Providence Car Accident Lawyer

Car crashes happen everywhere, but the dense street grid, historic infrastructure, and steady influx of commuters and college students make Providence, Rhode Island, a uniquely challenging environment for motorists. In 2024 alone, the city recorded 292 reported collisions involving vehicles and vulnerable road users, with hot spots around Interstate 95, Olneyville Square, Kennedy Plaza, and the Service Road corridor near the Central and Classical High School campuses, nearly one crash every 30 hours. Meanwhile, statewide, preliminary RIDOT data show 52 traffic fatalities in 2024, down from 70 the year before. Yet each statistic hides a person whose life was changed in seconds.

For those injured in Providence crashes, Rhode Island law provides powerful remedies, but strict deadlines, nuanced rules, and aggressive insurance tactics can quickly derail an unrepresented claim. Our personal injury attorneys at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers combine regional courtroom experience with the resources of a full-service personal injury firm to help crash victims secure the compensation they need to rebuild their lives.

Compact geography and aging infrastructure mean congestion is rarely far away. The ongoing demolition and replacement of the Washington Bridge, which carries I-195 across the Seekonk River, has forced thousands of drivers onto neighborhood detours and has generated a documented uptick in fender-benders along the India Point and Gano Street approaches. Add in seasonal tourism, seven major college campuses, and a growing network of bike and bus lanes, and it becomes clear why understanding local traffic patterns is essential when reconstructing liability.

• Distracted driving. Texting in stop-and-go conditions downtown
• Speeding along the sweeping curves of I-95 and Route 6
• Failure to yield to pedestrians in dense commercial districts such as Thayer Street and Westminster Street
• Impaired driving. Rhode Island’s alcohol-related fatality rate topped 43 percent and remains well above the national average.
• Weather-related skids on the city’s many brick-paved intersections and steep hills on the East Side
• Construction detours that reroute unfamiliar traffic through residential streets

Because Rhode Island follows an at-fault liability system, identifying each negligent act and preserving the evidence to prove it is the cornerstone of a successful claim.

• Pure Comparative Negligence. Rhode Island is one of a handful of “pure comparative negligence” jurisdictions. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-20-4, an injured person may recover damages even if they are 99 percent at fault; the court simply reduces the award by the plaintiff’s percentage of negligence. This rule makes early, accurate fault allocation critical. A single traffic-camera frame or eyewitness statement can shift fault percentages and change a seven-figure recovery into pennies on the dollar.
• Statute of Limitations. Most motor-vehicle injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the date of the crash. Missing the deadline almost always bars recovery, regardless of liability. There are narrow exceptions—such as tolling for minors or the discovery rule in latent-injury cases—but courts apply them sparingly.
• Mandatory Insurance Requirements. All Rhode Island motorists must carry at least $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 in liability coverage (commonly called “25/50/25”). Uninsured-motorist coverage in the same minimum amounts is mandatory unless the policyholder rejects it in writing. Because serious injuries can exhaust minimum limits in hours, under-insured motorist (UIM) claims and excess judgments are common.
• Duty to Report and Investigate. State law requires any driver involved in a collision causing injury, death, or property damage over $1,000 to notify local police forthwith and to file a written crash report with the DMV within 21 days. Providence Police reports are usually available within ten business days and often include critical witness statements and road-condition observations that never reach statewide databases.

• Ensure safety. Move to a safe area if possible and activate hazard lights.
• Call 911. Request police and, if anyone feels pain, an ambulance.
• Exchange information. Driver’s license, registration, and insurance details.
• Document the scene. Photograph vehicles, skid marks, traffic signals, and weather.
• Seek medical attention. Many injuries (concussions, tears) surface hours or days later.
• Notify your insurer, but avoid a recorded statement until you have legal counsel.
• Call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers. Early representation preserves evidence, schedules independent medical exams, and prevents adjusters from abusing comparative-fault rules.

Adjusters know Providence is a pure comparative-fault venue where every percentage point matters. Common tactics include quick-cash offers before diagnosis is complete, hints that “you were speeding too,” demands for broad medical-record releases, and strategic delays while CCTV is overwritten. A seasoned attorney issues litigation-hold letters, subpoenas RIDOT camera feeds, and retains engineers familiar with local road geometry so that claim value is built from day one.

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
• Property damage (vehicle, electronic devices, child car seats)

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium

Punitive damages are rare but may apply to intoxicated or hit-and-run drivers whose conduct shows willful disregard for safety.

Most car-collision lawsuits arising in the city are filed in the Providence/Bristol County Superior Court. Claims under $100,000 enter mandatory arbitration, often resolving cases within a year. Larger claims proceed to trial in 18–24 months, with expert-disclosure deadlines arriving quickly. Early retention of medical, vocational, and accident-reconstruction experts is therefore essential.

• Multi-Vehicle Pile-Ups and Municipal Liability. Chain-reaction crashes on I-95 can implicate dozens of private drivers, freight carriers, and even road contractors. Notice requirements under the Rhode Island Tort Claims Act and strict contract clauses on public-private projects can shorten limitation periods dramatically—miss them and the right to sue a governmental entity may disappear.

• Rapid-response investigation team available 24/7
• Relationships with orthopedic specialists at Rhode Island Hospital and Lifespan facilities
• Subpoena access to high-resolution RIDOT traffic-camera archives, often deleted after 30 days
• Proven courtroom track record, including six- and seven-figure verdicts in disputed liability cases

Our attorneys at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers approach every claim as if it will be tried, a strategy that frequently drives strong settlements without a courtroom.

A car accident in Providence is never “routine.” Congested one-way streets, seasonal tourism, and the ongoing Washington Bridge reconstruction magnify the stakes of every collision. Rhode Island’s pure comparative-negligence rule preserves your right to compensation even if you made a mistake, but insurers use that same rule to slash payouts. Knowing the statutory deadlines, minimum-insurance traps, and evidentiary nuances of local practice is the first step toward recovery.

If you or a loved one has been hurt on Providence’s roads, contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free, no-obligation consultation. Let our experience turn a crash into a comeback.