Rear End Collision
$2,300,000
Insurer offered$85,000
Spinal cord injury after a rear end crash. The insurer offered $85,000.
Serving Long Island City, New York
Car Accident Lawyer in Long Island City, New York
Hurt in a crash in Long Island City? The insurance company already has a team working on your claim. You should too. A free call tells you where you stand.
- No Fee Unless We Win (Costs May Apply)
- Se Habla Español
- Available 24/7
Your attorneyPaul Perkins, Esq.Of Counsel. Licensed in New York.Attorney advertising. Services are not available in all states.
Free consultationNo cost to ask. No obligation.
No fee unless we winCosts may apply. Explained in writing.
Available 24/7Calls answered day and night.
Se habla españolEvery step in English or Spanish.
Licensed attorneysA licensed attorney on every file.
Reviewed by Paul Perkins, Attorney at Law, Of Counsel. Meet the team
In New York, a Long Island City crash victim gets medical bills and part of lost wages paid by no fault coverage first, then a separate claim against the driver, taxi company or bus operator responsible when the injury is serious. Top USA Law handles Long Island City claims from the first call. Call (877) 411-5291.
Where Long Island City car accidents happen
Long Island City is where the Queensboro Bridge lands, and Queens Plaza is the result: Northern Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, Jackson Avenue and 21st Street all arrive under the elevated tracks within two blocks, with bridge traffic coming off at speed and drivers cutting across three lanes to find the right one. Thomson Avenue and Queens Boulevard carry that traffic east past LaGuardia Community College and the Sunnyside rail yards, and the LIE and BQE ramps at Van Dam Street add trucks bound for the Queens Midtown Tunnel and the Kosciuszko Bridge.
Jackson Avenue through Court Square and Hunters Point is now a corridor of new towers, where construction trucks, delivery vans, bikes and residents walking to the 7 train produce turning and dooring crashes at nearly every intersection. Vernon Boulevard along the waterfront is a narrow two lane street where people cross mid block between restaurants and the subway. 21st Street from Queens Plaza north through Ravenswood is wide, straight and fast, with a long record of pedestrian deaths and severe injuries.
The NYPD 108th Precinct writes the collision report for most of the neighborhood, and it is the first document Top USA Law requests.
Elmhurst, Mount Sinai Queens and the courthouse on Sutphin Boulevard
Ambulances from Long Island City usually run to Elmhurst Hospital Center, the Level I trauma center for western Queens, or to Mount Sinai Queens on 30th Avenue in Astoria. That first chart is the baseline every later argument comes back to, and Top USA Law requests it with your release. If you refused the ambulance and took the train home, see a doctor within two days so the insurer has no gap to exploit.
No fault benefits and the 30 day application
Under New York's no fault law the insurer of the vehicle you were in pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages regardless of fault, up to the 50,000 dollar basic economic loss limit in Insurance Law 5102, with the application generally due within 30 days of the crash and payment due within 30 days of proof of claim under Insurance Law 5106. A passenger in a cab or ride share coming off the bridge claims no fault through that vehicle's policy. If the driver fled, a crime under VTL 600, MVAIC can cover a resident without household coverage.
Filing in Queens County
Pain and suffering requires a serious injury under Insurance Law 5102(d), as Insurance Law 5104 demands: a fracture, significant disfigurement, a permanent or significant limitation of a body function, or permanent loss of use. Suit is filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County, at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica, within three years under CPLR 214. For lawsuits filed on or after May 26, 2026, CPLR 1411 applies modified comparative negligence to motor vehicle injury claims, so a cyclist who ran the light at Jackson Avenue and 21st Street recovers minus their share unless their fault is greater than the other side's combined fault, which can bar the claim. The Q32, Q60, Q66, Q67, Q69, Q100, Q101, Q102 and Q103 buses, Access-A-Ride vans and City trucks are all public vehicles, so a crash with any of them requires a General Municipal Law 50-e notice of claim within 90 days.
See if you have a case
Three answers and a phone number. An attorney reviews your situation and calls you back, free.
