Bicycle and e-bike accident claims in New York
New York City has added protected lanes and bike infrastructure faster than drivers have adjusted to it, and delivery riding has put far more e-bikes on the road than there were a few years ago. A cyclist has no protection in a collision, and the injuries tend to be serious.
The patterns that produce these cases
A door opened into the lane without looking. A driver turning across a bike lane. A vehicle stopped in the lane forcing a rider into traffic. A pothole, a sunken utility cut or a steel construction plate that would be a bump in a car and is a crash on two wheels.
That last category matters because the responsible party may not be a driver at all. It may be a contractor, a utility or a public agency, and that changes both who the claim is against and how long you have to bring it.
Evidence is the whole case, and it does not last
We move early for the police report, scene and bicycle photographs, and any intersection, business or building camera footage, much of which is overwritten within days or weeks. Damage patterns and the resting positions of the vehicles often say more than either party remembers.
Where a road defect is involved, the condition itself is evidence and it gets repaired. Photographs taken before the repair, with something in frame for scale, are frequently the difference in these claims.
If a city vehicle or a road defect is involved
When the responsible party is a city agency, a transit authority or another public entity, a notice of claim is generally required within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e, far earlier than the ordinary deadline, and missing it can end the claim before it begins. Establishing whether a public entity is involved is one of the first things we do.
Deadlines
Most personal injury actions in New York must be started within three years under CPLR 214, with the much shorter public-entity deadlines above where an agency is responsible.
Queens-specific pages
Our Queens personal injury page covers the borough more broadly.
Frequently asked questions
What if a pothole or a construction plate caused my crash?
Then the responsible party may be a contractor, a utility or a public agency rather than a driver. That changes who the claim is against and can shorten the deadline substantially, so it is worth establishing early. Photographs of the condition before it is repaired are often decisive.
How long do I have to bring a bicycle accident claim?
Most personal injury actions in New York must be started within three years under CPLR 214. If a city agency, transit authority or other public entity is responsible, a notice of claim is generally required within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e, which is far earlier.
Does it matter that I was riding an e-bike rather than a bicycle?
It can matter to how the claim is analyzed. The facts that decide these cases are the same either way: what the driver or the responsible party did, what the scene showed, and what the medical record establishes. Bring what you have and we will tell you where you stand.
