Manhattan car accidents
Manhattan Auto Accident Lawyers
If the vehicle that hit you was a taxi, a for-hire car or a company vehicle, its owner, its driver and the insurer that pays no-fault may all be different.
Over 40 years of experience. Free consultation; no fee unless there is a recovery.
Who answers
The vehicle that hit you, and who answers for it
No-fault follows the vehicle you were in, or the one that struck you if you were on foot (DFS no-fault FAQ). The injury claim follows fault and ownership.
- A yellow taxi or for-hire car
- As its passenger, or as a pedestrian it struck, you claim no-fault from that vehicle's insurer. The injury claim may be against the at-fault driver and, depending on the facts, the owner, which can be responsible for a driver using it with permission (VTL 388).
- An app-dispatched rideshare car
- The same no-fault rule. NYC TLC-licensed vehicles must carry continuous required insurance coverage, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of app status or vehicle use (TLC insurance rules). Outside NYC, Article 44-B TNC coverage distinguishes being logged on awaiting a trip from an accepted trip (VTL 1693). We check the vehicle, policy and trip records rather than assume the app status controls NYC coverage.
- A delivery or other commercial truck
- The driver and owner, and possibly an employer, may be responsible. See our Manhattan truck accident page.
- A City-owned vehicle (injury claim)
- A notice of claim with the City Comptroller within 90 days of the incident (NYC Comptroller).
- A bus
- The operator decides the notice rules, and they differ between operators. See our Manhattan bus accident page.
The first month's paperwork
On foot or on a bike? Also see our Manhattan pedestrian page and bicycle accident page.
- Within 30 days
- Written notice of the accident to the applicable no-fault insurer.
- 45 days
- Proof of claim for medical services, within 45 days after the date each service is rendered.
- 90 days
- Proof of claim for lost earnings, within 90 days after the work loss is incurred, and for other necessary expenses, within 90 days after the services are rendered.
- If late
- Each of these limits applies unless written proof gives a clear and reasonable justification for the delay (11 NYCRR 65-1.1). Do not wait on that exception.
- Alongside
- A separate file on fault, injuries and any claim against whoever caused the crash. Our no-fault and PIP guide covers denials and medical exams.
Crash file
Building the Manhattan crash file
A Manhattan crash scene may have building and store cameras, bus cameras, app trip logs and witnesses, and a taxi or fleet vehicle can bring an owner, an operator and an employer into the claim. We try to identify each of them and request the records that show how the crash happened while they still exist.
- Plate, medallion or for-hire markings, and the app trip receipt if you were a passenger.
- Video from lobbies, storefronts, buses and traffic cameras on the block.
- Signal timing, crosswalk and bike-lane layout at the intersection.
- Treatment records and work restrictions that connect the crash to the injury.
For where crashes are reported in Manhattan, the City's official map is Vision Zero View. We do not publish our own crash statistics.
Published results
Manhattan Auto Accident Results
None of the firm's published motor-vehicle results names Manhattan. The three involving Uber or Lyft vehicles are listed first; the rest are the firm's results from across New York and New Jersey, quoted exactly as recorded.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts.
See the full verdicts and settlements archive$400,000
$400,000 Settlement
Settlement involving 68 year old male who was rear ended by a truck while driving for UBER requiring a lumbar fusion with a history of prior injury to his lumbar spine.
$295,000
$295,000 Settlement at Mediation
Passenger in Uber was rear-ended and pushed into another car. Suffered injuries to neck and lower back requiring injections as well as a discectomy procedure in lumbar spine. Settled at mediation.
$250,000
$250,000 Lyft Passenger Rear-End Settlement
Client was a passenger in a Lyft vehicle that was rear-ended, resulting in serious spinal injuries. He underwent a lumbar discectomy, multiple epidural steroid injections, and extensive pain management treatment. The injuries forced him to miss time from work and continue care. To date, No-Fault has paid nearly $100,000 for accident-related care.
$250,000
$250,000 Settlement — Queens Parkway Rear-End Collision
After being rear-ended on a busy Queens parkway, our client suffered a torn shoulder and herniated discs in his lower back. His injuries disrupted his work and daily life, ultimately requiring surgery.
$1,021,235
Million Dollar Verdict — Long Island Auto Accident
Plaintiff was involved in an auto accident in Long Island sustaining an exacerbation of prior neck and back injuries resulting in spinal surgery and physical therapy. Following careful deliberation, a Suffolk County jury awarded plaintiff a verdict for pain and suffering in the amount of $1,021,235 after a minimal $50,000 pre-trial offer.
