I would like to know if my friend has any grounds to file a law suit. Recently, my friend was involved in a automobile accident in NY. My friend was traveling westbound and had a collision with another driver at a controlled intersection. The other driver was making a left turn going north. This particular intersection has a turn arrow. The turn arrow goes green while westbound traffic has a red light. After a while the green arrow goes off and everybody now has a green light. The vehicles making left turns now proceed at their own risk. Kind of a dangerous arrangement but one that seems to be common in NY. It was at this point that the accident happened. My friend could not control the car due to front end damage and air bag deployment. My friend was taken by ambulance and, thank God, there seems to be no serious injuries. The other party claims that my friend went through the red light and alleges they have a witness. My friend claims otherwise and swears the light was green. My fiends car will probably be totaled. My question is; could there be a law suit in my friends future, either against him or initiated by him?

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Originally Posted by kstrafo

I would like to know if my friend has any grounds to file a law suit. Recently, my friend was involved in a automobile accident in NY. My friend was traveling westbound and had a collision with another driver at a controlled intersection. The other driver was making a left turn going north. This particular intersection has a turn arrow. The turn arrow goes green while westbound traffic has a red light. After a while the green arrow goes off and everybody now has a green light. The vehicles making left turns now proceed at their own risk. Kind of a dangerous arrangement but one that seems to be common in NY. It was at this point that the accident happened. My friend could not control the car due to front end damage and air bag deployment. My friend was taken by ambulance and, thank God, there seems to be no serious injuries. The other party claims that my friend went through the red light and alleges they have a witness. My friend claims otherwise and swears the light was green. My fiends car will probably be totaled. My question is; could there be a law suit in my friends future, either against him or initiated by him?

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Sure - you need witnesses concerning the color of the light (who had the green; who had the red). No matter what - and NY has comparative negligence so neither party is 100% liable - no matter what the color of the other guy's light he cannot make a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic. The only problem I can see is if your friend had the red light and blew on through - and that's what witnesses are for.

His insurance company should be busy getting witness statements.

This is not an unusual traffic signal pattern, by the way.

He does not have a lawsuit unless he has qualifying injuries; he does have a claim for vehicle damage.

(And I'm also in NY. I'm not an Attorney but I AM an accident investigator)

There could be. No-fault limits the amount of intangible damages such as "pain and suffering" that can be sought but doesn't eliminate them altogether. Of course, real damages such as damage to the car can always be sought whether no-fault or not. This so-called "witness" may or may not be credible and should be investigated closely. Unless (s)he could clearly see your friend actually enter the intersection while the light was red and is willing to swear to it under oath, then his/her story isn't worth a wooden nickel. In fact, I'd consider the possibility that the accident may have been staged with the other party attempting to commit insurance fraud. As it is, the person making the left turn, whether on a green arrow or not, has the responsibility to yield to any oncoming traffic. Clearly in this case, (s)he failed to do so and that'll weigh in your friend's favor. If possible, your friend should try to get one or two witnesses to exonerate him.