If you or a loved were involved in a car accident in New York City, you could be eligible for compensation. Dial (212) 943-1090 for a complimentary consultation with a NYC car accident attorney at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf.
Our Attorneys have a vast experience in helping victims of auto accident and their families getting fully compensated for the injuries and financial loss they suffered. They have obtained some of the highest verdicts and settlement in NY State and New York City.
Our Personal Injury Law Firm is based in Manhattan and handles car accident cases in New York City including Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island as well as New York metro and NY State.
Recently our partner Diana Carnemolla was selected by Forbes for their "Best Car Accident Lawyers in NYC 2023" ranking. Forbes was especially impressed by a recent $85 million verdict that she and Howard Hershenhorn obtained for a plaintiff who suffered catastrophic injury in a motor vehicle accident in Manhattan.
A consultation with a top car accident lawyer in NYC to discuss your case is usually free. Our lawyers handle auto accident cases on a contingent fee basis. A contingent basis means that our attorneys do not charge by consultation but will take a percentage on the amount recovered. This amount is usually one third of the net recovery after disbursement. This means that the cost of a car accident lawyer varies based on the amount recovered.
When searching for the best car accident lawyer for your case, it is crucial to choose an attorney with extensive experience in preparing and trying car accident cases. Many lawyers claim to be "trial attorneys," but have never actually stepped foot in a courtroom. They prioritize settling cases rather than taking them to trial. It is crucial that the defendant's insurance company recognizes your attorney's willingness to go to trial. Without this knowledge, they are unlikely to offer a settlement that reflects the full value of your case. By choosing our firm, you can be confident that the defendant's insurance company will be aware of our attorneys' reputation for taking cases to trial when an adequate settlement offer is not provided.
At our personal injury law firm, we have a long-standing tradition of exceptional trial advocacy, stemming from a lineage of renowned lawyers. Our attorneys come from a distinguished line of famous legal professionals, including Anthony Gair and his father, Harry Gair, who have been instrumental in training new attorneys in top-tier trial advocacy.This rich heritage and wealth of experience have shaped our firm's ethos of trial excellence. With our team of experienced attorneys, who continue the legacy of these renowned lawyers, you can trust that your case will be handled with the utmost expertise and commitment to achieving the best possible outcome through trial advocacy.
Among the most recent cases, our crash lawyers obtained some of the highest auto accident verdicts in NY State:
These three verdicts are also the first, second and third highest verdicts obtained in New York State yearly for all personal injury cases and the first, fourth, and fifth verdicts obtained in New York State yearly for all categories of law. Another car accident case for which our accident lawyers obtained $5 million for a student who was struck by a van was also listed among the 2017 New York's Top Verdicts. These outcomes reflect the firm's broader record of success-over $5 billion in settlements and more than 60 verdicts exceeding $1 million across all areas of personal injury litigation.
The top car accidents attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman, and Mackauf have all tried multi-million dollar cases and have a reputation for refusing to settle cases unless an adequate sum is offered which will fully compensate the plaintiff for the injuries and financial loss suffered.
If you have been injured in a car accident, you should consult a lawyer. Never give a statement, either oral or written, to a representative of the defendants' insurance company. They are not trying to help you. Oral statements will be recorded and used against you as will written statements, should the case proceed to trial. The first thing you should do is contact an experienced car accident lawyer. If only damage to the car is involved you may very well not need a lawyer and may be able to resolve the damage to your car on your own.
The New York car accident lawyer at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershhenhorn, Steigman and Mackauf specialize in:
The car accident attorneys at our firm have helped thousands of families that are suffering from serious injuries as a result of auto accidents. We retain expert accountants, financial analysts and economists because every car accident case has its own set of associated costs, including pain and suffering, lost wages, the cost of care and many other monetary costs.
In order to accurately assess what these costs will be for the remainder of a victim's life, we use financial professionals to derive fair resolutions for injury victims.
