A New York woman has filed a lawsuit after she says she was seriously injured in a rear end collision.

Plaintiff Dawn J. alleges she was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Courtney H. when their vehicle was hit in a rear end collision on Dec. 24, 2017. She alleges defendant Russell W. was driving a motor vehicle owned by defendant Kyle K.

According to her personal injury lawsuit, both vehicles were northbound on Henry Hudson Parkway just north of West 65^thStreet in New York City. The vehicle driven by Russell rear ended Dawn’s vehicle, she claims.

Dawn’s lawsuit alleges both Russell and Kyle “were negligent, careless and reckless in the ownership, operation, management, maintenance, supervision, use and control” of the vehicle they were operating on the date of the rear end collision.

According to the complaint, Dawn sustained serious injuries and economic loss greater than what is defined as basic economic loss by the insurance law of the state of New York. She seeks to recover damages not covered by the no-fault insurance for which she already received reimbursement.

Rear End Collision Lawsuit Alleges Negligence

Dawn’s personal injury lawsuit alleges that both the driver of the car and the owner of the car were negligent, which caused the rear end collision to occur.

In personal injury cases, the plaintiff must establish liability. The burden of proof rests with the plaintiff, who must prove that a reasonable and cautious person would have taken different actions under the same circumstances.

In this case, the question is whether Russell and Kyle could have avoided causing the rear end collision. Did Russell become distracted by something in the road? Was Russell familiar enough with the operation of Kyle’s vehicle to safely and responsibly drive it? Did Kyle maintain the vehicle in good working condition so that it could work mechanically as needed to avoid an accident? Was Kyle negligent in entrusting Russell to drive the vehicle? All of these are questions that might be considered in determining what actions led to the rear end collision that allegedly caused serious injury to Dawn.

When a personal injury lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff can seek compensatory damages and/or punitive damages. Compensatory damages are most often sought to compensate the plaintiff for losses suffered. Covered losses might include medical bills, time missed from work, physical and emotional pain and other various losses.

A plaintiff seeks punitive damages when the defendant’s alleged actions are particularly blameworthy.

In addition to motor vehicle accidents, personal injury lawsuits might be sought for pedestrian accidents, amusement park accidents, boat accidents, train accidents, ride-share accidents and commercial vehicle accidents.

Many states have a statute of limitations, which means you must file a personal injury lawsuit within a certain amount of time. In New York, the statute of limitations for a negligence case is three years from the date the injury was incurred. Personal injury lawsuits are considered negligence cases.

The Rear End Collision Lawsuit is Case No. 7:18-cv-07398 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.