A taxi crash on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park raises three separate questions, and they have to be answered in order: who pays your medical bills right now, whether your injury is serious enough under New York law to sue for pain and suffering, and how fault is divided between you and everyone else involved. Most people get advice that blends these together. At Yakov Mushiyev & Associates, P.C., we take them one at a time, because the 2026 changes to New York’s auto laws made the order matter more than ever. If you were hurt as a passenger in a yellow cab, a green Boro Taxi, an Uber or Lyft, or as a pedestrian, cyclist or driver hit by one in Rego Park, this page walks through the reasoning step by step.
Call 718.775.3110 for a free review. We consult in English, Russian and Spanish, and we can meet you at home, at the hospital or by video. There is no fee unless we win.
The Claim in Four Steps: How a Rego Park Taxi Case Is Built
Every taxi or for-hire vehicle claim we handle follows the same logical sequence. Skipping a step, or doing them out of order, is how people lose benefits they were entitled to.
- Secure no-fault benefits. New York is a no-fault state. Personal injury protection (PIP) pays medical bills, lost earnings and other basic economic loss regardless of who caused the crash. The application must be filed within 30 days of the accident.
- Identify every policy in play. A taxi crash can involve the taxi’s coverage, another driver’s coverage, and sometimes a city or MTA vehicle. Each has its own rules and timelines.
- Establish fault. Under the 2026 amendments to Insurance Law 5104, the fact-finder now decides fault before deciding whether you meet the serious injury threshold.
- Prove a serious injury. To recover for pain and suffering beyond no-fault, your injury must fit one of the eight categories in Insurance Law 5102(d).
The rest of this page takes each step apart, then applies it to the roads and destinations Rego Park riders actually use. For the broader picture of motor vehicle claims, see our car accident practice page.
Why Queens Boulevard Shapes Almost Every Rego Park Taxi Claim
Queens Boulevard is the spine of Rego Park. It is wide, it carries fast through traffic in the center lanes, and it has service roads on each side where buses stop, cars park and taxis pull over. The road earned the nickname “Boulevard of Death” years ago, and the city has since redesigned parts of it under its Vision Zero program with changes aimed at pedestrian and cyclist safety. The design still creates specific, predictable conflict points. When we analyze a Rego Park crash, we start by locating it on one of them.
Conflict point 1: the main road to service road transitions
Openings in the medians let vehicles move between the fast center lanes and the slower service roads. A taxi driver who spots a raised hand on the sidewalk may cut across to the service road with little warning. The car behind, or a cyclist on the service road, has seconds to react. These crashes often turn on lane-change and signaling evidence.
Conflict point 2: long pedestrian crossings
Crossing Queens Boulevard means crossing a service road, a median, the main lanes, another median and another service road. Pedestrians who are mid-crossing when the signal changes, and turning drivers who are watching for a gap in traffic rather than for people in the crosswalk, meet here. A pedestrian hit by a taxi claims no-fault benefits from the taxi that struck them.
Conflict point 3: Woodhaven Boulevard, 63rd Drive and the LIE
Woodhaven Boulevard crosses Queens Boulevard at the neighborhood’s edge and carries heavy north-south traffic toward the Long Island Expressway. 63rd Drive is a main local street with the 63rd Drive–Rego Park subway station beneath Queens Boulevard. Junction Boulevard feeds traffic from the north. At each of these intersections, left turns across multiple lanes and drivers hurrying to make an expressway ramp are recurring factors.
Conflict point 4: curbside pickups near subway entrances
The M and R local trains stop at 63rd Drive–Rego Park and 67th Avenue. Riders leaving the subway hail cabs or meet app-based pickups at the curb. Double-parked for-hire vehicles, sudden stops and passengers opening doors into traffic or into cyclists are common patterns at these spots.
Rego Center and Lost Battalion Hall: Where Rego Park’s Taxi Traffic Concentrates
Two destinations along Queens Boulevard help explain where taxis and for-hire vehicles cluster in Rego Park.
The Rego Center shopping area sits near the junction of Queens Boulevard, Junction Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway. Its large stores draw shoppers from across Queens, many of whom leave with bags and boxes too bulky for the subway. That makes it a natural pickup spot for cabs and app-based rides. The pattern we look for: vehicles waiting at the curb or in pickup areas, drivers pulling back into traffic while checking an app, and passengers loading the trunk while standing in or near a travel lane. Traffic heading for the LIE adds speed and lane-changing to the mix.
