Queens Pedestrian Accident Attorney

Hit while walking or jogging in Queens, NY? Our experienced pedestrian accident lawyers in Queens, New York will fight to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.

New York State reports roughly 300 pedestrian deaths annually and about 3,000 hospitalizations each year, and Queens sees more than its share of them.

A driver rolls through a crosswalk, misses a red, or looks down at a phone, and a routine walk becomes an ambulance ride, followed by mounting medical bills and an insurance company already working to pay you as little as possible.

Our skilled Queens pedestrian accident attorneys represent injured victims throughout Queens and knows the borough’s streets, hospitals, and the insurance company playbook used against victims like you.

Founded in 2015 by Chrissy Grigoropoulos, Esq., a former Nassau County prosecutor, our trial attorneys prepare every case as if it is heading to a jury, fighting to ensure our clients receive fair settlements instead of lowball offers.

Contact us today for a free consultation with our skilled legal team.

Do I Have a Pedestrian Accident Case in Queens?

If a driver’s negligence caused your injuries, you have a case. Negligence means a driver failed to act with reasonable care, running a red light, speeding through a crosswalk, or checking their phone instead of the road ahead.

To win, our Queens pedestrian accident lawyers must show the driver’s careless behavior directly caused your injuries and that you suffered real, documentable harm. When those elements are in place, we pursue every dollar New York law allows.

What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident in Queens

The decisions you make in the hours immediately after a crash shape how strong your claim will be. Follow these steps in order:

• Seek medical care right away: Serious injuries like internal bleeding and brain trauma often have no immediate symptoms. Medical records are the foundation of your claim, without them, there is no case.

• Call 911 and get a police report: A police report is the official record of your accident. Before the officer leaves, ask for the report number so we can pull the full document later.

• Document everything you can: Photograph the vehicle, the intersection, traffic signals, and your injuries. Collect the names and contact information of any witnesses before they leave.

• File your no-fault application within 30 days: New York gives you 30 days from the accident date to file with the at-fault driver’s insurer. Miss this window and you risk losing coverage for initial medical bills and lost wages.

• Contact our law firm before speaking to any adjuster: Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions that produce statements they can use to reduce your payout. At Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, we take over all communication with the insurance company the moment you hire us.

Who Pays My Medical Bills After a Pedestrian Crash?

New York is a no-fault state, meaning the insurance on the vehicle that struck you pays your initial medical bills and a portion of lost wages through Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This applies to pedestrians, even if you do not own a car.

If the driver was uninsured or fled the scene without being identified, we file a claim with the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC), a state program that covers injured victims when no other insurance exists.

Can You Sue for Pain and Suffering After a Pedestrian Accident?

No-fault benefits cover your immediate economic losses but not pain, suffering, or the long-term impact of your injuries on your life. To access those damages, your injuries must meet New York’s “serious injury” standard under Insurance Law § 5102(d).

Qualifying injuries include:

• Bone fractures

• Significant disfigurement or permanent scarring

• Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, or system

• Significant limitation of a body function or system

• An injury preventing normal daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the accident

Most pedestrian accident victims meet this threshold. At your free consultation, our Queens personal injury lawyers review your medical records and tell you exactly where you stand.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Pedestrian Accident in Queens?

The driver who hit you is the most obvious defendant, but liability often extends further, and more defendants can mean more compensation available to you. We investigate every party that may be responsible.

Potentially liable parties include:

• Distracted, intoxicated, fatigued, or reckless drivers

• Employers of commercial or delivery drivers who were working at the time of the crash

• Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft when their driver caused the accident

• New York City or the MTA for accidents involving city buses or hazardous road conditions

• Property owners and contractors responsible for dangerous sidewalk or construction zone conditions

Even if you share some fault for the accident, you can still recover. New York’s comparative negligence rule reduces your award by your percentage of fault, it does not bar you from bringing a claim.

What we see across the pedestrian liability claims we handle in Queens County is that when a delivery vehicle or rideshare driver is involved, the employer or the rideshare company routinely tries to distance itself from the driver’s actions instead of acknowledging the working relationship at the time of the crash.

We regularly send requests for dispatch records and trip logs early, before that information can be characterized as unavailable or incomplete.

Claims that end up in front of the Queens County Supreme Court tend to move faster once that documentation is secured rather than requested for the first time after a lawsuit is already filed.

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Queens

Queens has some of the most dangerous roads in New York City for people on foot. High-traffic corridors like Queens Boulevard, Northern Boulevard, and Roosevelt Avenue see serious pedestrian accidents regularly, and most of them trace back to one thing: a driver who was not paying attention.

Common causes include distracted driving, failure to yield in crosswalks, left-turn collisions where a driver watches oncoming traffic instead of the crosswalk ahead, speeding, running red lights, driving under the influence, and hit-and-run incidents.

One pattern our Queens pedestrian accident attorneys consistently see in pedestrian accident claims along Queens Boulevard and the Grand Central Parkway service roads is that the insurer’s initial fault narrative leans almost entirely on the driver’s version of events before any crosswalk signal timing or turning lane data has been pulled.

