Taxi Company May Have Been At Fault In Your Accident

Traveling in a taxi is more safe than driving your car. Taxi travel can be the best form of transportation in a busy city. Sometimes the taxi driver is tired or gets aggressive and causes an accident. You get hurt. You may be the passenger inside the taxi. You might have been injured severely or have a long term injury.

There are professional driving standards and regulations that must be applied when taxi drivers are operating on the roadway. They have regulated guides to follow if an accident happens. They must report it. If you have been hit by a taxi or injured in a taxi and you suspect wrong doing by the taxi company or driver , then contact our law offices to find out your legal options today.

Has something like this, happened to you?

Sample Section from Real Queens New York Taxi Accident Personal Injury Case.

Decided on January 26, 2004

Supreme Court, Bronx County
SHAHEDI GAFUR, Plaintiff — —

against

GARDEN CAB CORP. and KABIR HUMAYUN, Defendants.

Plaintiff Shahedi Gafur commenced this action to recover damages based upon injuries allegedly sustained when she alighted from a taxi cab operated by defendant Kabir Humayun and owned by defendant Garden Cab Corp. At the end of the trial of the action presided by this Court, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of defendants. Specifically, in a response to an interrogatory, the jury found that defendant-cab driver had not been involved in the accident in question. Plaintiff now moves for an order pursuant to CPLR §4404(a) to set aside the verdict on several grounds.

Background
In addition to the damages sought in this personal injury action, plaintiff filed an application for non-fault benefits (loss of wages and medical expenses) under the automobile policy issued to Garden Cab Corp, covering its driver defendant Humayun. The insurer, American Transit Insurance, denied the application on the ground that the insured driver denied any involvement in the accident. The matter was heard by an arbitrator who issued an award prior to the trial of the personal injury action. The arbitrator found that plaintiff had been injured while occupying a vehicle insured by American Transit Insurance. It is undisputed that defendants were not parties to and did not participate in the arbitration.

At the trial of the personal injury action, the only witness presented was the injured plaintiff Gafur. He testified that he had been injured on November 12, 1997, when he had gone from his home in the Bronx, to Queens, searching for an apartment to rent. On his way back, he allegedly got a ride [*2]home from his friend, defendant Humayun, who was driving a cab owned by defendant Garden Cab Corp. During the ride, defendant was driving erratically, plaintiff reports. As a result, plaintiff Gafur asked his friend to stop the car. As plaintiff alighted the car, defendant Humayun abruptly sped up before Gafur had time to exit the car. The opened door knocked Gafur to the ground, and defendant Humayun left plaintiff Gafur on the scene with a broken leg. An unknown person stopped his car and drove plaintiff to the hospital.

Defendants presented no witnesses during the trial. During summation, defendants argued that plaintiff's story was a "fabrication," pointing out several factors that cast doubt upon the credibility of plaintiff's version of the event. For instance, counsel for defendants pointed out that plaintiff did not call the police at the time of the accident. He reported the accident to the police three weeks later. Nor did plaintiff call an ambulance to take him to the hospital. Instead, an unknown person took plaintiff to the hospital. Plaintiff never got the person's name. Counsel also pointed out that it did not make any sense that a driver would cause his friend to be injured and left stranded with a broken ankle simply because the passenger complained about his friend's erratic driving.

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