MTA Buses · Subways · Stations · Access-A-Ride
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.
*Client may remain responsible for court costs and case expenses. See site footer.
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.
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?
Yes. New York's comparative negligence rule reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than eliminating the claim.
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Call now: (917) 653-7259
Daniel Hochman, Esq.
Personally reviews every submission
Deadlines are shorter than people think.
Notice of claim for most claims against New York transit authorities and the City.
No-fault benefits application after bus and vehicle collisions.
Bus and station camera footage is routinely overwritten. Preservation letters go out immediately.
Prefer to talk? Calling is faster: (917) 653-7259. Free and confidential.
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