Cyclists are covered by no-fault — most never claim it
A cyclist struck by a motor vehicle in New York is entitled to no-fault benefits from that vehicle’s policy: the first $50,000 of medical bills and lost earnings, regardless of fault. Riders routinely do not know this, put the bills on a credit card, and lose the benefit by missing the 30-day application window. It is the first thing we file.
The liability claim against the driver runs separately, and the evidence that wins it is fragile. Dashcams, storefront cameras and the increasingly common camera on another cyclist’s helmet all overwrite quickly. Damage to the bicycle itself is evidence of impact angle and force — so do not repair it or throw it out, however unrideable it looks.
Dooring deserves its own mention because riders assume it is their own fault for being close to parked cars. In New York it is not. The person opening a door into traffic bears responsibility for doing it without checking, and the rule applies to passengers stepping out of a cab as much as to drivers.
The cases we handle most
Dooring
Opening a door into a lane of traffic is the responsibility of whoever opened it — driver or passenger.
Right hooks and left crosses
A vehicle turns across the bike lane. The turning driver owes the duty to yield.
Bike lane obstruction
Vehicles standing in a protected lane force riders into traffic and into the crash that follows.
Road defects and grates
Potholes, sunken grates and steel plates. Municipal claims carry much shorter deadlines than ordinary cases.
What we do once you call
We file the no-fault application against the vehicle that struck you and put its carrier on notice, so treatment is paid while everything else proceeds.
We preserve the bicycle and your helmet as evidence, request nearby camera footage before it cycles out, and find witnesses.
We document the injuries properly — road rash and fractures photograph well, but the shoulder and wrist damage that lasts needs imaging — and take over the adjuster calls.
We demand, and file suit where the insurer’s number reflects an assumption about cyclists rather than the record.
Common questions
I wasn’t wearing a helmet. Does that end it?
No. New York requires helmets only for riders under 14, and for adults not wearing one is at most an argument about head-injury damages. It has no bearing on a broken wrist, a shoulder or a knee, and it does not bar the claim.
Is an e-bike treated the same as a regular bicycle?
Broadly yes for the liability claim, and New York has legalized pedal-assist and throttle e-bikes within defined classes. Insurance treatment can differ depending on the class and how the bike is used, which is worth sorting out early rather than assuming either way.
The driver says I ran the light. What happens?
It becomes a factual dispute, and it is usually resolved by footage rather than by argument. Even if some fault is assigned to you, New York reduces the recovery proportionally instead of eliminating it.