New York City Pedestrian Accident Attorney

Hit while walking or jogging in New York? Our seasoned pedestrian accident lawyers in New York City can help you recover financial compensation for your injuries.

Being struck by a car, bus, or truck on a New York City street is violent and often permanently life-altering. Pedestrians in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn frequently suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal damage, and fractures that require months of treatment, all while medical bills and lost income keep piling up.

Insurance companies move quickly to lock you into a recorded statement or a lowball settlement before you understand what your claim is actually worth.

At Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, our attorneys represent pedestrians hit by cars, buses, delivery vans, MTA vehicles, sanitation trucks, e-bikes, and hit-and-run drivers across all five boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester County.

From the day you hire our New York City pedestrian accident attorneys, our investigators go to the scene where you were struck, pull surveillance footage before it is overwritten, and lock down witness statements while every insurer and city agency is put on notice that your case is being built for trial.

Founded by Chrissy Grigoropoulos, Esq., a former Nassau County prosecutor, our trial team brings the same intensity to your case that insurance companies bring to denying it. Contact us today for a free consultation.

What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident in New York City

The moves you make immediately after being hit determine what evidence is available and whether critical legal deadlines are met. Insurance companies begin building their defense from the moment they receive the call. Your actions need to be just as deliberate.

Step 1: Call 911 and Get a Police Report

Always get law enforcement to the scene so your crash is captured in an official police report. That document records the driver’s information, any traffic violations, failure to yield, speeding, running a red light, and the exact conditions at the time, all of which become critical evidence when the other side tries to shift blame onto you.

Step 2: Seek Medical Attention Right Away

Adrenaline masks pain, and serious injuries like traumatic brain damage or internal bleeding may not produce symptoms for hours. Any gap between the crash and your first medical evaluation becomes the insurer’s primary argument that your injuries weren’t caused by the accident.

Step 3: Preserve Evidence and Guard Your Statements

Before leaving the scene, gather the following:

• Photographs of the intersection, crosswalk markings, traffic signals, and vehicle position
• Names and contact information for every eyewitness
• The driver’s license, plate number, and insurance details
• Notes on nearby businesses or traffic cameras that may have captured the crash on video

Never give the driver’s insurance company a recorded statement. Their adjusters are trained to steer your words toward partial fault or injury minimization, both of which will be weaponized to reduce your compensation. Refer all calls to our New York City pedestrian accident lawyers immediately.

Who Pays Your Medical Bills After an NYC Pedestrian Crash?

Under New York’s no-fault system, the insurance carrier of the vehicle that struck you must cover up to $50,000 in combined no-fault benefits, including your medical expenses and up to 80% of your lost wages, regardless of who caused the crash.

As a pedestrian, you don’t need to own a car or hold your own auto policy to access these benefits. You file directly against the driver’s coverage.

There is a hard deadline: your no-fault application must be submitted within 30 days of the accident, or you risk losing these benefits permanently. We handle that filing the moment you hire us.

One pattern we consistently see in pedestrian no-fault claims across the Bronx is that insurers pull records from Jacobi Medical Center or Lincoln Medical Center and then argue that any gap between the emergency room visit and follow-up orthopedic or neurological care means the injury was not caused by the crash.

We close that gap by lining up the treating physician’s notes with the ambulance run sheet and the police report so the timeline cannot be disputed. This tactic shows up often enough in Manhattan pedestrian cases that we build the medical record request into the case from day one.

Can You Sue for Pain and Suffering?

No-fault covers bills and partial lost wages, nothing more. Recovering full compensation for your pain, suffering, and long-term losses requires filing a personal injury lawsuit, which first requires proving you meet New York’s “serious injury threshold” under Insurance Law § 5102(d). Your injuries must fall into one of these categories:

• A bone fracture
• Significant disfigurement or permanent scarring
• Permanent or significant limitation of a body part or organ system
• An injury that prevented your normal daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the crash.

Most pedestrian accidents involving a moving vehicle meet this standard. Our New York City personal injury attorneys review your medical records, work directly with your treating physicians, and build the documentation needed to unlock the full value of your claim.

Are You Barred If You Were Jaywalking or Partly at Fault?

No. New York follows pure comparative negligence, meaning your compensation is reduced by your share of fault, but you are never completely barred from recovering. Jaywalking is no longer a criminal offense in New York City, and crossing mid-block does not forfeit your case.

If a distracted or speeding driver hit you, they bear the dominant share of responsibility regardless of where you were crossing. We fight to establish that clearly and to minimize any fault attributed to you.

A tactic we see repeatedly from adjusters handling pedestrian claims along corridors like Queens Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue is an attempt to shift fault onto the pedestrian for crossing mid-block, even when the striking driver ran a red light or failed to yield.

What we see across these claims is that NYPD Collision Investigation Squad reports and nearby traffic camera footage almost always tell a different story once we pull them. In our experience litigating these disputes in Kings County Supreme Court and Queens County Supreme Court, insurers move off a lowball number fast once that footage is in the record.

What If It Was a City Bus, Sanitation Truck, or MTA Vehicle?

Claims against any government entity, the City of New York, the MTA, the NYPD, or NYC Transit, require a formal Notice of Claim filed with the correct agency within 90 days of your accident. This pre-suit requirement must be met before any lawsuit can be filed, and it is far shorter than the standard personal injury deadline.

Miss it and your right to sue is almost certainly gone permanently. If a government vehicle was involved in your crash, call our New York City pedestrian accident attorneys that same day.

What If the Driver Fled or Had No Insurance?

A hit-and-run or uninsured driver does not leave you without a remedy. New York’s Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation, known as MVAIC, was created specifically to compensate pedestrians struck by drivers who flee the scene or carry no insurance.

