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Even Though Length of Merging Lane Was a Factor in Accident, It Was Not the Proximate Cause of the Accident

Plaintiff’s car was side-swiped by defendant’s van when the van was in a merging lane called a taper.  The taper was 100 feet shorter than required.  In affirming summary judgment to the defendants responsible for constructing the taper, the First Department determined the van was the sole proximate cause of the accident:

The Supreme Court properly found that the alleged negligence of the DOE van’s driver was a proximate cause of the accident. Here, as the van was stopped next to plaintiff’s vehicle, the length of the taper, created by defendants Tully and Verizon, was entirely unrelated to the occurrence of the accident. As noted, the accident was caused by the alleged improper operation of the DOE vehicle. There is no evidence that the van was unable to safely merge, instead of merely trying to get to the front of the line of traffic moving through the construction zone. A jury would thus be required to speculate that the taper was a proximate cause of the accident. As a result, even assuming the taper in this case did not comply with …standards, and that it may have furnished the condition or occasion for the occurrence, it was not a proximate cause of it … . Collins v City of New York, 2013 NY Slip Op 02816, 1st Dept, 4-25-13

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