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Car Accident Lawyer in Long Island City
Queensboro Plaza is one of the most chaotic six-track elevated intersections in the country, and the streets around it produce a steady run of car crash files in my office. I have practiced personal injury law in Queens for more than two decades. If you were hit on Jackson Avenue or anywhere in LIC, call 718-261-0546.
Where Long Island City car accidents happen
Queens Plaza North at 21st Street is the high-volume crash zone. Six elevated tracks meet street-level traffic, on-ramps to the Queensboro Bridge feed in from the east, and pedestrians crossing the wide multi-lane plaza face turning vehicles from every angle. I handle pedestrian strikes here several times a year, plus rear-enders during the bridge-bound rush.
Jackson Avenue at 44th Drive is the second concentration. The corridor cuts through the densest construction zone in the country, with cement trucks, flatbeds, and pickup vehicles servicing the residential tower row on Center Boulevard. Cyclists riding the protected lane on Jackson get caught in turning conflicts at every signalized intersection. Vernon Boulevard at 50th Avenue produces a parallel pattern, with rideshare drop-offs at the tower lobbies generating dooring crashes and pedestrian conflicts.
The Northern Boulevard corridor at 31st Street feeds heavy commercial traffic from the BQE and from the older industrial blocks east of 21st Street. Truck-on-pedestrian and truck-on-cyclist crashes on this stretch are recurring. The Queensboro Bridge approaches add a separate cluster: drivers misjudging the merge from 21st Street onto the bridge upper roadway end up sideswiping or rear-ending the car ahead. NYC DOT lists Northern Boulevard on the Vision Zero high-injury network.
NY no-fault basics for Long Island City drivers
New York is a no-fault state. Insurance Law § 5103 requires every auto policy to include $50,000 of Personal Injury Protection benefits. PIP pays your initial medical expenses and a portion of your lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. PIP does not cover pain and suffering, future medical needs above the cap, or lost earnings beyond the wage limits.
To sue the at-fault driver for those losses, you must clear the serious-injury threshold. NY Insurance Law § 5102(d) defines that threshold across nine categories, and Insurance Law § 5104 is the gateway statute that bars lawsuits for non-economic loss unless you fall into one of them. Carriers contest the 90/180 limitation category aggressively, so contemporaneous medical records that document the impairment are essential.
The 30-day no-fault filing deadline is non-negotiable in most cases. Form NF-2 has to reach your carrier within 30 days of the accident or PIP benefits can be denied.
What to do after a car accident in Long Island City
- Get medical attention. Mount Sinai Queens in Astoria is the closest acute-care hospital for most LIC crashes; NewYork-Presbyterian Queens in Flushing is the alternative if you are taken further east. Tell intake this is an auto accident.
- Document the scene. Photographs of the vehicles, the elevated columns at Queensboro Plaza if relevant, the signal phases, the other driver's license and insurance. Police report is NY MV-104A.
- Do not give a recorded statement. Insurance adjusters call within 24 to 72 hours. Refer them to my office in writing.
- Call 718-261-0546. The 30-day clock starts on the accident date, not when you start feeling pain.
Cases I take
- Rear-end collisions on the Queensboro Bridge approaches
- Intersection T-bones at Queens Plaza North
- Hit-and-run and uninsured driver cases (your UM/UIM coverage applies)
- Uber and Lyft passenger injuries (TNC coverage tiers under VTL Article 44-B)
- Pedestrian struck on Jackson and Vernon
- Cement truck and construction vehicle crashes
- Multi-vehicle merge crashes at bridge approaches
Talk to Nick
Call 718-261-0546. Free consultation. No fee unless we recover. Office: 102-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills. Spanish line: 718-261-0546. Tenemos servicios completos en español.
Prior Results | Practice Areas
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.