Read the case study$800,000
$800,000 Settlement — Auto Accident with Severe Injuries
A hardworking individual's life changed dramatically after an accident at an intersection, leading to severe injuries that required spine surgery. Beyond the physical pain, the accident brought significant emotional and financial hardship.
Read the case study
Injured in a Manhattan auto accident?
Tell us what hit you, who owned it and where you were. We will tell you which insurers and deadlines apply.
Deadlines
Deadlines that depend on who is responsible
There is no single deadline for a Manhattan crash. The first clock depends on who you are claiming against.
If you were injured
These are the first deadlines for an ordinary negligence claim for a non-fatal personal injury. Property-damage and other claims can run on different clocks.
- The other driver or vehicle owner (a private party)
- No notice of claim. A personal-injury lawsuit generally must be started within three years (CPLR 214(5)).
- The City of New York itself (for example, a City-owned vehicle)
- A notice of claim with the Comptroller within 90 days of the incident; a lawsuit within one year and 90 days (NYC Comptroller, GML 50-e).
- New York City Transit itself (injury claim)
- A notice of claim under GML 50-e and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days of the event (Public Authorities Law 1212). Many bus routes are run by other MTA entities with different rules, so identify the operator first.
- The State of New York itself
- A negligence claim against the State goes to the Court of Claims: it must be filed and served on the Attorney General within 90 days after it accrues, or a notice of intention served within those 90 days and the claim then filed and served within two years (Court of Claims Act § 10(3)). A State worker or vehicle being involved does not by itself make the State liable.
If the crash caused a death
A wrongful death claim has its own clocks, which often start from the death or from the appointment of the estate's representative.
- Against a private driver or owner
- The estate's representative generally has two years after the death; if a criminal action is started against the same defendant for the same event, at least one year after that criminal action ends (EPTL 5-4.1).
- Against the City, a county, town or village
- Where a notice of claim is required, it is due within 90 days after the estate's representative is appointed (GML 50-e), and the lawsuit within two years after the death (GML 50-i).
- Against the State
- The claim must be filed and served within 90 days after the executor or administrator is appointed, or a notice of intention served in that time; in any event within two years after the death (Court of Claims Act § 10(2)).
- Against a transit or bridge authority
- Death claims follow separate notice and time-limit provisions, not the injury rules above. Identify the exact operator first.
2026 changes apply by commencement date. They cover personal-injury actions under New York's no-fault law (Insurance Law article 51) commenced on or after May 26, 2026; what matters is when the lawsuit is commenced, not the accident date (DFS Circular Letter No. 3 (2026)). For those actions:
- the former 90/180 serious-injury category no longer applies;
- a claimant whose culpable conduct is greater than that of the defendant, or of the defendants combined, is barred from recovery; otherwise, including at an even 50/50 split, damages are reduced by the claimant's share (CPLR 1411);
- except in an action for death, non-economic damages are limited to $100,000 for an injured person who is at fault, is not barred under CPLR 1411, and was operating an uninsured vehicle they were responsible for insuring (unless the lapse in coverage was less than 30 days), was operating while impaired and was convicted of that offense, or was operating in the commission of, or immediate flight from, a felony and was convicted of it (Insurance Law 5104(d)).
Court and office
Where a Manhattan case is filed
A New York action can be venued where a party lived when it was commenced or where a substantial part of the events happened (CPLR 503(a)). A suit against the City of New York or New York City Transit is tried in the county within the City where the claim arose, and if it arose outside the City, in New York County (CPLR 504, CPLR 505).
Manhattan clients are served from our New York offices; we do not have a Manhattan office. See Manhattan locations and all office locations, or call (516) 227-2662.
Questions
Manhattan Auto Accident FAQs
Answers to common questions about Manhattan auto accident cases. For the threshold in depth, read the serious injury threshold explained.
No-fault pays eligible medical bills and part of lost earnings, up to $50,000 of basic economic loss per person, without first proving who caused the crash. A passenger, including a taxi or for-hire passenger, claims against the insurer of the vehicle they were in; a pedestrian against the insurer of the vehicle that struck them. Unknown or uninsured vehicles follow household-policy and MVAIC rules. No-fault does not pay pain and suffering.
When the vehicle was a taxi, a for-hire car, a delivery truck or another fleet vehicle, the owner, the driver and an employer may each matter, and several insurers can be involved. Busy blocks may have cameras and witnesses, but footage can be overwritten. A Manhattan case can be brought in New York County when a party lives there or a substantial part of the events happened there.