Accidents involving motor vehicles are among the most common causes of serious injury and death in the United States each year. Despite the advancements in technology and significant safety improvements in cars and in the design of roads, automobile accidents remain quite common. In fact, car accident claims and lawsuits are probably the most common type of civil tort case filed by attorneys today. It is important to note that not every car accident will result in litigation. Where nobody is injured or the injuries are not considered serious, the No-Fault laws of New York will generally govern any bodily injury claims and restrict recovery. Conversely, the more serious the injury that results from a car accident, the more likely it is that a successful recovery can be obtained.
Automobile accidents are a class of tort cases which derive, for the most part, from the basic tort principles of negligence. Negligence is generally defined as the lack of ordinary care. It is a failure to use that degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would have used under the same circumstances. It may arise from doing an act that a reasonably prudent person would not have done under the same circumstances, or, from failing to do an act that a reasonably prudent person would have done under the same circumstances.
In the context of automobile accidents, negligence can arise under many situations. The most common cause of automobile accidents is driver error. The common driver errors seen in auto litigation are: failure to yield the right of way, following too closely, driving at an excessive rate of speed, driving while intoxicated and driving under the influence, and disregard of traffic control devices.
Distractions to Vehicle DriverThese are not the only causes of auto accidents, however in our modern world, distractions to a motor vehicle driver have become an increasing cause of accidents. Common distractions include: car driver uses a cellular phone, car driver attempts to read, car driver puts on makeup, car driver changes the radio station, and numerous other distractions both inside and outside of the vehicle.
Failure to Properly Service and Maintain a Car, Truck, or BusAnother significant area of automobile litigation, often seen in a commercial vehicle setting, involves the failure to properly service and maintain the vehicle.
This failure is being seen more frequently in automobile litigation every day. Typically, they will involve the breakdown of a part of the car, truck, or bus due to the failure of the owner or a service company to properly maintain and service the car, truck or bus.
The results of this failure are, quite often, catastrophic. For example, the simple failure to properly lubricate the bearings (a standard maintenance item) on a car or commercial vehicle, such a truck can result in an entire wheel assembly becoming disengaged from the vehicle while driving.
Road Defect or Negligent Design of the RoadwayA special class of automobile accidents involves factors external to the driver or the vehicle. These are generally known as roadway defect cases. They can involve the design of the roadway itself wherein a: poorly designed roadway, means of controlling traffic can cause or contribute to an accident, construction or debris can cause or contribute to an accident and negligent design and maintenance of the roadway.
Product Liability or Auto Manufacturing DefectAutomobile accident litigation may involve a unique class of litigation known as products liability. In the automobile context, these claims involve a defect in a given motor vehicle which caused the accident and resulting injuries. These defects can include tire blowout, brake failure and mechanical failure.
Often, a design or manufacturing defect will not cause the actual accident, but cause the injuries sustained in the accident to be far worse. Well-known examples of this include the following design defects:
Frequently, the responsibility for an automobile accident does not rest with one single party. In fact, there can be multiple factors which caused or contributed to a car accident. Among the most common contributing factor to a motor vehicle accident is the conduct of the injured person himself/herself- the plaintiff. In those situations, rather than deny the plaintiff in a car accident case any recovery, a jury is permitted to compare and apportion the negligence of the plaintiff against that of the defendant and adjust its damage award to the plaintiff according to the degree of comparative negligence of the plaintiff. Thus, if a jury finds the plaintiff 25% responsible for an accident, the jury can reduce the plaintiff's recovery by 25%. Under some situations, a jury can find that an injured party is 100% responsible for a motor vehicle accident. If that is the case, the injured party will not be entitled to a recovery, no matter how badly injured he/she is. It is also important to note that, in some jurisdictions (i.e. New Jersey), a plaintiff who is found to be more than 50% responsible for the accident is not entitled to recovery at all. This is not the law in New York, however.
It is an unfortunate reality that negligent drivers often carry little or no insurance. Fortunately, under certain circumstances, victims of automobile accidents may still recover compensation through their own auto insurance policies - specifically under Uninsured Motorist (UM) or Supplemental Underinsured Motorist (SUM) coverage.
There are two common situations:
These coverages are contractual rights governed by unique and technical insurance laws, and triggering them properly requires careful legal handling. Many drivers don't realize:
Our attorneys have deep experience navigating UM/SUM claims, identifying available coverages, and holding both negligent drivers and insurers accountable - even in cases involving hit-and-run accidents or catastrophic underinsured losses.
