Queens / Queens County · Corona office
Queens Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
On a green light, a driver turning across your crosswalk must yield to you. A Queens pedestrian claim can turn on that rule, the signal timing on a wide crossing, and what the video shows.
Our Queens office is at 100-17 Northern Boulevard in Corona. More than 40 years of injury practice; free consultation.
Hit by a turning driver?
Who had the right of way
Turning on green
State law says turning traffic must yield to other traffic lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk (VTL 1111(a)). City rules say it outright: yield to other vehicles and to pedestrians (34 RCNY 4-03).
Crossing on WALK
You may cross and other traffic must give you the right of way (VTL 1112(a)). Do not start on a flashing or steady hand under State law.
No working signal
Drivers must yield in a marked or unmarked crosswalk (VTL 1151) and, under City rules, stop and remain stopped while you cross (34 RCNY 4-04). You still may not step out suddenly in front of a vehicle too close to stop (VTL 1151(b)).
What proves it
Signal timing records, video, where the vehicle was damaged, and witnesses. A broken rule is evidence of fault, not automatic liability.
City, State or airport
Who answers for the place?
Most Queens claims are against a driver. When the place itself matters, Queens has City streets and parks, State property and airport property, and each has different notice rules.
- A City street or crosswalk
- The driver and owner. The City may also answer, for example for its vehicle; for a street, crosswalk or curb defect it generally must have had prior written notice, subject to exceptions (Admin Code 7-201).
- First notice or deadline: Private driver: generally three years. Ordinary injury claim against a city, county, town or village (its vehicle or its street): a notice of claim within 90 days (GML 50-e); in New York City it is filed with the Comptroller.
- A sidewalk
- Usually the abutting owner (7-210), except owner-occupied one- to three-family homes.
- First notice or deadline: Private: generally three years, no governmental notice.
- A State park, such as Gantry Plaza
- The State, for negligence of its own officers or employees.
- First notice or deadline: A claim against the State itself goes to the Court of Claims: filed with the court and served on the Attorney General within 90 days, or a notice of intention served in that time (Court of Claims Act § 10). Public authorities, such as transit operators, have their own notice rules.
- Airport property
- The driver; for the property itself, the operator, which may have its own claim rules.
- First notice or deadline: Separate notice rules can apply. Tell us exactly where it happened.
- Hit by a bus
- Depends on who runs the bus: NYC Transit, another public operator, or a private bus company.
- First notice or deadline: NYC Transit: a notice of claim and a short suit limit (PAL 1212); we check the exact period. Other public operators have their own rules. A private company: an ordinary claim against the driver and company. See Queens bus accidents.
Death claims, tolls and exceptions follow separate rules and must be checked case by case.
Who pays
From medical bills to the injury claim
No-fault first
For an eligible claim involving an insured motor vehicle, no-fault generally pays medical bills and part of lost earnings, up to $50,000 of basic economic loss, regardless of fault (Insurance Law 5103(a)(1), 5102(a)). Eligibility and which insurer handles the claim need review.
Then the driver and owner
Losses beyond no-fault, and pain and suffering if the injury meets New York's serious-injury definition, decided after fault (Insurance Law 5104(a)).
Written notice to the no-fault insurer is due within 30 days (11 NYCRR 65-1.1). More on each step: our pedestrian accident guide.
Shared fault. Your own share of fault generally reduces damages in proportion; it does not end the claim (CPLR 1411).
For a personal-injury action subject to Insurance Law article 51 and commenced on or after May 26, 2026, recovery is barred if your fault is greater than the defendant's, or the defendants' combined (DFS Circular Letter No. 3 (2026)). That rule may apply to a pedestrian's claim against an insured driver, so a disputed crossing matters more than before.
Firm-wide pedestrian results
Recorded pedestrian results
These are the firm's published pedestrian results, quoted exactly as recorded. The records do not say where the cases arose, so they are not presented as Queens cases. Over 40 years, the firm has recovered more than $100 million for clients across New York and New Jersey.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts.
See the full verdicts and settlements archive$990,000
$990,000 Settlement at Jury Selection. Federal Court. Eastern District
Plaintiff was pedestrian struck by van resulting in multiple fractures requiring several surgeries.
$700,000
$700,000.00 Settlement at Jury Selection
Pedestrian accident sustaining right displaced zygoma fracture post trauma with significant displacement; right alveoli and palatal fracture with malocclusion; right orbital and ethmoid fractures with enophthalmos.
Read the case study$500,000
$500,000 RECOVERY
Plaintiff pedestrian struck by defendant bicyclist traveling wrong way on one-way street
$325,000
$325,000 Parking Lot Pedestrian Accident Settlement
We secured a $325,000 settlement on behalf of our client despite the defense arguing that his injuries were pre-existing. After being struck by a vehicle in a parking lot, our client sustained serious injuries that required laparoscopic surgery. Through diligent advocacy, we secured the compensation he deserved.
