The First Three Days Matter Most
Nobody plans for a crash. One minute you are riding down Cross Bay Boulevard or along the waterfront streets by the canals, and the next you are on the ground wondering what just happened. The hours and days that follow feel chaotic, yet a handful of simple actions taken early can protect both your health and any claim you may have later.
We put this list together for Howard Beach riders, delivery workers and pedestrians. Keep it on your phone. If you are reading it for someone you love who is hurt, you can handle most of these steps for them.
Your 72-Hour Checklist
- Get safe and call 911.
Move out of traffic if you can do it without making an injury worse. Ask for police and, if you feel any pain at all, an ambulance. A police response creates a report, and that report number becomes one of the most useful pieces of paper in your case.
- Collect the driver’s details, or the rider’s.
Name, phone, plate number, insurance company and policy number. If an e-bike rider struck you while you were walking, get their name and contact information, and note whether they were wearing a delivery bag or uniform. If a driver pulls away, try to catch even part of the plate and the color of the car.
- Take pictures before anything moves.
Photograph the vehicles, your bike, the street, traffic signals, skid marks, any pothole, and your visible injuries. Wide shots show where things are; close-ups show damage. Nothing is too small to capture.
- Talk to witnesses.
A neighbor walking a dog near Frank M. Charles Memorial Park, a driver who pulled over, a store clerk. Ask for a name and number. People are usually happy to help in the moment and hard to track down later.
- See a doctor the same day or the next.
Adrenaline hides pain. Head injuries, fractures and back injuries sometimes show up hours later. Early treatment protects your health first, and it also creates a clear record tying your injuries to the crash.
- Keep the bike exactly as it is.
Do not repair it, toss it, or sell it for parts. The same goes for your helmet, your phone case, and your torn clothes. If the brakes failed or the battery overheated, the bike may point to a defect claim against the maker or seller. New York City requires e-bikes sold here to meet UL 2849 and their batteries UL 2271.
- Ask nearby businesses and homes about video.
Shops on the boulevard, buildings in the Lindenwood co-ops, and houses with doorbell cameras may have caught the crash. Many systems erase footage within days. Ask them to save the clip, or let a lawyer send a written request.
- Save your app and trip data.
Delivery riders should screenshot the order, route and time from their app before it disappears from view. Personal riders can check fitness or navigation apps too.
- Start the no-fault claim, or at least write the deadline down.
If a car hit you, that car’s no-fault insurance generally covers your medical bills and part of your lost pay, under Insurance Law § 5103. You generally have 30 days to get that application in. Our New York no-fault claims guide lays out the process.
- Begin a simple injury journal.
Each day, write a few lines about pain, sleep, missed work and anything you could not do. It sounds small. Months later, these notes carry weight. Here is our guide to keeping an injury diary.
- Say as little as possible to insurance adjusters.
Be polite, give basic facts, and do not guess about speed or fault. If the other side’s insurer asks for a recorded statement, it is wise to get advice first.
- Call a lawyer before day three ends.
An early call lets someone else chase video, send preservation letters and track deadlines while you rest.
A Few Special Situations
If the driver fled. Your own household auto policy may include uninsured motorist coverage, and if there is none, MVAIC may be able to help. The deadlines for these claims are strict and come early, so do not let the first week slip by.
If a road defect caused the fall. A claim against New York City requires a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e.
If you think you share some blame. That is common, and it does not end a case. New York uses pure comparative fault, so any share of blame reduces what you receive without wiping it out. City rules posted by NYC DOT set a 15 mph limit for e-bikes, which insurers will raise.
If you want to see the official record. Crash data reported to the city is published on NYC Open Data, which can help confirm the basic details of a collision.
Crashes with cars often overlap with our car accident and bicycle accident practices, and everything about our e-bike work lives on the scooter and e-bike accidents page.
Who We Are
Yakov Mushiyev & Associates is based in Rosedale, a short drive from Howard Beach. As an e-bike accident lawyer Howard Beach neighbors can reach quickly, the firm has recovered over $80 million for injured New Yorkers. The consultation is free, you pay no fee unless we win, and we speak English, Russian and Spanish. Attorney Yakov Mushiyev can meet you at home, at the hospital or on a video call if getting around is hard.
Our Howard Beach accident lawyer page covers other kinds of injury cases here. Neighbors can find an e-bike accident lawyer in Hamilton Beach or an e-bike accident lawyer in Ozone Park; farther north, we also serve as an e-bike accident lawyer in Woodhaven and an e-bike accident lawyer in Richmond Hill.
Stop by 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422 if you prefer to talk face to face. The map shows how to get there from Howard Beach.
Still inside that 72-hour window, or already past it? Either way, a call to 718.775.3110 puts you in touch with an electric bike accident lawyer, or you can use our contact us page to tell a Howard Beach e-bike accident lawyer what happened. An e-bike accident attorney will get back to you.
General information only, not legal advice; every crash is different. Attorney Advertising.