There are laws that prescribe the time limits within which a person injured in an automobile accident must take certain steps to protect their legal rights or forever be prevented from proper and adequate compensation. In New York, the time in which to bring a lawsuit for injuries in an auto accident is 3 years from the date of the accident. Further, a person may be entitled to have their medical expenses and loss of earnings resulting from a car accident paid for by the applicable No-Fault Insurance policy. In order to obtain insurance coverage through the No-Fault system, certain information and forms must be provided to the proper No-Fault Insurance provider within a limited time-period following a motor vehicle accident. In New York the period to file for No-Fault benefits is 30 days from the date of the accident. The failure to provide all the required information within the specific time limits may cause the denial of an injured person's right to payment of necessary medical expenses and loss of earnings. The failure to bring a lawsuit within the statute of limitations will prevent any recovery regardless of the merits of the case.
Choosing a lawyer solely based on proximity might not always be the best idea, especially in a state as diverse and geographically large as New York. Here are some reasons why:
However, it's essential to balance these considerations with practical factors such as communication preferences, travel logistics, and comfort level with your attorney. While a lawyer's location can impact their resources and expertise, it's equally important to choose someone you trust and feel comfortable working with, regardless of their physical location.
Our top car accident attorneys have achieved settlements and verdicts that are among the largest in New York and New Jersey. Some of our notable results include:
In addition to successfully representing plaintiffs in a variety of vehicle accident matters, the NYC personal injury attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf are sought out by the legal community for their expertise--our lawyers have written articles in the areas of car, truck, bus, and all types of automobile accident cases and have lectured throughout the country. Below are a sample of publications from and lectures and seminars in which our lawyers have been involved:
In 2024, New York City recorded 249 traffic-related fatalities, an increase from 237 in 2023, according to data obtained from the NYPD, This figure is just one fatality fewer than the total recorded in 2014 when Mayor Bill de Blasio launched the Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic deaths.
While the initiative showed early signs of success, most notably with fatalities reaching their lowest point in 2018, progress has stalled. The pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 brought temporary shifts in traffic patterns, with emptier roads creating conditions for more reckless driving and speeding. Since 2022, traffic volumes have largely returned to and in some areas exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Yet fatalities have remained stubbornly high. This troubling trend coincides with a shift in City Hall’s priorities; under the current administration, traffic safety has not received the same level of urgency, attention, or resources as it did in earlier years of Vision Zero, leaving dangerous behaviors and unsafe streets largely unaddressed.
Pedestrians continue to face serious danger on city streets, with 116 pedestrian deaths recorded in 2024, the second-highest number since 2015. The rise in cyclist fatalities is equally troubling and highlights the urgent need for improved cycling infrastructure. Despite a city mandate to build 250 miles of protected bike lanes by 2026, only 35 of the planned 50 miles were completed in 2023. This lack of progress has drawn sharp criticism from safety advocates, who argue that the city’s failure to expand its protected bike lane network is putting lives at risk and undermining broader efforts to create safer streets for all users.
Critics say the Adams administration has not been proactive enough in addressing the city’s traffic safety crisis. From missed infrastructure targets to controversial decisions like scaling back street redesigns under pressure from political donors, the administration’s handling of Vision Zero has raised concerns about its commitment to making New York City’s streets safer.
A decade into Vision Zero, the data makes one thing clear: without bolder leadership and a renewed commitment to street safety, New York City is unlikely to achieve the program’s life-saving goals.
According to NYPD data, the city recorded 52,796 traffic-related injuries in 2024, a slight uptick from 52,647 in 2023. The breakdown includes 22,905 injured motorists, 15,842 passengers, 4,812 cyclists, and 9,237 pedestrians.
The NYPD's new policy of not dispatching officers to minor car accidents since COVID-19 is a potential factor in the reduced number of car accident injuries reported yearly since 2020. This situation has several key implications for how injuries from car accidents are documented and perceived, impacting both the official statistics and the broader understanding of road safety:
Given these considerations, it's essential for city and law enforcement officials, as well as public health and road safety advocates, to find alternative ways to encourage and facilitate the reporting of minor accidents and injuries. This might involve creating more accessible and user-friendly online reporting systems, public education campaigns about the importance of documenting even minor accidents and injuries, and reassurances about how this information can be used to improve overall road safety and public health outcomes.
