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After a Bicycle Crash in New York
If you were hurt riding a bicycle in New York — or hurt by a bicycle or e-bike — get medical care first. Then, when it is safe, gather what you can: photographs of the scene, the bicycle, and any other vehicle; names of witnesses; the police report number if officers came; and any GPS, camera, or rental records from the ride. Call The Frankel Law Firm. There is no fee to speak with us or for us to evaluate a potential case. For the lawyer practice page, see bicycle accident lawyer.
What to do after a bicycle crash
This page is a practical guide for the hours and days after a New York bicycle crash. It is not a substitute for medical care or for an evaluation of your facts. Safety comes first. Move out of traffic if you can. Call emergency services when you need them. Do not stand in a live lane solely to take photographs.
After you are safe, small steps often help later questions about how the crash happened and what coverage may apply. Write down what you remember while it is fresh: the approximate time and location, the direction you were riding, whether you were in a bike lane or shared street, and whether a car, taxi, bus, truck, or another bicycle was involved. Note weather and lighting. If you were on an e-bike or a rental bike, say that when you call — those details can matter to the first questions the firm asks.
This guide does not decide fault for any crash. For lawyer-intent information about bicycle accident cases, start with bicycle accident. For car crashes that did not involve a bicycle, see car accidents. Broader personal-injury doors live under personal injury and other injury. Call The Frankel Law Firm to talk through what happened.
Photographs, reports, and evidence
Evidence fades. Bicycles are repaired or thrown away, scenes are cleared, cameras are overwritten, and witnesses leave. When it is safe to do so, these steps often help:
- Get medical care and keep every discharge paper, imaging report, and follow-up note — even if you felt “fine” at the scene.
- Photograph the bicycle as it was after the crash, including damage, lights, and any e-bike or rental markings.
- Photograph the other vehicle (including the plate), the roadway, bike-lane markings, traffic controls, debris, and your visible injuries — date-stamp if you can.
- Write down the other driver’s name, license, plate, and insurer if exchanged, and the names and phone numbers of witnesses.
- If police came, keep the report number and ask how to obtain a copy of the accident report; do not guess at facts you do not know when speaking with officers.
- Keep the bicycle rather than discarding or repairing it until you have spoken with counsel — store it safely.
- Save GPS tracks, bike-computer files, helmet-camera or phone video, and any rental or shared-bike app records.
- Save texts, emails, and early insurer messages; do not give a recorded statement before you have spoken with a lawyer.
This checklist is general information, not legal advice. If you cannot safely gather something, do not risk further injury — call The Frankel Law Firm and describe what you have.
If a motor vehicle was involved
When a car, taxi, bus, truck, or van is part of the crash, early insurance questions often include no-fault (Personal Injury Protection) benefits for certain medical expenses and lost wages, and separately whether a liability claim against another driver makes sense on the facts. Those tracks are not the same. Coverage, notice windows, and serious-injury questions under Insurance Law § 5102(d) and related law are fact-dependent. It is not accurate to say that every bicycle injury is covered by no-fault, that every bicycle injury is excluded, or that every rider always recovers from the other driver’s insurer.
Dooring — a vehicle door opened into your path — is a fact to describe when you call. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1214 addresses opening a car door into moving traffic under certain conditions. Whether that section applies depends on the facts. Photograph the door position and the bicycle damage when it is safe. Do not assume automatic liability from the word “dooring” alone.
If you were the pedestrian or other person hit by a bicycle or e-bike, say that clearly when you call. Pedestrians and people in other vehicles can face different first questions than riders. Damage to the bicycle is a separate question from bodily injury. Call The Frankel Law Firm before you assume which coverage applies or which notices are due.
Insurance and deadlines — ask the firm
Insurers may contact you quickly after a crash. You are not required to give a recorded statement before you have spoken with counsel. Do not guess at speeds, distances, or right of way if you are unsure. Keep copies of any letters or claim numbers you receive, but pause before signing releases or broad medical authorizations until you have talked through them.
CPLR § 214 sets a three-year period for many personal-injury actions. Exceptions and other statutes can change the analysis. No-fault benefits have their own notice and filing windows under the Insurance Law and policy terms; those can be shorter than a lawsuit deadline. When a public corporation is involved — for example a city vehicle or certain public roadway claims — General Municipal Law § 50-e generally requires a Notice of Claim within ninety days after the claim arises. Late-notice relief under § 50-e(5) is discretionary, not automatic.
