What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident — and How to Protect Your Rights
New York City is one of the most walkable cities in the world. The average New Yorker walks two to five miles each day — to the subway, to work, to school, and everywhere in between. That puts millions of pedestrians on the city’s streets every hour of every day, sharing space with a dense mix of cars, trucks, e-bikes, and buses.
That constant movement creates opportunity — for exercise, for community, for connection. But it also creates risk. Despite significant safety improvements in recent years, pedestrian accidents remain a serious and ongoing problem in New York City. In 2024, pedestrian fatalities surged 18% over the prior year, with 122 people killed. While 2025 has seen encouraging declines — pedestrian deaths dropped to 111, the lowest level in years — thousands of New Yorkers are still injured in pedestrian accidents every year.
If you or someone you love has been struck by a vehicle while on foot, understanding your rights and the steps to take immediately afterward can make a critical difference in your recovery and your ability to pursue compensation. This guide walks you through everything you need to know.
The Reality of Pedestrian Accidents in NYC
New York City’s streets are among the most dangerous in the country for pedestrians, even as the city has made meaningful improvements over the past decade. Consider the most recent data:
- In the first nine months of 2024, 645 pedestrians were seriously injured in NYC — a 13% increase over the same period in 2023.
- Every week in New York City, an average of 17 pedestrians lose limbs, organs, or suffer other life-altering injuries from traffic violence.
- The leading cause of pedestrian crashes is driver inattention or distraction, followed by failure to yield the right of way. In Q1 2025 alone, driver inattention was a factor in over 5,300 crashes citywide.
- Brooklyn has consistently recorded the highest number of pedestrian crashes of any borough, accounting for roughly 34% of the city’s pedestrian incidents.
- 92% of pedestrian fatalities in 2024 occurred at intersections that had no daylighting measures — no physical barriers at the curb to improve driver sightlines.
These numbers represent real people — New Yorkers doing exactly what millions of people do every day, simply walking down the street. When a negligent driver takes that away from someone, the law provides a path to accountability and compensation.
Koenigsberg & Associates Pedestrian Accident Report
Your Legal Rights After a Pedestrian Accident
New York law provides strong protections for pedestrians injured by negligent drivers. Under the state’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, drivers have a high duty of care to pedestrians — including a legal obligation to yield at all crosswalks (marked and unmarked), to exercise due care to avoid collisions, and to stop and remain at the scene of any accident involving injury.
No-Fault Insurance Coverage
New York is a no-fault insurance state. This means that after a pedestrian accident, your initial medical bills and lost wages may be covered by the driver’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance — regardless of who was at fault. Coverage is typically up to $50,000 for basic economic losses.
Personal Injury Claims Beyond No-Fault
When your injuries meet New York’s “serious injury” threshold — which includes fractures, permanent disability, significant scarring, or substantial limitations on daily activities — you may pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent driver for additional damages. These can include pain and suffering, future medical costs, lost earning capacity, and other losses that no-fault coverage does not address.
Comparative Negligence
New York follows a pure comparative negligence system. This means that even if you were partially at fault for the accident — for example, if you were crossing outside a crosswalk — you may still recover compensation. Your award will simply be reduced proportionally by your share of fault. You do not need to be 100% blameless to have a valid claim.
Hit-and-Run Accidents
If the driver who struck you fled the scene, you are not without options. New York’s Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) provides a compensation fund for victims of hit-and-run and uninsured drivers. Your own uninsured motorist coverage may also apply. Gathering whatever information you can at the scene — a partial license plate, vehicle color and make, witness accounts — and filing a police report immediately are critical steps in these cases.
What to Do Immediately After Being Hit by a Car
- Get to Safety and Call 911
Your first priority is your physical safety. If you are able to move, get out of the road. Call 911 immediately — both for emergency medical services and to have police respond and file an official report. Under New York law, drivers are required to remain at the scene of an accident involving injury. A police report is a foundational piece of evidence in any insurance or legal claim, documenting when, where, and how the crash occurred.
- Gather Information on the Driver
If you are physically able, collect as much information as possible before the driver leaves the scene:
- Driver’s name, address, and phone number
- Driver’s license number
- Vehicle license plate number
- Vehicle make, model, and color
- Insurance company name and policy number
Even if you only manage to capture a partial plate number and vehicle description, that can be enough to identify the driver. If the driver flees, immediately call 911 and provide that information to the responding officers.
- Document the Scene
While at the scene, or as soon as you are physically able, document everything:
- Photograph your injuries, the vehicle involved, any skid marks or debris, and the surrounding area including crosswalk markings and traffic signals.
- Note the time and exact location.
- Identify witnesses and collect their names and contact information. Bystander accounts can be invaluable, especially if the driver disputes what happened.
- Note any nearby surveillance cameras — on businesses, traffic systems, ATMs — that may have recorded the crash. This footage can disappear quickly, so act fast.
- Seek Medical Attention Immediately
Go to the emergency room or an urgent care facility as soon as you leave the scene, even if your injuries appear minor. This is critical for two reasons. First, many serious injuries — including traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, and spinal damage — may not produce obvious symptoms for hours or even days after a crash. Early evaluation can identify and treat these conditions before they worsen. Second, a medical record created promptly after the accident is essential evidence in your legal claim. If you delay treatment, the driver’s insurance company may argue that your injuries are not as serious as you claim, or that they were caused by something other than the accident.
- Keep Records of Everything
From the day of the accident forward, maintain detailed records of all medical visits, diagnoses, prescriptions, and bills. Track every day of work you miss and every activity — whether professional, recreational, or personal — that your injuries prevent you from doing. A personal journal documenting your pain levels, symptoms, and daily limitations can be powerful evidence of the full impact the accident has had on your life.
- Do Not Give Recorded Statements to Insurance Companies
The driver’s insurance company may contact you quickly after the accident seeking a recorded statement. You are under no obligation to provide one, and doing so before consulting an attorney can seriously harm your claim. Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions that elicit answers that can be used to minimize your damages or shift blame onto you. Speak with a personal injury attorney before making any statements to any insurer other than your own.
- Contact a Personal Injury Attorney
Pedestrian accident cases involve complex questions of liability, insurance coverage, and damages. An experienced personal injury attorney can investigate the crash, gather and preserve critical evidence, handle all communications with insurance companies, calculate the full extent of your damages — including future losses — and fight for the maximum compensation you are entitled to under New York law.
Most personal injury attorneys, including our team at Koenigsberg & Associates, work on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay nothing unless we win your case. There is no financial risk in consulting with an attorney, and doing so early in the process gives your case the strongest possible foundation.
At Koenigsberg & Associates Law Offices, our award-winning team has spent over 25 years fighting for injured pedestrians across New York City. We know how devastating these accidents can be, and we know how to hold negligent drivers accountable. We work on a contingency fee basis — you don’t pay unless we win.
Call us today for a free consultation:
Koenigsberg & Associates Law Offices — Trusted NYC Personal Injury Attorneys
