In civil actions, plaintiffs have the burden of proof. In other words, he or she must establish by a “preponderance of the evidence” the defendant not only acted in a negligent manner, but that the negligent acts were a “proximate” cause of the injury.
Those issues are typically ones of dispute that must be decided by a jury at trial.
But here, we argued on behalf of our client that the accident was solely the fault of the driver. At the motion hearing before Judge Sweeney, we cited to the driver’s testimony that just prior to the accident, he illegally crossed a double-yellow line to make a U-turn. While doing so, he struck our client who was riding his bicycle within a designated lane for riders.
We further showed at the hearing the driver’s actions violated multiple violations of state and local statutory laws specifically drafted to protect other innocent drivers, pedestrians and bicycle riders. Our argument utilized testimony from witnesses, photographs, and admissions obtained from the Geico driver.
Geico’s defense at the hearing failed to raise any issue of fact. The trial of the action will now proceed with an assumption of fault against the Geico insured driver.
If you or someone you know has been injured by the negligent conduct of another, please contact Scott A. Harford immediately at Harford, P.C. You can directly reach him at (212) 390-8983.
We are here to help you.