You can sue the at-fault driver, and in some cases the owner, for economic loss beyond basic no-fault benefits and for property damage. For pain and suffering you generally need a 'serious injury' under Insurance Law 5102(d). For actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, the former 90/180 category no longer applies; the date the lawsuit is commenced, not the crash date, decides which rules apply. An injury lawsuit against a private driver generally must be started within three years.
Move to safety and call 911. Only if you can do it from a safe place, photograph the vehicle, its plate and any taxi or for-hire markings; never walk into or back into traffic. Keep your app receipt if you were a passenger. Get witness contacts, and do not argue about fault. Get medical care, for example at Bellevue, NYU Langone or Mount Sinai, and keep every record. Give written notice to the applicable no-fault insurer within 30 days, then call us.
For actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, a serious injury means death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; or significant limitation of use of a body function or system (Insurance Law 5102(d)). The former 90/180 category is historical context for actions commenced before that date.
It depends on fault, the injuries and their proof, and the insurance available; we do not quote ranges. No-fault covers eligible basic economic loss up to $50,000. A claim against the at-fault driver, and in some cases the owner, can add excess economic loss, property damage and, with a serious injury, pain and suffering. In personal-injury actions under the no-fault law (Insurance Law article 51) commenced on or after May 26, 2026, the fault bar and cap described on this page apply.
You can file a no-fault claim yourself. A lawyer helps when injuries are serious, fault is disputed, or a taxi, for-hire, fleet or public vehicle is involved and several insurers point at each other. We gather the police report, trip records and video, track every deadline, assess the serious-injury question and file suit in the right county. Manhattan clients are served from our New York offices. The consultation is free.
No-fault benefits move on their own claim process. A claim against the at-fault driver usually cannot be valued until treatment shows the long-term picture; if a lawsuit is needed in New York County, discovery and court conferences add time. Several defendants, disputed fault or surgery make a case longer. Timing is decided case by case; settling before future care and lost earnings can be estimated can leave costs uncovered, and we do not promise a timetable.
If you were the passenger, no-fault comes from the insurer of the taxi or car you were in; if you were on foot, from the insurer of the vehicle that hit you. The injury claim may be against the at-fault driver and, depending on the facts, the vehicle's owner, which can be responsible for a driver using it with permission (VTL 388). For an app-dispatched car, the policy can depend on the trip status. We do not quote policy amounts.
We do not rank roads without data. New York City publishes crash and injury maps through Vision Zero View, which show where crashes are reported. For your case, the road matters for evidence: a crash on the FDR Drive or West Side Highway may have traffic-camera records, while one on Broadway or a crosstown street is often on building, store or bus video. We try to request footage early, because systems overwrite it.
Serving all Manhattan neighborhoods
We represent people hurt in car crashes throughout New York County, including:
- Financial District
- Battery Park City
- Tribeca
- SoHo
- Chinatown
- Little Italy
- Lower East Side
- East Village
- Greenwich Village
- West Village
- Chelsea
- Flatiron
- Gramercy
- Murray Hill
- Kips Bay
- Midtown West
- Midtown East
- Hell's Kitchen
- Times Square
- Garment District
- Turtle Bay
- Sutton Place
- Upper East Side
- Yorkville
- Carnegie Hill
- Upper West Side
- Lincoln Square
- Columbus Circle
- Morningside Heights
- Harlem
- East Harlem
- Hamilton Heights
- Washington Heights
- Inwood
- Roosevelt Island
- Hudson Yards
Manhattan auto accident? Find out who answers for it
We identify every owner, operator and insurer behind the vehicle and the deadlines that apply to each. Free consultation; no fee unless there is a recovery.
What to bring
- Police report number and the plate or medallion number
- Your app trip receipt, if you were a passenger
- Your no-fault claim number and any denial letters
- Medical records and missed-work notes
Related
Other car and auto accident guides
- New York auto accident claims: which coverage may pay
- Car accident lawsuits: fault and serious injury
- Brooklyn auto accident lawyer
- No-fault and auto accident help near you
- Find our nearest office after a car crash
- Manhattan pedestrian accidents
- Manhattan bus accidents
- Manhattan truck accidents
- Manhattan wrongful death
- Manhattan personal injury
- Queens auto accidents
- Bronx auto accidents
- Long Island auto accidents
- Staten Island auto accidents
- Manhattan locations
- NY no-fault and PIP benefits guide
- The serious injury threshold explained
- Nassau County car accident lawyer
- New Jersey auto accident claims
- All verdicts and settlements
Photo credits: Second Avenue at 26th Street, looking north by Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized; New York State Supreme Courthouse, 60 Centre Street by Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.