Are You Looking for a New York Bicycle Accident Lawyer?

Persons injured in bicycle accidents face unique legal challenges under the laws of New York which require specific knowledge and experience as it concerns the rights of bicyclists. Our New York bicycle accident lawyers have years of experience representing victims of bike accidents and their families in all 5 boroughs of New York City and NY State. Our attorneys are specialized in handling catastrophic bicycle accident lawsuits and have recovered multi million dollars settlements and verdicts for their clients. Our firm was featured in the New York Law Journal’s Top 25 New York Verdicts of 2014 for obtaining the highest award for a verdict in a motor vehicle accident involving a bicycle. GGCRBHS&M was also named Law Firm of the Year Personal Injury Litigation in 2013 and a Tier 1 firm in New York City for Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiff every year after this by U.S. News – Best Lawyers ® “Best Law Firms”.

Our personal injury attorneys advocate for their clients' full financial recovery through detailed, meticulous preparation for trial. Backed by more than $5 billion in settlements and over 60 verdict exceeding $1 million across all area of personal injury law, they enjoy a national reputation as "counsel to the profession" and have been trusted by their peers as well as by bike activists and avid cyclists such as Mary Beth Kelly, a member of the Board of Directors of Transportation Alternatives and a founding member of Families for Safe Streets to handle their case or the case of their loved ones.

Recent bicycle accident cases handled by our bicycle accident attorneys include:

• $ 8,570,000 verdict for a 36 year old bicyclist who suffered personal injury after being struck by a bus in NYC.
• $5,500,000 settlement on behalf of a bicyclist struck by a New York police car which was pursuing him.
• $5,000,000 recovery in New York County for the widow of a doctor struck and killed by an NYPD tow truck. The decedent was riding his bicycle on the Green Way on the West Side when the truck made a right turn on to the path and crashed into him. See below video to learn more about this case.
• $3,500,000 for the daughter of a 68-year-old retired cyclist who was fatally struck by an air-freight delivery truck on Manhattan’s West Side.
• $4.6 million verdict for the family of Marylin Dershowitz, a retired Manhattan Supreme Court special referee who was killed by a postal truck while riding her bike in Downtown Manhattan. Her husband Nathan Z Dershowitz of Dershowitz, Eiger and Adelson trusted our firm and was extremely pleased by the result.
  
• $2,050,000 verdict for a bicyclist who suffered pelvic injuries and urethral injuries after being struck by a NY MTA bus
• $1,400,000 settlement for a bicyclist who was struck by a bus and suffered fractures of her left clavicle, left thumb, ribs and pelvis.
• $1,200,000 verdict for a woman who, while riding her bike, suffered a lower back injury (herniated disc) after being struck by a car.

The majority of bicycle accident cases in New York involve:

• Contact with a motor vehicle that failed to yield the right-of-way at an intersection
• Collision with a vehicle which unexpectedly turned into the path of a cyclist, often making left turns in the path of an oncoming cyclist
• Motorist overtaking a bicyclist, often by misjudging the space needed to safely pass.
• Motorists, including trucks and buses, causing bicycle accidents by failing to share the road, forcing cyclists off the road or into a collision
• Negligent motorist opening a car door directly into a cyclist's path, an all-too-common scenario in New York

Bicycle accidents also occur due to other factors which are often unique to the operation of a bicycle. They often occur due to environmental factors such as:

• Defective roadway design or maintenance,
• Impaired visibility
• Poor road and path conditions, including potholes, road debris, maintenance problems, and even dog attacks.

Another scenario somewhat unique to New York is that of a pedestrian struck and injured by a bicycle messenger or delivery person

Bicyclists must observe the same rules of the road and be accorded the same rights as the operators of all other vehicles pursuant to New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1231. However, a bicyclist is considered a pedestrian under the No-Fault Law in New York and is, thus, entitled to No-Fault coverage under most circumstances.

Bicyclists are also subject to various helmet laws codified in New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §1238. In New York, a child under the age of one year is prohibited from being a passenger on a bicycle. Passengers and operators under fourteen years of age are required to wear protective headgear. All other bicyclists are not required to wear a helmet.

It is important to fully understand what the helmet is designed to protect. For an impact at speeds in excess of 15-20 miles per hour, a bicycle helmet is less likely to prevent a serious head or brain injury. Under US standards bicycle helmets are tested in 2 meter drops that achieve about 14 miles per hour (22.5 kph) on a flat anvil. In a famous article in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was determined that wearers of bicycle helmets had an 85% reduction in their risk of head injury and an 88% reduction in their risk of brain injury. A Case-Control Study of the Effectiveness of Bicycle Safety Helmets, Robert S. Thompson, M.D., Frederick P. Rivara, M.D., M.P.H., and Diane C. Thompson, M.S. N Engl J Med 1989;320:1361-1367, May 25, 1989.