Always ask The Frankel Law Firm. Do not compute a deadline from this page, and do not assume that a private three-year period, a no-fault window, or a ninety-day public notice period applies to your matter.
Talk through what happened
If a bicycle crash in New York left you hurt, call The Frankel Law Firm. There is no fee to speak with us or for us to evaluate a potential case. For the practice page, see bicycle accident lawyer.
Common New York scenes we hear about
Intersection left turns and right hooks, dooring beside parked cars, drivers drifting into bike lanes, trucks pulling out from loading zones, and wet-road or construction-zone crashes appear often in bicycle matters. So do night rides with limited lighting and shared streets where cars and bikes mix closely. None of these patterns creates automatic liability. Each situation turns on what the drivers and other parties did or failed to do, what the roadway and conditions were like, and what the evidence shows.
Helmet use, e-bike class, and whether you were riding for delivery or personal travel can be raised as factual issues. Those facts may matter in a given case. It is not accurate to say that a rider without a helmet can never recover, or that a rider with a helmet always recovers. Ask The Frankel Law Firm about how the facts of your crash may be viewed — do not assume an outcome from a headline rule.
If a construction vehicle or active job site was involved, say so when you call. Ordinary bike-versus-car crashes are not Scaffold Law cases by label; Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6) may matter only on construction-related facts. For that overview, see construction accidents. For car, motorcycle, and broader injury doors, see the related links below.
Free evaluation after a New York bicycle crash
Describe the crash, who was hurt, and which vehicles were involved. Calling is enough — you need not fill out a form first. Call The Frankel Law Firm at (212) 888-5100.
Questions after a bicycle crash in New York
Is this a lawyer page or a what-to-do guide?
This page is a practical guide for what to do after a New York bicycle crash — evidence, photographs, reports, and early insurance questions. For the bicycle accident lawyer practice page, see bicycle accident. Call The Frankel Law Firm either way for a free evaluation of your situation.
What should I photograph after a bike crash?
When it is safe: the bicycle and its damage, the other vehicle and plate, the roadway and bike-lane markings, traffic controls, debris, lighting or weather clues, and your visible injuries. Date-stamp if you can. Do not re-enter a live lane solely for photos. Call The Frankel Law Firm; the checklist on this page is general information, not legal advice.
Should I keep the bicycle?
Yes when you can. Keep the bicycle rather than discarding or repairing it until you have spoken with counsel. Store it safely. If you were on a rental or shared bike, keep the rental or app record and photograph the bike before you return it if possible. Ask The Frankel Law Firm about your facts.
What if I was doored?
Describe the dooring when you call. Photograph the door, the bicycle, and the scene when it is safe. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1214 addresses opening a vehicle door into moving traffic under certain conditions; whether it applies depends on the facts. It is not accurate to say that every dooring crash makes a driver automatically liable. Call The Frankel Law Firm.
How soon do I need to deal with insurance or deadlines?
No-fault notice windows and other deadlines can be shorter than a lawsuit period. Public-entity Notice of Claim periods under General Municipal Law § 50-e can be short when they apply. Always ask The Frankel Law Firm promptly. Do not compute a deadline from this page, and do not assume which window applies to your matter.
Should I give a recorded statement to an insurer?
You are not required to give a recorded statement before you have spoken with counsel. Do not guess at facts you do not know. Save claim numbers and letters, but pause before recorded statements or broad releases. Call The Frankel Law Firm first.
What if I was hit by a bicycle, not riding one?
Say so when you call. Pedestrians and people in other vehicles can be hurt in bicycle or e-bike incidents and may face different first questions than riders. Call The Frankel Law Firm for a free evaluation. Related: personal injury and other injury.
What does it cost to call The Frankel Law Firm?
There is no fee to speak with The Frankel Law Firm or to evaluate a potential bicycle crash. If the firm takes a matter, fee terms are explained in writing before anything is signed. Ask on the first call.
More information
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page is general information about what to do after a New York bicycle crash. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether no-fault benefits, a liability claim, a serious-injury analysis, Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1214, Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), or 241(6) in construction-vehicle facts, or a Notice of Claim applies depends on the facts. It is not accurate to say that every crash makes another driver automatically liable, that liability is always absolute, or that every rider recovers. A telephone call or online inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship. The firm represents a client only if it agrees to do so. Please do not send medical records until representation has been agreed.