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NOT ALL REAR-END COLLISIONS ARE SOLELY THE FAULT OF THE REAR DRIVER; HERE PLAINTIFF, THE REAR DRIVER, RAISED CREDIBILITY ISSUES BY CONTRADICTING A STATEMENT ATTRIBUTED TO PLAINTIFF IN THE POLICE REPORT AND AVERRING DEFENDANT STOPPED SUDDENLY WITHOUT USING A TURN SIGNAL (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff, the driver of the car which rear-ended defendant’s car, raised a question of fact about the whether the defendant stopped suddenly without using a turn signal:

“There can be more than one proximate cause of an accident” … , and a defendant moving for summary judgment in a negligence action has the burden of establishing, prima facie, that he or she was not at fault in the happening of the accident … . “Not every rear-end collision is the exclusive fault of the rearmost driver. The frontmost driver also has the duty not to stop suddenly or slow down without proper signaling so as to avoid a collision” … .

… [T]he plaintiff raised questions of credibility, which are for the jury to determine … . The plaintiff disputed the content of his statement, as reflected in the police accident report, as well as the veracity of the defendant’s deposition testimony as to how the accident occurred. Specifically, the plaintiff disputed that the defendant utilized his left turn signal and averred that the defendant came to a sudden stop at the intersection. Kerper v Betancourt, 2024 NY Slip Op 01296, Second Dept 3-13-24

Practice Point: In this rear-end collision case, the plaintiff, the rear driver, raised credibility issues which can only be resolved by a jury. Plaintiff contradicted a statement attributed to him in the police report and averred that defendant stopped suddenly without using a turn signal. The rear driver in a rear-end collision is not always solely at fault.

 

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