Minor head injuries are usually the result of linear acceleration of the skull by impact with another object. Bicycle helmets can help prevent head injuries by reducing and spreading this force. More serious injuries, on the other hand, are often as a result of angular or rotational acceleration, which leads to diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and subdural hematoma (SDH). These are the most common brain injuries sustained by road crash victims that result in death or chronic intellectual disablement. Bicycle helmets are not designed to mitigate rotational injuries, and research has not shown them to be effective in doing so (Curnow WJ. The efficacy of bicycle helmets against brain injury. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2003,35:287-29).

Bicycles are a common means of transportation, recreation and exercise throughout New York and the DOT celebrate and promote cycling by hosting bike events in the five boroughs. Bicycles offer very little in terms of protection from the hazards confronting a bicyclist on the roadways of New York. This can, and often does, lead to severe and catastrophic injuries to bicyclists when an accident occurs. Unfortunately, a large percentage of persons injured in bicycle accidents are children. Some of the most common injuries sustained in a bicycle accident are:

• Head injuries often resulting in skull fractures and traumatic brain injuries
• Facial injuries resulting in facial fractures such as jaw fractures or broken bones
• Broken bones in the legs, the arms, the shoulders and the neck
• Chest trauma such as rib fractures or abdomen injuries such as rupture of the spleen, pancreatic trauma or other internal injuries.

According to the most recent NYPD crash data, bicycle accidents in New York City continue to follow an upward long-term trend, both in overall crashes and in cyclist injuries and fatalities. In 2025, approximately 6,138 bicycle-related crashes were reported citywide, marking one of the highest totals recorded over the past decade and continuing a steady increase that has accelerated since 2020.

Bicycle accident injuries also remain elevated. In 2025, approximately 5,066 bicyclists were injured in vehicle collisions, reflecting a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic years and a continued rise from 2022 through 2024. While injury totals fluctuate year to year, the long-term trendline shows a clear increase in cyclist injuries as ridership has expanded, particularly with the widespread use of e-bikes and delivery bicycles on busy city streets.

Cyclist fatalities, while lower than peak pandemic-era highs, remain a serious concern. In 2025, 18 bicyclists were killed in vehicle collisions in New York City. Although this represents a decline from the 26 deaths recorded in 2023 and 24 in 2024, the overall trend over the past decade shows that cyclist fatalities remain persistently higher than pre-2019 levels. Fatal crashes continue to disproportionately occur on arterial roadways, at intersections, and in areas with limited physical separation between cyclists and motor vehicles.

Despite incremental improvements to bike infrastructure and traffic-calming measures, the data shows that meaningful risks remain for cyclists throughout the city—particularly outside of Manhattan, where protected bike lanes and enforcement are often less consistent. As cycling continues to grow as a primary mode of transportation, further action is needed to address roadway design, driver behavior, and enforcement to reduce serious injuries and preventable deaths.

According to NYPD collision data, 18 cyclists were killed in New York City in 2025, a figure that includes both traditional bicycles and e-bikes. This number reflects the fatalities recorded in NYPD’s monthly collision reports, which provide a near-real-time snapshot of crashes involving cyclists.

A broader review of NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) fatality data, which is more commonly cited in policy discussions and annual safety reporting, presents a more comprehensive picture when all bicycle-adjacent micromobility devices are considered. After excluding mopeds, which are classified as motor vehicles under New York law and are not legally permitted in bike lanes, DOT data shows that 25 people died in 2025 while riding traditional bicycles, e-bikes, or stand-up scooters on New York City streets.

The DOT breakdown for 2025 shows:

• 4 fatalities involving riders on traditional bicycles
• 16 fatalities involving e-bike riders
• 5 fatalities involving stand-up scooter riders

The long-term trend illustrated in the accompanying graph is significant. Over the past decade, fatalities involving traditional bicycles have steadily declined, reflecting improvements in infrastructure and safety measures. At the same time, fatalities involving e-bikes have risen sharply, particularly since 2020, and now account for the majority of deaths among lawful users of bicycle lanes and shared cycling space. Stand-up scooter fatalities, while smaller in number, have also become a consistent part of the overall safety landscape.

It is also important to understand why differences sometimes appear between NYPD collision statistics and DOT fatality totals. NYPD collision data is compiled through monthly reports and typically records fatalities occurring at or shortly after the time of a crash. In some cases, victims who suffer catastrophic injuries do not die immediately, but succumb to their injuries days or weeks later.

When a death occurs after the close of an NYPD reporting period, it may not be reflected in the initial collision tally. DOT fatality data, by contrast, is compiled over a longer timeframe and is updated to include post-crash deaths that are medically linked to the original collision. As a result, DOT’s annual figures generally provide a more complete accounting of traffic fatalities, while NYPD reports serve as an interim reporting tool.

Viewed together, these datasets show that while traditional bicycle deaths have declined, the safety challenges facing people who rely on bicycle infrastructure have evolved rather than disappeared, particularly with the growing presence of motor-assisted micromobility devices.