NYC Subway Accident Lawyer for MTA Bus and Station Claims

NYC subway and bus accident lawyer.

Claims against transit authorities can die at 90 days. Yours should not.

Injured on a city bus, in a subway car, on a platform gap, or on broken station stairs? Suing a public transit authority is not like suing a driver: many claims require a formal notice of claim within 90 days, the right entity must be named among a maze of MTA affiliates, and the cameras that captured everything get overwritten on a schedule. The clock is the case. Start it working for you instead of against you.

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Reviewed by Daniel Hochman, Esq. · Last updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

A claim against New York City Transit, MTA Bus or the City generally needs a sworn notice of claim served within 90 days of the injury, and the lawsuit must follow within one year and 90 days. A court can allow a late notice inside that longer window, but it is never guaranteed. For a bus that lurched, you have to show the stop or start was unusual and violent; for a station fall, a defect the authority created or knew about.

Why transit cases run on a different clock.

GEN. MUN. LAW § 50-e · PUB. AUTH. LAW

Claims against New York's public transit authorities generally require a sworn notice of claim served within 90 days of the incident, describing when, where, and how it happened. Suit itself generally must follow within a year and ninety days. Miss the notice and the fight becomes about permission to file late rather than about your broken wrist. Courts can grant late-notice relief inside the longer window, but nothing about that path is guaranteed. Calling in week one instead of month four is the single most valuable thing an injured rider can do.

The incidents we see.

Bus falls from violent, unusual stops and starts, and injuries in the doors
Boarding and alighting injuries: lifts, kneelers, and gaps at the curb
Platform gap falls between the train and the platform edge
Station hazards: broken stairs, defective handrails, wet or icy platforms, failed lighting
Pedestrians and cyclists struck by buses at intersections and stops
Access-A-Ride and paratransit injuries, including securement failures

Evidence that vanishes on a schedule.

Buses and stations are covered in cameras, and the footage is routinely overwritten within days or weeks. Operators write reports the same day. Dispatch logs, maintenance histories, prior-complaint records for the same stair or the same stop, and your own MetroCard or OMNY taps placing you at the scene all exist right now. A preservation demand in the first days locks that evidence in place. That is our first move on every transit file.

What your claim runs on.

Photographs of the scene and your injuries, the bus number or station name and staircase, the exact time, names of any witnesses, the incident number if one was made, and every medical record from day one. Bus collision cases involving vehicles also implicate New York's serious injury threshold and no-fault benefits, which have their own short application deadline. Bring what you have; we build the rest.

Naming the right defendant.

The MTA is a family of separate legal bodies. Subways and many buses are run by New York City Transit, other bus routes by MTA Bus, and commuter rail by its own railroads. Some routes, stations and sidewalks belong to the City. Each has its own notice rules, and a notice served on the wrong one can leave the right one unwarned while the 90 days run. Part of every transit intake is working out who operated the bus, owned the station or maintained the stair on the day you were hurt.

After the notice: the 50-h hearing.

GEN. MUN. LAW § 50-h

Once the notice of claim is served, the authority can question you under oath about what happened and about your injuries, and it may ask for a medical examination. The lawsuit cannot be filed until you have appeared if they demand it. It is a deposition in all but name, and what you say there follows the case to trial, so you go prepared and with your lawyer.

What the authority owes you.

Transit operators owe riders reasonable care under the circumstances, the same standard New York applies to most defendants. For a bus that lurched or stopped short, that means showing the movement was unusual and violent, not the ordinary jolts of city driving. For a station, it means a defect the authority created or knew about, the same notice rules that govern any trip and fall. If a bus struck you as a pedestrian or a cyclist, the bus's no-fault coverage, the 30-day application and the serious injury rules also apply; see car and pedestrian accidents.

Deadlines.

What	Who	When
Notice of claim	NYC Transit, MTA Bus, the City	90 days
No-fault application, if a vehicle struck you	The insurer	30 days
Video preservation demand	The authority	Right away
Lawsuit	The authority	1 year and 90 days

After a Fall or Crash in NYC

FREE GUIDE

After a Fall or
Crash in NYC

The first 72 hours: photos, witnesses and the 90-day notice

HOCHMAN LAW PC

Read this first, free

After a fall or crash in New York: the first 72 hours.

What to photograph, whose names to get, what not to sign, and the 90-day notice that transit claims run on.

Read the free guide

Questions riders ask us.

I think I missed the 90 days. Is my case dead?

Not necessarily. Courts can permit a late notice of claim within a longer window, generally up to a year and ninety days, weighing the reason for delay and whether the authority knew of the incident. The sooner you call, the more options exist.

No police report was made. Can I still claim?

Yes. Incident numbers, dispatch logs, onboard and platform cameras, operator reports, and your fare data can all place the event. Camera footage is overwritten quickly, so preservation demands should go out fast.

The bus jerked and I fell. Is that a case?

It can be. The law requires showing the stop or start was unusual and violent, beyond ordinary city bus jolts. What you were doing, what the operator did, and what other passengers felt all matter. Tell us exactly what happened and you will get a straight answer.

I was partly at fault. Do I still have a claim?

Usually yes. For a fall in a station or on a stair, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault. If a bus struck you or you were hurt in a bus crash, a 2026 change applies to motor vehicle cases: recovery is barred only when your share is greater than the defendants', and otherwise reduced by it.

What is a 50-h hearing?

After you serve a notice of claim, the transit authority or the City can question you under oath about the accident and your injuries before you may sue. It works like a deposition, and what you say there is used later, so prepare for it with your lawyer.

Who do I sue for a subway or bus injury, the MTA or the City?

It depends on who ran the bus or owned the station or stair. Subways and many buses are run by New York City Transit, other routes by MTA Bus, and some stations, stairs and sidewalks belong to the City. Each needs its own notice within 90 days, so the right name matters from day one.

Do I have to pay anything to start?

No. Transit injury cases are handled on contingency under a written retainer, which sets out the fee and how court costs and case expenses are handled before you sign.

I was hurt as a passenger on a bus. Who pays my medical bills?

No-fault pays whatever caused the crash, but it starts with your own car insurance or the policy of someone you live with; only if neither of you has one does the bus's insurer pay (Insurance Law § 5103(a)(1)). It pays medical bills and 80 percent of lost earnings up to $2,000 a month, if the application reaches the insurer within 30 days. A claim for pain and suffering is separate and needs a serious injury; against the transit authority it also needs the 90-day notice of claim.