Addressing the gap in data caused by the new policy requires a multi-faceted approach that considers the needs and behaviors of the driving public, the operational priorities of the police, and the overarching goals of road safety and public health initiatives.
Following the launch of Vision Zero in 2014, New York City experienced a significant decline in the number of fatalities of drivers of motor vehicles. From 2015 through 2019, the number of drivers killed in traffic crashes remained consistently below 70 each year, reflecting the early success of the initiative. However, this progress was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, motorist deaths rose to 90, followed by a peak of 98 in 2021, as reduced traffic volumes gave way to increased speeding and reckless driving.
In 2022, fatalities dropped to 71, signaling a possible return to pre-pandemic safety levels. But that trend proved fragile: in 2023, 86 drivers were killed—the highest number since the pandemic peak—raising concerns about the city’s ability to sustain long-term safety gains.
In 2024, the number of driver fatalities declined to 73. While this marks an improvement over the previous year, it remains above the sub-70 benchmark consistently maintained in the five years before the pandemic. The data underscores that New York City has not yet returned to its most successful period of traffic safety for motorists and points to the need for renewed investment in enforcement, infrastructure, and policy to reduce preventable deaths.
Although this represents a slight year-over-year decline, injury numbers remain below the long-term trend and are significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. As noted earlier, the NYPD’s April 2020 policy change—discontinuing responses to minor collisions—may have contributed to these lower figures. This shift in enforcement could also mean that while fewer injuries are being reported, those that are may be more serious in nature.
Passenger fatalities in New York City have surged in recent years, reaching 38 deaths in 2024, the second-highest yearly total since 2013. Under the de Blasio administration, fatalities remained below 30 annually, hitting a record low of 8 in 2018. But starting in 2021, numbers spiked sharply, peaking at 52 deaths in 2022, the first full year under Mayor Eric Adams, with Ydanis Rodriguez serving as the DOT Commissioner and Edward A. Caban, later replaced by Jessica Tisch, heading the NYPD. Contributing factors include reduced traffic enforcement, delays in implementing life-saving street infrastructure, and a lack of urgency in responding to dangerous driving behaviors across the city.
In 2024, passenger injuries in New York City auto accidents totaled 15,842, down slightly from 16,264 in 2023, yet still one of the highest annual counts since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This persistent level of injury underscores ongoing concerns about road safety and the effectiveness of current traffic enforcement and infrastructure strategies. Globally, many cities have seen a decline in reported passenger injuries since the pandemic, largely due to reduced traffic volumes, lifestyle shifts such as remote work, and long-term changes in urban mobility. In contrast, New York City’s figures remain elevated. Despite the modest decrease in 2024, the data points to a continued need for stronger measures to protect passengers on city streets.
Distracted driving continues to be the leading cause of traffic collisions in New York City, far surpassing all other contributing factors. In 2024 alone, 25,257 crashes were attributed to drivers not paying attention to the road. The second most common cause was failure to yield the right-of-way, a major contributor to pedestrian injuries and fatalities, which accounted for 6,673 collisions. The third leading cause was following too closely, responsible for 6,423 accidents.
It is important to note that the NYPD only documents and responds to crashes that result in injuries or fatalities, underscoring the severity of these incidents. Other significant contributing factors include improper lane usage, passing too closely, unsafe speed, and disregarding traffic control devices. Together, these data points highlight a troubling reality: reckless behavior behind the wheel continues to endanger lives across New York City.
The personal injury attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf advocate for our clients' full financial recovery through detailed, meticulous preparation for trial. If you have been injured in a car accident, please contact our firm to discuss your case.
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Disclaimer: Please be advised that the results achieved in any given case depend upon the exact facts and circumstances of that case. Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf cannot guarantee a specific result in any legal matter. Any testimonial or case result listed on this site is based on an actual legal case and represents the results achieved in that particular case, and does not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction of the outcome of any other legal matter.