Queens County
Court, office and hospitals
Queens cases follow New York State law; these local facts come from the court system, our locations page and the State health department.
- Where a lawsuit is usually filed
- Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435. A case can generally be venued where a party lived or where a substantial part of the events happened (CPLR 503(a)); a suit against the City, in the county where the claim arose (CPLR 504(3)), subject to transfer and other venue rules.
- Where to meet us
- Our Queens office is in Corona. Corona (Queens), 100-17 Northern Boulevard, Corona, NY 11368; (516) 227-2662, or by video. See serving Queens.
- Designated adult trauma centers
- Level I: NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens. Source: NYS Department of Health list. Emergency crews choose the hospital; naming one implies no affiliation or fault.
Hit somewhere else in the city? Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan or Staten Island. Long Island and New Jersey are covered from our pedestrian lawyer near me page.
Questions
Queens pedestrian accident FAQs
Call 911, get treated, and ask police for the report number. If you can, note whether the driver was turning and what the signal showed, photograph the crossing and the vehicle, and collect witness names. Send written notice to the vehicle’s no-fault insurer within 30 days. Our Queens office is at 100-17 Northern Boulevard in Corona. Get advice before a recorded statement, while meeting your own insurer’s notice and cooperation requirements.
We do not publish rankings or nicknames for Queens roads. The City’s police-reported crash data is public on NYC Open Data. Your claim depends on your crossing: the signal you had, whether the driver was turning, how wide the road was, what the driver could see, and the video and witnesses. On long crossings, signal timing often matters, so we ask for it early.
For an injury claim against a private driver, generally three years. Against the City, a notice of claim goes to the NYC Comptroller within 90 days and suit within one year and 90 days. Against the State, including State parks, the claim is filed in the Court of Claims and served on the Attorney General within 90 days, unless a timely notice of intention extends the filing time. Airport and transit claims have their own rules. Wrongful death follows separate rules.
Emergency crews choose the receiving hospital. The New York State Department of Health lists these designated adult trauma centers in Queens County: NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens (Level I adult). Wherever you were treated, we request the records; naming a hospital does not suggest any affiliation with it or any fault by it.
Possibly. At an intersection, the crosswalk exists whether or not lines are painted. Crossing elsewhere, you must yield to vehicles, but drivers must still use due care to avoid pedestrians. Your share of fault generally reduces damages. For a claim subject to the no-fault law commenced on or after May 26, 2026, recovery may be barred if your fault is greater than the defendants’ combined.
Report it to police, ideally within 24 hours, and keep the report number; an MVAIC filing is generally due within 90 days. If a car policy in your household has uninsured-motorist coverage that applies to you, it may be the route; MVAIC is for people who qualify without such coverage. Ask nearby stores and buildings for video quickly, before it is recorded over.
Vision Zero is the City’s road-safety program, adopted in January 2014, and the City publishes crash data. That history can describe a location, but it does not prove that the driver who hit you was careless. A claim against the City over street design faces qualified immunity for planning decisions, though liability may still arise, for example where a study was plainly inadequate or a planned fix was unreasonably delayed. It needs a 90-day notice.
For an eligible claim involving an insured motor vehicle, no-fault generally pays medical bills and part of lost earnings, up to $50,000 of basic economic loss, regardless of fault. From the driver and owner: losses beyond that and, if the injury meets New York’s serious-injury definition, pain and suffering. A fracture is one listed category; others depend on medical proof. We do not quote values before reviewing the records.
Usually against a negligent driver or rider. A bicycle, or an e-bike or e-scooter meeting the State definitions, is not a motor vehicle, so a collision with only one is not a no-fault claim. Flushing Meadows Corona Park is a City park: a City vehicle claim needs a 90-day notice to the Comptroller, and a covered path defect generally needs prior written notice, subject to exceptions. A State park, such as Gantry Plaza State Park, means a Court of Claims filing instead.
For an eligible claim, the vehicle’s no-fault coverage generally applies. TLC rules require yellow taxis and livery and black cars with up to seven seats to carry at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence in liability coverage, and $100,000 in personal injury protection. If it happened on airport property, separate notice rules can apply, so tell us exactly where. App-dispatched trips depend on the vehicle and trip.
We identify the right no-fault insurer and any 90-day notice first, then request the signal timing, video, police report and witness details while they exist. We build the medical record of how the injuries limit you, check every policy, and file in Queens County or another proper court if needed. You can meet us in Corona or start by phone or video. No fee unless there is a recovery.
Hit while walking in Queens? Talk to our Corona office
Tell us the crossing, the signal you had and whether the driver was turning. We will name the first deadline and who pays your medical bills. No fee unless there is a recovery.
What to bring
- The crossing or address
- What the signal showed, if you saw it
- Police report number
- Any insurer letters or claim numbers
Photo credits: Francis Lewis Boulevard at Cunningham Park by Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized; Queens Boulevard at Yellowstone Boulevard by Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.