NYC Bicycle Accident Attorneys

Call 911 and get medical care the same day. Photograph the vehicle, its plate, the lane and your injuries, collect witness names, and keep the bike, helmet and clothing. If the driver left, the MVAIC route generally requires a police report within 24 hours. Give written no-fault notice to the vehicle’s insurer within 30 days. Limited exceptions to both deadlines exist, but they need prompt review. Get advice before giving a recorded statement, while still meeting your own insurer’s timely notice and cooperation requirements.

Usually the driver, and sometimes the vehicle’s owner, if the driver failed to use the due care the law requires toward bicyclists, opened a door before it was reasonably safe, or passed too close. Cyclists have the same rights and duties as drivers, so the cyclist’s own conduct is compared too, and fault reduces or, in some 2026 cases, bars recovery. A city, county or town can be responsible for a road defect, but only under its own notice rules.

The law does not require one, and a minor claim may not need one. A lawyer helps when the injury is serious, fault is disputed, the driver fled, or a public body or several insurers are involved, because each has its own deadlines. Our consultation is free, and there is no fee unless there is a recovery.

If a motor vehicle hit you, no-fault benefits generally pay medical bills and part of lost earnings first, up to $50,000 of basic economic loss, regardless of fault. A claim against the driver can add economic loss beyond that and, if the injury meets New York’s serious-injury definition, pain and suffering. Damage to the bike is a separate property claim. We do not quote values before reviewing the records.

Most suits against a driver must be started within three years. For an ordinary injury claim against a city, county, town or village, a notice of claim is generally due within 90 days and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days. A State claim goes to the Court of Claims. A death action is generally due within two years. Hit-and-run claims through MVAIC generally need a police report within 24 hours and a filing within 90 days, if you qualify; limited exceptions need prompt review.

Head injuries including concussion, broken collarbones, wrists, arms, legs and hips, spinal injuries, road rash and scarring, and internal injuries. Some injuries, such as concussion or internal bleeding, are not obvious at first, so a same-day medical evaluation matters for your health and for the record of what the crash caused.

Yes. In New York, bicycle riders under 14, and anyone riding a class 3 e-bike, must wear a helmet, and some localities require more. But Vehicle and Traffic Law 1238(7) says that failing to comply is not contributory negligence or assumption of risk, does not bar a personal injury or wrongful death action, and does not diminish or reduce the damages recoverable. The defense cannot cut your damages simply because you rode without a helmet.

We start with the two questions that decide most cyclist claims: who pays first, and which deadline is already running. The firm has practiced injury law for more than 40 years and has recovered more than $100 million for clients firm-wide. We have four offices, in Uniondale, Brooklyn, Corona and Teaneck, New Jersey, and you can start by phone or video. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless there is a recovery.