Lost Battalion Hall is a NYC Parks recreation center on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park, named for the World War I unit known as the Lost Battalion. Families come for fitness programs, classes and youth activities, so the sidewalk sees steady foot traffic from children and older adults. Drop-offs and pickups happen along the service road, where a cab stopping short or a door swinging open can catch a cyclist or another driver. Pedestrians crossing the boulevard to reach the center face the long multi-segment crossing described above.
Each of these locations points to specific evidence: store and building cameras, trip records held by the taxi or app company, and the timing of nearby signals. Identifying it early is part of how we build the fault picture.
Step One in Detail: Who Pays Your Bills First
The starting point depends on where you were when the crash happened. As a general rule, passengers claim PIP from the vehicle they were riding in, and pedestrians and cyclists claim from the vehicle that struck them. The table below lays out the current minimums that matter for Rego Park taxi cases.
| Coverage | What it does | Current amount |
|---|---|---|
| Standard New York PIP | Pays medical, lost earnings and basic economic loss regardless of fault | $50,000 per person minimum |
| PIP on TLC-licensed vehicles (yellow and green taxis, FHVs, Uber/Lyft, limos) | Same no-fault benefits, higher required limit | $100,000 per person, effective March 1, 2026 (reduced from $200,000) |
| Medallion taxi liability | Pays claims for injuries the taxi driver caused, once the serious injury threshold is met | Minimum $100,000 per person / $300,000 per occurrence |
Two things follow from this. First, the March 2026 TLC rule change means the no-fault cushion on a taxi or rideshare is half of what it was, so people with significant injuries may reach the PIP limit sooner and need to look to the liability claim. Second, the liability minimums are minimums; the actual coverage on a given vehicle must be confirmed. You can review the TLC’s rules on the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission site and general no-fault guidance from the Department of Financial Services.
Step Two in Detail: The Serious Injury Threshold, After the 2026 Budget
No-fault covers economic loss. To recover for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, you must show a “serious injury” as defined in Insurance Law 5102(d). The 2026 state budget removed one category from that list, leaving eight:
- Death
- Dismemberment
- Significant disfigurement
- Fracture
- Loss of a fetus
- Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system
- Permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member
- Significant limitation of use of a body function or system
Because the remaining categories focus on objective and lasting harm, medical documentation from the start carries real weight. Gaps in treatment, missed follow-ups and undocumented symptoms make the threshold harder to prove. That is why we encourage clients to see a doctor promptly and to keep every appointment.
Step Three in Detail: How Fault Is Divided Now
This is the change that most affects Queens Boulevard cases, where crashes often involve some arguable fault on more than one side. Under the new CPLR 1411(b), which applies to motor vehicle personal injury lawsuits under Insurance Law Article 51 commenced on or after May 26, 2026:
- If your share of fault is greater than the defendant’s (or the defendants’ combined share), you recover nothing.
- If your share is 50% or less, your recovery is reduced in proportion to your fault.
- The rule applies based on when the lawsuit is filed, not when the crash happened.
The practical takeaway: in a 2026 New York auto case, the fight over who was more at fault can decide whether there is any recovery at all. Evidence about lanes, signals and stopping points on Queens Boulevard is no longer just about the size of a case; it can decide whether there is one.
A separate provision, Insurance Law 5104(d), caps non-economic damages at $100,000 for an at-fault claimant who was driving uninsured (with a narrow exception for a lapse under 30 days), was convicted of impaired driving, or was convicted of a felony committed while driving. That cap does not limit economic damages, other people’s claims, or wrongful death claims. Taxi passengers and pedestrians are generally not in the group it targets, but drivers involved in a crash with a cab should know it exists.
Deadlines, Ordered From Soonest to Latest
- 30 days: file the no-fault (PIP) application with the correct insurer.
- 90 days: serve a notice of claim if a New York City or MTA vehicle was involved, such as a city vehicle or MTA bus on Queens Boulevard.
- 2 years: bring a wrongful death action. New York still limits these claims to pecuniary damages; the Grieving Families Act was vetoed for a fourth time in December 2025.
- 3 years: file a personal injury lawsuit under CPLR 214(5).
If a police report was not made at the scene, drivers may also have reporting obligations to the DMV. The New York State DMV has information on the MV-104 accident report.
