Bus, Subway & Transit Accident Lawyers in New York

Millions of New Yorkers ride the bus, the subway, or a taxi every day and never think about it. When one of those rides ends in an injury, the rules are not the same as an ordinary car accident. Suing a public transit agency comes with a strict, short deadline, and missing it can cost you the entire case.

This is the single most important thing to understand: when a government entity is involved, the clock starts fast. Here is how these claims work and what you need to do.

The 90-day Notice of Claim deadline

The MTA, New York City Transit, and the buses and subways they run are government-related entities. Before you can sue them, New York law requires you to file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident. After that, you generally must file the lawsuit itself within one year and 90 days.

That 90-day window is not a suggestion. File late, or file a notice with the wrong information, and a court can throw out your case no matter how badly you were hurt. There is often a statutory hearing, called a 50-h hearing, where the transit authority questions you under oath before the lawsuit proceeds. These are procedural traps that catch unrepresented people constantly, which is why getting a lawyer involved in the first days matters so much.

The transit accidents we handle

• MTA and city bus accidents. Passengers thrown by sudden stops, pedestrians and cyclists struck by buses, and riders hurt boarding or exiting.
• Subway injuries. Falls on platforms and stairs, doors closing on passengers, sudden lurches, and gap or track incidents.
• Taxi and for-hire vehicle crashes. Whether you were a passenger, a driver, or in another car, these involve their own insurance and, sometimes, city licensing issues.
• Access-A-Ride and paratransit accidents. Injuries to riders who depend on these services.

Taxi and rideshare cases usually follow standard vehicle rules rather than the 90-day government deadline, but do not guess which category you fall into. Have it confirmed.

The No-Fault serious injury threshold

Many transit cases run through New York’s No-Fault system. To step outside No-Fault and sue for pain and suffering, your injury generally has to meet the serious injury threshold under Insurance Law §5102(d), which includes fractures, significant limitation of a body function, permanent injury, and other defined categories. A bus or subway case often meets that threshold, but it has to be proven with medical evidence, and building that record early strengthens your claim.

What to do after a transit injury

1. Get medical attention right away, and tell the provider exactly how it happened.
2. Report the incident to the driver, conductor, or station agent, and get the bus or train number if you can.
3. Note the time, location, and route. Photograph the scene and your injuries.
4. Get the names of any witnesses.
5. Call a lawyer before the 90 days start slipping away.

The transit authority has investigators and lawyers working from the moment an incident is reported. You should have someone doing the same for you. If the crash also involved another vehicle or a dangerous product on the bus, your case may overlap with a product liability claim, and a fatal transit accident may give rise to a wrongful death case.

Move quickly, and let us handle the deadlines

The strict timelines are exactly why you should not wait. With more than 20 years and eight offices across New York, our partners know how to serve a proper Notice of Claim, prepare you for the 50-h hearing, and take the transit authority to trial if it will not deal fairly. There is no fee unless we recover for you. Contact us for a free, confidential consultation, 24/7, or find the office nearest you.