NYC Bicycle Accident Lawyer

We’ve successfully won over $150 million in benefits, verdicts, and settlements for injury victims like you. You don’t just need to win your case; you must ensure you get every cent you deserve. Make our NYC law office your first call. We offer a free, no-obligation case evaluation, so don’t hesitate to contact us at 212-514-5100 to arrange a time for yours today.

NYC Bicycle Accident Statistics

An estimated 773,000 New Yorkers ride a bike in the city, and city agencies believe that more than 553,000 bicycle trips are made daily. To accommodate riders, New York City has an extensive network of bike lanes—with many more under construction.

NYC was once a leader in bike infrastructure innovation, but that’s no longer true. Many argue that much of NYC’s bike infrastructure is outdated, poorly designed, and located in places where cyclists don’t typically go. Without proper bike lanes to ride in safely, bike crossing signals, and dedicated parking facilities, cyclists are often forced into traffic with larger vehicles. Accidents are bound to happen – and they do. In 2021, 3,514 bicycles were involved in auto accidents in New York City. That accounted for 3 percent of all traffic accidents citywide. Where do most bicyclists get into accidents? Out of the 3,000+ crashes, there were:

• 687 Queens bicycle accidents
• 1,274 Brooklyn bicycle accidents
• 1,102 Manhattan bicycle accidents
• 390 Bronx bicycle accidents, and
• 60 Staten Island bicycle accidents.

Intersection Crashes

NYC crash data reveals that the vast majority of car and bicycle collisions happen at intersections. Some of the intersections with the highest bicycle crash rates include:

• Jay St and Tillary St in Brooklyn
• E 161st St and Morris St in the Bronx.
• 6th Ave and W 23rd Street in Manhattan
• Atlantic Ave and Bedford Ave in Brooklyn
• 58th St and Roosevelt Ave in Queens

If you ride a bicycle in New York City, it’s important to exercise caution whether or not you’re using a dedicated or protected bike lane. Accidents can, and still do, happen.

Why You’ll Want Our Award-Winning NYC Personal Injury Lawyers Fighting for You After a Bike Accident

As an injured bicyclist, you need an attorney who will fight to ensure you’re fully compensated.

You also deserve to work with a law firm that genuinely cares about you and your case—not a firm that will treat you like a number. The Platta Law Firm provides the service of a small firm while achieving results that rival bigger legal teams.

Our clients are like family, and we aim to ensure that each person we represent gets the individualized, detailed representation they deserve. With our law firm in your corner, you’ll have the opportunity you need to heal from your physical and emotional wounds. You’ll also set yourself up for the financial recovery you deserve. Our team is ready to invest whatever resources and time are necessary as we go against tough insurance companies and defendants on your behalf. We will:

• Investigate your bike crash to determine causation, fault, and liability.
• Get your case ready for trial if you’re not offered a fair settlement deal.
• Negotiate with defense counsel, insurance adjusters, and other parties on your behalf.
• Defend against claims that you share responsibility for your bike crash or resulting injuries.
• Confer with medical professionals, accident reconstructionists, bicycle designers, and other experts.
• We will gather accident reports, photographs, video footage, medical records, witness statements, physical evidence from the scene, and other information to help us build a strong claim.

What Are the Leading Causes of Bicycle Accidents in New York City?

Bicycle accidents are largely a result of human error and negligence. People aren’t as careful as they should be, and bicyclists suffer the consequences. Some common contributing factors include:

• Speeding
• Drug and alcohol use
• Failing to signal properly when turning
• Distracted driving or riding
• Failing to yield the right of way
• Fatigued operation of a car or bicycle
• Failing to leave appropriate space between a car and a bicycle when passing
• Dooring
• Vehicle or bicycle malfunction
• Running red lights and stop signs, road defects, including uneven pavement, obscured signage, unclear road markings, and unsafe design

Product Liability in NYC Bicycle Accident Cases

Sometimes bicycles, helmets, and other pieces of safety equipment are defective. Every year, bikes are recalled by manufacturers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for a wide range of issues, such as:

• Faulty chains
• Defective brakes, frames, wheels, tires, tubes
• Faulty seat posts and seat clamp failure
• Defective handlebars
• Improperly attached pedals and fork steerer failure
• Loose handlebar stems
• Failure to meet minimum safety standards

Defects can exist because of a problem inherent to a bicycle’s design (e.g., improper calculation or requiring inadequate materials), because of a problem that occurred during manufacturing (e.g., using the wrong part, applying too much pressure and causing the frame to break), or due to a failure to warn consumers about potential risks. Helmets can also be defective, especially if it’s discovered that the helmet is not strong enough to withstand force and protect a rider’s skull and brain during a crash.