We push back by requesting the intersection’s signal phasing records and any NYPD Collision Investigation Squad findings before an adjuster’s early account of fault can harden into the file. What we see across the pedestrian claims we handle out of Astoria and Jackson Heights is that left-turn crashes are consistently under-investigated unless someone forces the issue early.

Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries

Even at moderate speeds, a vehicle can cause catastrophic harm to a pedestrian. The injuries we handle routinely involve surgery, extended rehabilitation, and permanent lifestyle changes.

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Ranging from concussions to severe cognitive damage affecting memory, speech, and independent function.

• Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the spinal cord can result in partial or complete paralysis, frequently permanent.

• Fractures: Leg, hip, and pelvis fractures are common when a vehicle bumper makes direct contact.

• Internal Injuries: Organ damage and internal bleeding are life-threatening emergencies requiring immediate surgery.

• Amputations: The crushing force of a vehicle can result in traumatic or surgical limb loss.

• Psychological Injuries: PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders following a violent accident are recognized and compensable under New York law.

A tactic we see repeatedly from adjusters handling pedestrian injury claims in Queens is treating the initial emergency department workup at Elmhurst Hospital or Jamaica Hospital Medical Center as the full picture of the harm, even when a spinal or head injury does not fully show itself until follow-up imaging weeks later.

In our experience handling these cases across the borough, clients discharged quickly and told to follow up with their own doctor often see the insurer later argue that the treatment gap means the injury was not serious.

We counter that argument by lining up the follow-up records and specialist referrals before the adjuster gets a chance to frame the gap as a credibility issue.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Pedestrian Accident?

We fight for every category of damages New York law allows, the losses you can calculate and the harm no dollar amount can fully capture.

Damage Type	What It Covers
Medical Expenses	Past and future treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term care
Lost Wages	Income lost during recovery and any reduction in future earning capacity
Pain and Suffering	Physical pain and emotional toll caused by your injuries
Loss of Enjoyment	Activities, relationships, and quality of life permanently limited by the injury
Wrongful Death	Funeral costs, lost financial support, and loss of companionship

We benchmark your damages against comparable New York verdicts and settlements to make sure nothing is left on the table.

How Long Do You Have to File in New York?

The general deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is three years from the accident date. Several shorter deadlines, however, can permanently cut off your rights if missed:

• 90 days to file a Notice of Claim if a city bus, MTA vehicle, or any city-operated vehicle was involved

• 1 year and 90 days to sue the MTA or New York City directly

• 2 years to file a wrongful death claim

Surveillance footage gets erased, witnesses move on, and physical evidence disappears. The sooner we get involved, the stronger the case we can build.

What If the Driver Was an Uber, Lyft, or MTA Bus?

If an Uber or Lyft driver causes your accident while actively transporting a passenger, their commercial policy provides up to $1.25 million in coverage, which is far more than a standard personal auto policy. That difference can significantly impact your recovery.

MTA buses and city-operated vehicles follow stricter procedural rules. You must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident, and the deadline to file a lawsuit is just one year and 90 days, not three years. We track every deadline for you from day one.

How We Fight for Your Recovery at Grigor Law

We prepare every pedestrian accident case as if a jury will decide it. That posture sends a clear signal to insurance companies: settle fairly, or we see you in court.

From the moment you call, we move fast. We secure traffic camera and business surveillance footage before it gets overwritten, retain accident reconstruction engineers and medical experts to establish liability and the full scope of your damages, and handle every filing and negotiation on your behalf. You focus on healing. We build your case.

Founded in 2015 by Chrissy Grigoropoulos, Esq., our legal team brings a shark attitude to every case. With offices in Ridgewood, the Bronx, and Hempstead, we serve all of Queens, every borough, Long Island, and Westchester County. If you cannot travel, we come to you.

Experienced Pedestrian Accident Law Firm in Queens, New York

The insurance company has already started building its case against you. Contact Grigor Law for a free, no-obligation consultation. There is no attorney fee unless we win.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I File a Claim If the Driver Who Hit Me Fled the Scene?

Yes. We pursue compensation through MVAIC or your own uninsured motorist coverage, and we immediately investigate traffic cameras and coordinate with the NYPD to identify the driver when possible.

Can I Still Recover If I Am Partially at Fault in New York?

Yes. Under New York’s comparative negligence rule, your compensation is reduced proportionally by your share of fault, but you are never completely barred from filing a claim.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Attorney For a Pedestrian Accident in Queens, NY?

Nothing upfront. Our fee is a percentage of the compensation we win for you, and there is no fee at all if we do not recover.

Can I Still Recover Compensation If I Was Hit Outside a Marked Crosswalk?

Yes. Drivers in New York have a legal duty to watch for pedestrians and take reasonable steps to avoid striking them, regardless of where on the road the pedestrian was at the time of the accident.

Can a Grigor Law Attorney Meet Me at My Home or Hospital?

Yes. If your injuries prevent you from traveling to one of our offices, our attorneys come to you, at your home, your hospital room, or wherever in Queens you need us.