Results in cases like this
T Bone Accident
$1,800,000
Insurer offered$120,000
Broken pelvis and internal bleeding at an intersection. The insurer offered $120,000.
Drunk Driver Victim
$1,500,000
Insurer offered$50,000
Traumatic brain injury caused by an impaired driver. The insurer offered $50,000.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict a similar outcome.
Where we help in New York
How Top USA Law handles Long Island City car accident claims
A Long Island City crash often involves a TLC vehicle, a truck or a bus, so we identify every insurer, then secure the 108th Precinct report, your MV-104, cameras along Jackson Avenue, and the hospital records. The no fault application goes in within 30 days, and the 90 day notice is calendared when a public vehicle is involved. We meet Long Island City clients by phone, video, at home or at the hospital. The New York car accident lawyer page has the statewide rules; call (877) 411-5291. No fee unless we win, costs may apply.
Our New York offices
Courts where New York crash cases are heard
- Queens County Supreme Court, Jamaica
New York laws that control your case
N.Y. Ins. Law 5102
Defines basic economic loss and the serious injury threshold.
N.Y. Ins. Law 5104
Bars a pain and suffering suit between covered persons unless the serious injury threshold is met.
N.Y. Ins. Law 5106
No fault benefits must be paid within 30 days of proof of claim.
N.Y. CPLR 1411
Modified comparative negligence in motor vehicle cases (lawsuits filed on or after May 26, 2026): recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you can be barred if you are more at fault than the other side.
N.Y. CPLR 214
Three year deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit.
N.Y. EPTL 5-4.1
Two year deadline for a wrongful death action brought by the personal representative.
N.Y. GML 50-e
Ninety day notice of claim for claims against municipalities and public authorities.
N.Y. VTL 600
Leaving the scene of an incident; a crime when the crash caused injury.
N.Y. VTL 1192
Driving while intoxicated or impaired.
Hurt in a crash in Long Island City? Talk it through for free.
New York filing deadlines and insurance notice rules can be short. A free call tells you where your clock stands.
Car Accidents questions in Long Island City
Which hospital treats serious car accident injuries in Long Island City?
Elmhurst Hospital Center is the Level I trauma center for western Queens and takes the worst Long Island City injuries. Mount Sinai Queens on 30th Avenue in Astoria treats many others, and some patients go over the bridge to Manhattan.
Where is a Long Island City car accident lawsuit filed?
In the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County, at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica, not in Long Island City. CPLR 214 gives three years from the crash, but camera footage at Queens Plaza is overwritten within days.
Why are Queens Plaza and the Queensboro Bridge ramps so dangerous?
Bridge traffic comes off at highway speed and must sort itself onto Northern Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, Jackson Avenue or 21st Street within two blocks, under elevated tracks that block sight lines. Drivers change lanes late and hit people crossing to the subway.
The Uber I was in crashed coming off the Queensboro Bridge. Whose insurance covers me?
As a passenger you claim no fault benefits through the ride share or taxi vehicle's own policy, and the driver at fault answers for the injury claim. Top USA Law confirms the vehicle's TLC status and every policy on it.
What if an MTA bus or Access-A-Ride van hit me in Long Island City?
New York City Transit, which runs Access-A-Ride, and the MTA Bus Company are public authorities, so General Municipal Law 50-e requires a notice of claim within 90 days, far earlier than the three year lawsuit deadline. A late notice can end the claim.
How do I get the NYPD report for a Long Island City crash?
The 108th Precinct on 50th Avenue covers Hunters Point, Court Square and most of Long Island City; blocks toward Astoria fall under the 114th. Pull the report from the NYPD Collision Report Retrieval Portal, and file your MV-104 with the DMV within 10 days.
Last reviewed by Paul Perkins, Esq., September 2026.
Get your free Long Island City case evaluation
Three fields. We respond fast, day or night.
Top USA Law took over everything after my car accident. They got me $450,000 when insurance only offered $15,000. I recommend them to everyone.
Client testimonials. Testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case.
Talk to an Accident Attorney
Top USA Law. Services are not available in all states.
Takes 30 seconds. No obligation.
Other services in Long Island City
Statewide guide: Car Accident Lawyer in New York