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Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in NYC
You were walking. Maybe in a crosswalk with the walk signal. Maybe crossing mid-block on a quiet residential street. A car turned into you, a delivery driver did not stop, a bus made a wide right turn. New York has the strictest pedestrian-protection rules in the country, codified in Vehicle and Traffic Law §1146 and NYC Administrative Code §19-190. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle with the right of way is one of the cleanest liability cases in personal injury law. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Call 718-261-0546.
The walk-signal crosswalk case
The single most common pedestrian case we see in Queens is a pedestrian in a crosswalk with the walk signal who gets hit by a car making a left turn. The car was waiting to turn left. The walk signal came on. You stepped into the crosswalk. The driver completed the turn into you.
Liability is near-perfect.
NY VTL §1146(a) imposes a duty on every driver to "exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian." NYC Admin Code §19-190 imposes a separate civil penalty when a driver fails to yield to a pedestrian with the right of way. The driver's failure to yield is not just negligence: it is a per-se violation that establishes the breach element of the negligence case.
The case then turns entirely on damages: how badly you were hurt, how much treatment you needed, what your medical-economic loss is going to be, and how much liability coverage the driver has.
What if you did not have the walk signal?
You can still recover. New York uses pure comparative fault under CPLR §1411: your award is reduced by your percentage of fault but never barred, even if you were 99 percent at fault. A pedestrian crossing mid-block or against the signal may share fault, but the driver still has a duty under VTL §1146 to exercise due care.
We have settled cases where the pedestrian was 40 percent or more at fault when the injuries were severe. Severity matters; serious injury cases pay even with high comparative-fault percentages because the dollar exposure is so much larger.
Vision Zero and the corridor cases
NYC's Vision Zero initiative tracks the most-dangerous pedestrian corridors. Queens Boulevard ("Boulevard of Death"), Atlantic Avenue, the Cross Bronx Expressway service road, parts of Northern Boulevard, the LIE service road through Maspeth. Crashes on these corridors carry the political weight of years of advocacy and the practical weight of city-funded redesign studies. When a pedestrian is killed or catastrophically injured on a known Vision Zero corridor, the case attracts press attention and the City sometimes intervenes directly.
We have handled pedestrian cases on Queens Boulevard, in Forest Hills, in Astoria, and across the city. The corridor history matters: it strengthens the foreseeability case (the driver knew or should have known the area was high-pedestrian) and it gives the case media leverage at settlement.
Whose insurance pays your medical bills?
The driver's no-fault PIP carrier pays under Insurance Law §5103. Pedestrian PIP coverage runs up to $50,000 of medical bills and lost wages, regardless of fault. You file a no-fault application with the driver's auto insurance within 30 days of the accident. Miss the 30-day deadline and the no-fault benefits can be denied.
After PIP is exhausted, your health insurance picks up. The pain-and-suffering case (the lawsuit) is separate and recovers from the driver's bodily-injury coverage at settlement or verdict.
If the driver fled the scene (hit-and-run) or has no insurance, your own auto policy's UM/SUM coverage pays. If you have no auto policy of your own, the New York Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) may cover the case. We file the MVAIC claim within 90 days when needed.
Hit by a delivery e-bike
Pedestrians struck by delivery e-bikes are a growing case category. Most delivery cyclists in NYC ride for app platforms (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Relay) classified as independent contractors. The cyclist's personal coverage is usually minimal or none.
We pursue the cyclist directly, the app platform on vicarious-liability and joint-employer theories, and your own UM/SUM coverage if the cyclist has no policy. The platforms tend to deny employee status until pushed; recent NY Court of Appeals cases on app-driver classification are slowly changing that defense.
What is the serious injury threshold?
NY Insurance Law §5102(d) requires a "serious injury" to recover pain-and-suffering damages in any car-related case, including pedestrian-vs-vehicle. The nine categories are:
- Death
- Dismemberment
- Significant disfigurement
- 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
- Significant limitation of use of a body function or system
- Medically determined injury preventing usual activities for 90 of the 180 days following the accident
Most pedestrians struck by a car meet at least one category given the impact differential. Even a low-speed turning collision often produces a fracture, a herniated disc with radiculopathy (significant limitation), or 90/180-day disability.
