Bronx Car Accident Lawyer

The Bronx has some of the busiest and most dangerous roads in New York City. The Cross Bronx Expressway is famous for being one of the most jammed highways in the country. The Bruckner Expressway carries heavy truck traffic day and night. The Grand Concourse is wide, fast, and hard to cross. Add double-parked cars, delivery vans, and drivers who run red lights, and it is no surprise that thousands of our neighbors are hurt in car accidents every year.

What comes after the crash can feel just as hard as the crash itself. Many drivers on Bronx streets carry no insurance at all. Some hit a car and drive away. The insurance companies call fast, ask confusing questions, and try to pay as little as they can. Meanwhile the medical bills pile up, your car sits damaged, and you may be too hurt to work. It is a lot to carry — and you should not carry it alone.

The Law Offices of Evan W. Kohn has stood up for injured people in the Bronx for more than 35 years. Evan Kohn was born and raised here — from the Bronx, for the Bronx. Our office is at 2000 White Plains Road, right under the elevated 2/5 train. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we win your case. If you are too hurt to travel, we come to your home or hospital, and we can even arrange car service for your first visit.

No-fault insurance pays first. New York is a no-fault state. That means after a crash, your own car insurance — or the insurance for the car you were in — pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages, up to $50,000. This is called Personal Injury Protection, or PIP. It pays no matter who caused the crash. But there is a catch: you must file the no-fault application within 30 days of the accident. Miss that deadline and the insurance company can refuse to pay your bills. This is one of the first things we handle for every client.

The serious injury threshold. No-fault covers bills, but it pays nothing for your pain and suffering. To sue the at-fault driver for that, New York law says your injury must be "serious" — for example, a broken bone, a significant loss of use of a body part, or an injury that keeps you from your normal daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days. Insurance companies love to argue an injury is not serious. We know how to prove that it is, with medical records and doctors' findings.

Your deadline to sue. In most New York car accident cases, you have 3 years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit. Some cases have much shorter deadlines — claims against the City or a government agency require notice within just 90 days. The safest move is simple: talk to a lawyer early, even if you are not sure you want to sue.

Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers. If the driver fled or had no insurance, you may still recover money through the uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy, or through MVAIC — a New York fund created for exactly this situation. These claims have their own strict deadlines, which is why reporting the crash to police quickly matters so much.

Crashes involving trucks, Ubers and taxis, or motorcycles, bicycles and e-bikes follow extra rules. If you were on foot when a car hit you, see our pedestrian accident page — no-fault covers you there too.