A company responsible for designing, manufacturing, or marketing defective bikes or bike safety equipment can be held legally accountable.

What Kind of Compensation Can I Get if I’m Injured in a Bicycle Accident in NYC?

Your age and the extent of your injuries will affect how much money you might be able to get.  The compensation you receive will typically fall into several categories. This can include compensation for:

• Property damage
• Lost wages and income
• Rehabilitation and therapy
• Nursing care and assistance
• Present and future medical bills

Other damages might involve the following:

• Pain and suffering, both physical and emotional
• Reduced quality of life
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Our experienced NYC personal injury attorneys will advocate for you and work hard to ensure that you are compensated for the full extent and scope of your bike accident injuries and trauma.

Bicycle Helmets Save Lives, but Riders Are Still Vulnerable to Catastrophic Injuries

It’s been proven time and time again that wearing a helmet reduces the likelihood of sustaining a traumatic brain injury or dying in a traffic accident. However, even when riders wear helmets, their bodies can still suffer significant impact and trauma that can change their lives. At The Platta Law Firm, we’re here to help you seek compensation for all of your bicycle accident injuries, including:

• Eye, face or dental injury
• Lacerations and sprains, strains, bruising, and other soft tissue injuries
• Nerve damage and spinal cord injury
• Paralysis
• Neck injury
• Back injury
• Trauma to the feet and legs
• Partial or complete amputation

Our compassionate team is also here if you’ve recently lost a close family member in a fatal bicycle accident in New York City. While it won’t heal your wounds or bring them back, the damages recovered in a wrongful death lawsuit can help to offset the financial burdens of your devastating loss.

Is There a Time Limit for Filing a Bicycle Accident Lawsuit in New York City?

New York has a three-year statute of limitations that applies to most bicycle accident lawsuits. There are some exceptions, like cases involving:

• Wrongful death: two years from the date of a victim’s death
• Injured children: the statute of limitations can be tolled until a child injured turns 18
• Government negligence: 90 days from the date of the accident to file a Notice of Claim with the New York City Office of the Comptroller

Once the statute of limitations expires, the right to file a claim against a responsible party disappears. In turn, you’ll lose out on valuable compensation.

What if I’m Blamed for my New York Bicycle Accident?

You can still recover compensation if you’re partly responsible for a bicycle accident. The state of New York has a pure comparative negligence system, so victims can recover some of their damages if they share responsibility.

Damages are reduced in direct proportion to the degree of fault. Let’s say you’re struck by a car at an intersection.

The driver ran a stop sign, but you were texting at the time and not paying attention to your surroundings. If you were more alert, you might have noticed the car heading toward you. Therefore, you’re assigned 20 percent fault for the crash. Your claim is for $100,000, so you may receive $80,000.

Other parties will try to blame you. The more fault that lands on your shoulders, the less money the insurer will pay. Protect yourself against these tactics by enlisting the help of our accomplished NYC bicycle and car accident attorneys. We’ll gather evidence to help disprove negligence claims and work to minimize any responsibility assigned to you.

A Trusted NYC Bicycle Accident Lawyer Ready to Fight for You

You don’t have to try to recover from your severe injuries and fight for compensation in an insurance claim or lawsuit by yourself. The Platta Law Firm is here to offer the support, guidance, and resources you need to get better and achieve the results you deserve. Call our NYC bicycle accident lawyers and benefit from 150+ years of combined experience and a team winning over $1.5 billion. We offer a free consultation and work on contingency. You risk nothing and pay nothing unless we win your case. Get in touch by calling 212-514-5100 to learn more today.