Like municipal claims, MVAIC requires a formal notice of intention, typically within 90 days of the crash.

If a household member holds an auto policy with uninsured or supplemental underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage, that policy can serve as an additional source of recovery. We identify every available avenue and pursue all of them simultaneously.

How We Build Your Pedestrian Accident Claim

We begin building your case the day you hire us, not after a 30-day intake review. Investigators go to the scene immediately, searching for witnesses before memories fade and issuing preservation letters to businesses and city agencies before surveillance footage is overwritten.

When liability is disputed, we retain accident reconstruction experts and biomechanical engineers to prove exactly how the driver’s negligence caused the crash.

Insurance companies know we are prepared to take pedestrian cases before a jury when settlements don’t reflect what our clients truly deserve. That reputation is what forces serious negotiations from the start.

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in New York City

Most pedestrian crashes are not accidents. They are the direct result of a driver violating New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law or the NYC Traffic Rules and Regulations. Each violation below is direct evidence of negligence in your claim:

• Driver failure to yield the right-of-way at marked and unmarked crosswalks
• Distracted driving, texting, GPS use, or inattention behind the wheel
• Left-turn and right-turn failures at busy intersections
• Speeding in residential zones, school zones, or near construction areas
• Running red lights and stop signs
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Unsafe backing without checking for foot traffic
• E-bike and commercial delivery vehicle collisions in high-traffic corridors

Injuries Common in NYC Pedestrian Accidents

A pedestrian’s body absorbs the full force of impact with no frame, airbag, or seatbelt to distribute the energy. The injuries that result are frequently catastrophic and permanent:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI): When a head strikes a hood, windshield, or pavement, the result can be lasting cognitive impairment, memory loss, and irreversible personality changes.
• Spinal cord injury: Severe back trauma from the initial impact or a secondary fall can cause partial or complete paralysis below the site of injury.
• Leg and pelvis fractures: Vehicle bumpers strike at hip and thigh height, shattering bone that often demands multiple reconstructive surgeries.
• Internal organ damage: Crush injuries and rollovers can rupture organs and trigger hemorrhaging that is invisible from the outside but life-threatening.
• Traumatic amputation: When crush injuries destroy the blood supply to a limb beyond repair, surgical removal may be the only viable medical option.

When an accident is fatal, we represent surviving family members in wrongful death claims against the driver and every other responsible party.

What we see consistently in pedestrian cases where clients are first treated at Bellevue Hospital or Kings County Hospital is that the initial trauma workup often misses a soft tissue or spinal injury that only surfaces once the adrenaline wears off and the swelling has time to develop.

Insurers routinely seize on that gap in the records to argue the later diagnosis is unrelated to the crash. We close that gap by getting our clients into follow-up imaging and specialist care within days, not weeks, so the medical chain stays intact.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

We measure every claim against comparable New York verdicts and settlements before we sit down across from any insurance company. A full personal injury lawsuit pursues every category of loss:

• Medical expenses: Every past and future bill, ambulance transport, emergency surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term home health care
• Lost income and earning capacity: Wages already missed and any future earnings reduced by permanent disability
• Pain and suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, permanent disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Wrongful death damages: Funeral costs, lost financial support, and the loss of parental guidance for surviving children
• Punitive damages: Available against drivers whose conduct, such as drunk driving or extreme recklessness, rises above ordinary negligence

How Long Do You Have to File in New York?

New York’s statutes of limitations are absolute. Missing any deadline permanently eliminates your right to compensation:

• Personal injury lawsuit: Three years from the date of the crash
• Wrongful death lawsuit: Two years from the date of death
• Claims against the City or MTA: Notice of Claim required within 90 days
• No-fault benefits: Application required within 30 days

The sooner you contact us, the more options remain open.

Why Choose Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers?

Chrissy Grigoropoulos, Esq. founded this firm in 2015 because injured New Yorkers deserve attorneys who fight back with the same intensity that insurance companies use to deny claims. Our trial team brings a shark attitude to every pedestrian case, because anything less won’t move a billion-dollar insurer that is actively working against you.

We operate offices in Ridgewood (Brooklyn/Queens), the Bronx, and Hempstead, serving all five boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester County. If your injuries leave you unable to travel, our attorneys come to you, whether at your home or your hospital bed. Every case is handled on contingency, meaning you pay no attorney fee unless we win.

Contact us for a free consultation, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Collect No-Fault Benefits If I Don’t Own a Car?

Yes, as an injured pedestrian, your no-fault claim is filed against the insurance policy of the vehicle that struck you, not your own. Car ownership has no bearing on your eligibility for these benefits.

What Happens If I Missed the 30-Day No-Fault Filing Deadline?

A late application is not automatically denied. If hospitalization or the severity of your injuries prevented you from filing on time, we can submit a “reasonable justification” argument to request that the insurer accept the late filing.

Does New York No-Fault Coverage Apply to Out-of-State Visitors?

Yes, no-fault applies to any pedestrian struck by a covered vehicle within New York State, regardless of where you live or where the vehicle that hit you is registered.

What Are My Options If the Driver Who Hit Me Was Uninsured?

We file a MVAIC claim and investigate whether any household auto policy includes uninsured motorist (UM) or SUM coverage that applies to your injuries. A driver’s lack of insurance does not leave you without a remedy.

Can I Still File a Claim If I Was Partly Distracted When I Was Hit?

Yes, comparative negligence reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault, but it does not eliminate your claim. We work to prove that the driver’s failure to see and avoid you was the dominant cause of the crash, keeping your recovery as large as possible.