In recent years, injury
and even death, to pedestrians
in automobile-related
accidents has increased
drastically due to increasing
use of vehicles for travel as
well as the number of them
on the road at a single time.
Add that to the foot traffic of
any street, major or small,
especially in the City of New
York, and it is a recipe for
disaster. In one year, 76,000
pedestrians were injured
in vehicle-related accidents,
which means that roughly
one pedestrian was injured
every 7 minutes.
Drivers of automobiles are
often at fault for accidents in
which pedestrians are injured.
Driver fault examples
include drinking or drug
use, inattention due to the
use of cell phones or other
devices, and speeding. Other
types of accidents where the
driver is at fault include not
yielding to pedestrians while
turning, running a light or
stop sign, failing to notice a
pedestrian, and driving on
the sidewalk, all causing injuries
to pedestrians. Even
pedestrians who bear some
negligence or fault for their
accident are usually entitled
to a recovery, which will be
reduced by the pedestrian’s
percentage of fault.
Although no-fault auto
insurance coverage covers
some medical expenses and
loss of wages, they usually
do not cover all the expenses
involved for medical care
from some serious injuries
suffered in major accidents.
When the statutory requirement
for serious injuries
is met, an action can be
brought for compensation for
pain and suffering suffered
by a pedestrian in an auto
accident. No-fault benefits
usually cover up to $50,000
for medical expenses and
loss of wages. In addition to a
recovery for pain and suffering,
medical expenses and
loss of wages above the basis
of $50,000, no-fault limit can
be secured as well for victims
who suffer a “serious
injury.”
If you or a loved one were
the victim of a pedestrian
automobile accident, you
may be entitled to recover
damages in a lawsuit. You
should contact an attorney
immediately to discuss your
options.
COURIER L 22 IFE, FEB. 22–28, 2019 M BR B G
HERE COMES L: State transportation leaders on Feb. 13 revealed more details about the
“disruptive service” they expect under their new plan to repair the beleagured L train.
File photo by Stefano Giovannini
FRESH L
MTA warns of ‘disruptive service’
during subway’s looming repairs
BY JULIANNE CUBA
It’s still going to be a bumpy ride.
State transit offi cials on Feb. 13
dropped more details about the service
changes and alternative-transportation
options straphangers will
fi nd once repairs to the beleaguered L
train begin in two months.
And the new plan to shore up the
line’s superstorm Sandy–ravaged Canarsie
Tube — which now calls for
night and weekend work to fi x one of
its two East River–spanning tunnels
at a time, leaving the other free for
trains to travel the subway’s entire
route — will still wreak havoc on commuters,
though not as badly, according
to the head of the state-run Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
“We’ll be able to maintain service,
but it will be a disruptive service,”
Ronnie Hakim told a select group of reporters
during a phone call, according
to an amNewYork report.
Work on the silver bullet’s East River
spanning Tube is still slated to begin
on April 27 as previously planned
— but instead of not running subways
to Manhattan for 15 months, trains
will run the full line every 20 minutes
on nights and weekends once the big
fi x begins, with decreased weeknight
service starting as early as 8 pm, two
hours before one of the tunnels closes
for repairs at 10 pm, according to the
reporters on the call.
The L’s First and Third avenue stations
in Manhattan, however, may be
made “exit only” stops on weekends
in order to mitigate overcrowding expected
on the line’s platforms.
Trains on nearby subway lines, including
the G, M, and 7, will run more
frequently to mitigate the slower L
service, but offi cials will no longer
add more cars to lengthen G trains
as they planned to do during the full
shutdown, according to reports . The
agency is also weighing a plan to run
a bus shuttling straphangers between
the Bedford Avenue L stop and the J,
M, and Z trains at Marcy Avenue station
during the repairs.
And authority chiefs confi rmed
they will nix the planned High Occupancy
Vehicle lane across the Williamsburg
Bridge, which would have
been reserved for cars carrying three
or more passengers during an undetermined
rush-hour window.
Offi cials hope the massive project
will wrap within 15 to 20 months once
it kicks off, but have yet to announce a
fi nal timeline, according to reports.
News of the new details came weeks
after the authority gave commuters a
little taste of L — for the second time —
when it suspended the subway’s weeknight
service between Bushwick and
Manhattan for eight weeks straight
starting Jan. 27. And in addition to
the weeknight closures, previously announced
mini-shutdowns will stop full
L-train service on weekends through
March — including on Feb. 22–25,
March 1–4, March 8–11, and March 15–
18, when no trains will run between
Manhattan and Broadway Junction
from 10:45 pm on Fridays until 5 am on
Mondays.