A pedestrian has no bumper. When a car hits someone crossing Queens Boulevard, Hillside Avenue or Rockaway Boulevard, the injuries are to the person, not the vehicle, and the first question that reaches a pedestrian accident lawyer in Queens is almost always the same: who is going to pay the hospital bill?
The answer is more favorable than most people expect, but it comes with deadlines that are measured in days. This guide covers no-fault benefits for pedestrians, the 30-day application rule, what happens after a hit-and-run, and the separate injury claim against the driver.
Yes, no-fault covers pedestrians
New York’s no-fault system is not just for drivers and passengers. A pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle is a “covered person,” and the insurance policy on the vehicle that hit you pays your basic economic loss, regardless of who was at fault. Under Insurance Law § 5102, that means:
- All necessary medical treatment, including hospital, surgery, rehabilitation and prescriptions;
- 80 percent of lost earnings, up to $2,000 per month, for up to three years;
- Up to $25 per day for other reasonable expenses, such as transportation to medical appointments, for up to one year;
- A combined limit of $50,000 in basic economic loss, with additional coverage available under some policies.
It does not matter whether you own a car. The driver’s insurer pays first. If the vehicle turns out to be uninsured and there is an auto policy in your household, that policy may respond instead. The New York Department of Financial Services publishes the rules and the forms.
The 30-day rule
No-fault benefits do not arrive on their own. A written application, the NF-2 form, must reach the vehicle’s insurer within 30 days of the accident. Miss that window and the insurer can deny the claim outright, leaving you to argue that you had a reasonable excuse for the delay. In practice the form should go out in the first week, which means identifying the insurer in the first week. The police accident report lists the vehicle’s insurance code; if the driver left, the plate number is often enough to trace it.
Two more deadlines follow the first: medical providers generally have 45 days to bill the carrier, and lost-wage claims need employer verification. A pedestrian accident lawyer in Queens will usually handle the no-fault file alongside the injury claim, because the two overlap and the insurer’s decisions on one affect the other.
Hit-and-run or uninsured driver: MVAIC
Hit-and-run crashes are common in Queens, and many of the vehicles that stop turn out to be uninsured. New York created the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation for exactly this situation. MVAIC provides no-fault benefits and, for a qualifying claimant, bodily injury coverage when there is no insurer to turn to. Its rules are strict:
- The accident must be reported to the police within 24 hours, or as soon as reasonably possible.
- A Notice of Intention to Make Claim must be filed with MVAIC within 90 days if the vehicle was never identified (a hit-and-run), or within 180 days if the vehicle was identified but uninsured.
- The claimant generally cannot be the owner of an insured vehicle or a household member of someone with a policy, because that policy’s uninsured motorist coverage would apply instead.
Our guides to UM, SUM and MVAIC claims and hit-and-run accidents in Queens go deeper on each path.
Beyond medical bills: the claim against the driver
No-fault pays bills. It does not pay for pain, for a permanent limp, for the months a fractured pelvis keeps you off your feet, or for the fear that follows some people across every intersection for years. That compensation comes from a liability claim against the driver, and for a pedestrian it turns on three things.
Fault
Every driver in New York must exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian, and New York City’s Right of Way Law makes it a misdemeanor to fail to yield to a pedestrian with the right of way and injure them. We explain how that law works in NYC’s Right of Way Law and Your Claim. If you crossed mid-block or against the signal, New York’s comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery by your share of fault but does not eliminate it.
The serious injury threshold
Because pedestrians are covered by no-fault, they must show a “serious injury” to recover for pain and suffering: a fracture, significant disfigurement, a permanent or significant limitation of a body part or system, or an injury that kept you from substantially all of your usual activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days. Most pedestrians who are hospitalized clear the threshold, but the medical records have to show it, which is one more reason to keep treating.
Damages
Past and future medical costs beyond no-fault, lost earnings beyond the $2,000 monthly cap, loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering. The driver’s liability policy pays first, then any underinsured motorist coverage in your household.
Evidence in pedestrian cases
Queens is one of the most photographed places on earth, and that helps. NYC DOT traffic cameras, storefront and doorbell cameras, MTA bus cameras and TLC vehicle data often show exactly what happened, but much of it is overwritten within days or weeks, so preservation letters go out immediately. The police report, EMS records and the clothing you were wearing (which can show the point of impact) round out the picture. The City’s Vision Zero data on the intersection where you were hit can show a history of pedestrian injuries that supports a claim against the City for a dangerous design.
Deadlines at a glance
- 24 hours: report a hit-and-run to the police.
- 30 days: no-fault application to the vehicle’s insurer.
- 90 days: MVAIC notice for an unidentified vehicle; notice of claim if the vehicle belonged to the City (an NYPD car, a sanitation truck) or the crash involved a dangerous City street design.
- 180 days: MVAIC notice for an identified, uninsured vehicle.
- Three years: lawsuit against a private driver. One year and 90 days against the City.
Children and older adults
Children and seniors make up a disproportionate share of pedestrians hurt in Queens, and the law treats each differently. A young child is held to the standard of a child of similar age, not an adult, so the argument that the child “ran out” carries far less weight. For older adults, the injuries that follow a fall to pavement, hip and pelvic fractures and head trauma, are frequently life-changing, and the damages claim must account for the care that follows.
Frequently asked questions
I was hit by a car and I don’t have health insurance. Who pays the hospital?
The insurance on the car that hit you, through no-fault, as long as the application is filed within 30 days. If the car was uninsured or fled, MVAIC.
The driver says I was jaywalking. Do I still have a case?
Yes. Crossing outside a crosswalk can reduce your recovery by a percentage, but drivers must exercise due care to avoid pedestrians wherever they are, and a driver who was speeding, on a phone or failing to look remains responsible for their share.
Do I need a lawyer for the no-fault claim alone?
Not always, but insurers deny and cut off no-fault benefits routinely, and the no-fault file becomes evidence in the injury claim. Having one office handle both avoids the mistakes that cost people benefits.
Talk to a pedestrian accident lawyer in Queens
Yakov Mushiyev & Associates represents pedestrians injured throughout Queens and New York City from our office at 1 Cross Island Plaza in Rosedale. We file the no-fault application, put the insurers on notice, preserve the video and pursue the driver for everything no-fault does not pay. Free consultation, no fee unless we win. Call 718.775.3110 or contact us online.
General information, not legal advice. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.