Suing the City or MTA
If the driver was a City of New York employee on duty, a NYC Sanitation truck, an MTA bus driver, an NYC Transit operator, or any other government employee, you have only 90 days to file a Notice of Claim under General Municipal Law §50-e. The lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days under GML §50-i. Missing the 90-day Notice kills the case.
We file the Notice within 24 hours of intake on every City and MTA case.
What to do after being struck
- Get medical care immediately. Even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks injuries. The ER record is the foundation of the case.
- Get the driver's license, registration, insurance card. Photograph the driver's license and the insurance card if you can.
- Photograph the scene. The vehicle, the crosswalk, your injuries, any visible damage to the vehicle.
- Witnesses. Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it.
- Police report. Required for any pedestrian-vehicle collision with injuries.
- File a no-fault application within 30 days. With the driver's auto insurance carrier. We do this for you.
- Call us in the first week. 718-261-0546. We come to you, hospital, home, anywhere in NYC.
Concierge service: we come to you
You do not have to come to the office. Our concierge meets you at home, the hospital, the rehab facility, or anywhere in NYC or Long Island. The Forest Hills office is for legal mail.
Talk to Nick
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Twenty-two years on personal injury cases in New York. Call 718-261-0546 or tell us what happened. Hablamos español.
Related: Personal Injury Lawyer NYC · Car Accident Lawyer Queens · Bus Accidents · Bicycle Accidents · Pedestrian Struck Scenario · Hit-and-Run NYC
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page is informational and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. The information here reflects general principles of New York personal injury law and is not a substitute for legal advice on your specific situation.
Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC | 102-11 Metropolitan Avenue, Forest Hills, NY 11375 | (718) 261-0546 | nicholas@nroselaw.com
Common questions.
Liability-wise, yes. NY VTL §1146 imposes a duty on every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian. NYC Admin Code §19-190 layers on a separate civil-penalty violation when a driver fails to yield to a pedestrian with the right of way. A pedestrian struck in a crosswalk with the walk signal has near-perfect liability. The case then turns entirely on damages, how badly you were hurt, treatment, and insurance coverage.
Yes, under NY pure comparative fault (CPLR §1411) your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but never barred. A pedestrian crossing mid-block or against the signal may share fault, but the driver still has a duty under VTL §1146 to exercise due care. We have settled cases where the pedestrian was 40 percent or more at fault when injuries were severe.
The driver's carrier pays under New York's no-fault PIP system (Insurance Law §5103), up to $50,000 in medical bills and lost wages, regardless of fault. You file a no-fault application with the driver's auto insurance within 30 days of the accident. After PIP is exhausted your health insurance covers the rest. The pain-and-suffering case is separate and recovers from the driver's bodily injury coverage at settlement or verdict.
Procedurally similar but legally distinct. Most delivery e-bikes in NYC are operated by app drivers (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Relay) classified as independent contractors. The cyclist's personal coverage is usually minimal or none. The app platform's coverage and the cyclist's classification (employee vs IC) become central. We pursue the cyclist directly, the platform on vicarious-liability and joint-employer theories, and your own UM/SUM coverage if all else fails.
Three years from the date of the accident under CPLR §214(5). If you were hit by a city vehicle, an MTA bus, or any government vehicle, you have only 90 days to file a Notice of Claim under GML §50-e and one year and 90 days to file the lawsuit itself under GML §50-i. Missing the 90-day Notice kills the case.
Yes. NY Insurance Law §5102(d) requires a 'serious injury' to recover pain-and-suffering damages in any car-related case, including pedestrian-vs-vehicle. The nine categories are death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation, and the 90/180-day disability. Most pedestrians struck by a car meet at least one category given the impact differential.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win.
Call 718-261-0546 or use the form. I answer my own phone during business hours, and the answering service patches urgent calls through after hours.
Twenty-two years on these cases. Boutique New York City practice with a real team behind it. Bilingual concierge on staff. Hablamos español. Arabic spoken on request.