Queens Bicycle Accident Lawyers

Queens carries elevated cycling risk on its wide multi-lane boulevards: Queens Boulevard ('Boulevard of Death,' 186 fatalities since 1990), Northern Boulevard (284 traffic accidents in 2021), Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue, Astoria Boulevard, Metropolitan Avenue. Delivery e-bike volume in Long Island City, Astoria, and Flushing has grown substantially, and crashes between delivery e-bikes and pedestrians or with cars are a separate category.

Queens County Supreme Court at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica handles civil cases with unlimited jurisdiction. Queens Civil Court at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard handles claims up to $50,000. Appeals go to the Appellate Division, Second Department. For crashes involving NYC vehicles, MTA buses, NYC Sanitation, NYPD, FDNY, or other public-authority vehicles, a Notice of Claim must be served on the NYC Comptroller within 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-e. Port Authority crashes (JFK, LaGuardia approaches) require 1-year written notice.

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 Insurance Law 5102(d).

Queens Boulevard runs the length of central Queens with 12 lanes in some stretches and a documented fatality history. Northern Boulevard concentrates 284 traffic accidents in 2021 alone. Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue, and Sutphin Boulevard carry heavy bus and delivery traffic past dense pedestrian and cycling activity in Jamaica. Astoria Boulevard, 21st Street, and Crescent Street carry Astoria's cycling and delivery e-bike volume. Metropolitan Avenue serves Maspeth, Middle Village, and Forest Hills. Roosevelt Avenue under the elevated 7 train carries dense delivery e-bike traffic.

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 under CPLR 208.

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.

Queens has substantial delivery e-bike volume serving the borough's restaurants and online ordering. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes (under 25 mph) are covered by the same Vehicle and Traffic Law and no-fault framework as standard bicycles when struck by a motor vehicle. Crashes between delivery e-bikes and pedestrians involve the delivery platform's vicarious liability. Class 3 e-bikes (over 25 mph) and certain mopeds may have different requirements.

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. Queens cyclist injuries from collisions with cars, trucks, and buses are routinely catastrophic: traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures, internal injuries, spinal injuries. Queens juries return solid plaintiff verdicts in clear-liability cases.