What Mushiyev Law Does on a Rego Park Taxi Case
- Gets the no-fault claim filed on time with the right carrier, so medical bills and lost wages start moving.
- Maps the crash to the specific Queens Boulevard lane, service road or intersection, and requests nearby video before it is overwritten.
- Identifies every policy, including the taxi or FHV coverage, any other vehicle, and any city or MTA involvement.
- Builds the fault case first, since under the 2026 rules fault is decided before serious injury.
- Works with your doctors to document injuries against the eight statutory categories.
- Speaks your language. Consultations are available in English, Russian and Spanish, at home, in the hospital or by video.
You can read more on our settlements page, and for a deeper look at how fault is analyzed on the boulevard, see our article on taxi accidents in Rego Park and the 2026 fault rules. We also handle taxi cases in neighboring Forest Hills and Elmhurst, and across the neighborhood on our Rego Park accident lawyer page.
Taxi Accident FAQs
I was a passenger in a cab. Whose insurance pays my medical bills?
Generally, passengers claim no-fault (PIP) benefits from the vehicle they were riding in. For TLC-licensed vehicles, the required PIP is $100,000 per person as of March 1, 2026. File the application within 30 days.
A taxi hit me while I was crossing Queens Boulevard. Where do I start?
Pedestrians generally claim PIP from the vehicle that struck them. Get medical care, keep records, and file the no-fault application within 30 days. A claim for pain and suffering depends on fault and on meeting the serious injury threshold.
Does it matter whether it was a yellow cab, a green cab or an Uber?
All TLC-licensed vehicles, including yellow and green taxis, for-hire vehicles, Uber, Lyft and limos, carry the $100,000 PIP requirement. Liability coverage can differ by vehicle type, so we confirm the actual policy in each case. Medallion taxis carry minimum liability of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence.
What if I was partly at fault?
For motor vehicle lawsuits filed on or after May 26, 2026, if your fault is greater than the defendants’ combined fault, you recover nothing. If it is 50% or less, your recovery is reduced by your percentage. This applies regardless of when the accident occurred.
Can I still sue if my injury healed in a few months?
It depends on whether the injury fits one of the eight serious injury categories, such as a fracture or a significant limitation of use of a body function or system. The 2026 budget removed one category from the list, so a careful medical review is important.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit?
Generally three years for personal injury, and two years for wrongful death. If a city or MTA vehicle was involved, a notice of claim is due within 90 days. Do not wait on any of these.
What does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency basis, which means no fee unless we win. More general answers are on our FAQ page.
About Rego Park: Local FAQs
Which subway stations serve Rego Park?
The M and R local trains stop at 63rd Drive–Rego Park and 67th Avenue, both under Queens Boulevard. The Woodhaven Boulevard station sits at the neighborhood’s western edge.
What neighborhoods border Rego Park?
Rego Park sits between Forest Hills to the east and Elmhurst to the west, with Corona to the north across the Long Island Expressway and Middle Village to the south.
What ZIP code and police precinct cover Rego Park?
Rego Park’s ZIP code is 11374. The NYPD’s 112th Precinct covers Rego Park and Forest Hills, and that is typically where a local crash report is filed.
Which hospitals are close to Rego Park?
Long Island Jewish Forest Hills is nearby in Forest Hills, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst is nearby in Elmhurst. In an emergency, call 911 and go where EMS takes you.
Where would a Rego Park taxi lawsuit be heard?
Rego Park is in Queens County, so a case filed locally would typically go to Queens County Supreme Court, whose civil term is in Jamaica. The New York State Unified Court System has court information.
Any tips for driving or getting a cab on Queens Boulevard?
Wait for pickups on the service road rather than stepping toward the main lanes, exit a cab on the curb side, check for cyclists before opening a door, and cross only with the signal, using the medians to pause if needed. Drivers should signal well before moving between the main road and the service road.
Get a Free Case Review From a Rego Park Taxi Accident Lawyer
If you were hurt in a taxi, Boro Taxi or rideshare crash in Rego Park, the first deadline may be only 30 days away. Call 718.775.3110 or send us a message for a free case review. Our office is at 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422, and we are open Monday through Friday, 9 to 6, with phone intake 24/7. We can come to you at home or in the hospital, or meet by video, in English, Russian or Spanish.
Attorney Advertising. This is general information about New York law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case depends on its facts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.