Brooklyn Bicycle Accident Lawyers

Brooklyn has the highest cyclist injury volume of any NYC borough outside Manhattan. NYC DOT reported approximately 5,000 total bicycle crashes citywide in 2023, with Brooklyn accounting for a major share. Crash hot spots cluster on Atlantic Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, Bedford Avenue, the Williamsburg Bridge approaches, and the Brooklyn Bridge bike lane. Tillary Street at Flatbush Avenue Extension averages ~180 crashes per year.

Kings County Supreme Court at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn handles civil cases with unlimited jurisdiction. Kings Civil Court at 141 Livingston Street handles claims up to $50,000. Appeals go to the Appellate Division, Second Department. For crashes involving NYC vehicles, MTA buses, NYC Sanitation trucks, NYPD or FDNY vehicles, or NYCHA vehicles, a Notice of Claim must be served on the NYC Comptroller within 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-e.

Yes. Insurance Law 5103 covers cyclists struck by motor vehicles. PIP benefits up to $50,000 cover medical expenses and lost wages regardless of fault. PIP comes from the policy of the vehicle that struck the cyclist. If the vehicle was uninsured or unidentified (hit-and-run), the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) provides coverage with a 90-day notice requirement. To sue the driver for pain and suffering, the cyclist must clear the 'serious injury' threshold under Insurance Law 5102(d).

Atlantic Avenue (5 fatal and 359 injury crashes in 2023). Flatbush Avenue, Eastern Parkway, and Ocean Parkway carry heavy north-south cycling traffic past major intersections. The Williamsburg Bridge bike path. The Brooklyn Bridge bike lane. Bedford Avenue corridor through Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Tillary Street at Flatbush Avenue Extension (NYC's most dangerous intersection). Park Slope's Prospect Park West redesign zone. The Belt Parkway service roads see crashes at every cross street.

Three years from the accident date for personal injury under CPLR 214(5). Two years from date of death for wrongful death under EPTL 5-4.1. PIP application within 30 days. For government-vehicle cases, 90-day Notice of Claim under GML 50-e. Hit-and-run claims through MVAIC require notice within 90 days. Minors toll the clock until age 18.

Primarily the at-fault driver. Liability often extends to the driver's employer (commercial truck, MTA bus, NYC Sanitation, taxi, rideshare, food-delivery, Amazon DSP, UPS, FedEx). Vehicle owner under VTL 388. NYC if a defective traffic signal, blocked bike lane, or pothole contributed (subject to prior-written-notice rules under NYC Administrative Code 7-201). The bar or restaurant under Dram Shop Act 11-101 if the driver was visibly intoxicated when served.

Standard bicycles, Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes (under 25 mph), and Citi Bike rides are covered by the same Vehicle and Traffic Law and no-fault framework when struck by a motor vehicle. Citi Bike's operator (Lyft) carries product-liability exposure for defective bikes. Brooklyn has substantial delivery e-bike volume (food delivery, parcel delivery), and crashes between delivery e-bikes and pedestrians are a separate category often involving the delivery platform's vicarious liability.

Past and future medical expenses, lost wages and loss of future earning capacity, pain and suffering, permanent impairment, loss of consortium, and in fatal cases pecuniary loss to the statutory distributees under EPTL 5-4.3. Brooklyn cyclist injuries from collisions with cars, trucks, and buses are routinely catastrophic: traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures, internal injuries, spinal injuries. Kings County juries return solid plaintiff verdicts in clear-liability bike cases.