Forest Hills, Queens

Forest Hills Car Accident Lawyer

Queens Boulevard and its service roads, Yellowstone Boulevard, Austin Street and the approaches to the Kew Gardens Interchange — five minutes from our Queens office. Free consultation, and you pay nothing unless we win.

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Car accidents in Forest Hills

Forest Hills car cases come mostly from one road. Queens Boulevard runs through the neighbourhood with main lanes in the centre and service roads on either side, and the crashes it produces follow that design: drivers crossing from the service road into the main lanes, left turns across both, and collisions with people on foot crossing a very wide road.
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    Yellowstone Boulevard and 71st Avenue feed it from the north and south, Austin Street adds double-parked delivery vehicles and constant pedestrian traffic, and Woodhaven Boulevard, just to the west, carries its own heavy traffic. To the south-east, the Grand Central Parkway, the Jackie Robinson Parkway and the Van Wyck converge at the Kew Gardens Interchange, and the Long Island Expressway runs along the northern edge — the source of the higher-speed merging and lane-change collisions.

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    A large share of the vehicles on these roads are taxis, for-hire vehicles, delivery vans and MTA buses rather than private cars.

    That changes the claim: a commercial or for-hire vehicle brings a commercial policy and a company defendant, and a bus brings a public authority and a much shorter deadline.

Who the claim may be against — and the deadline that comes with it

Forest Hills is in New York City, so the rules are the City's, not Long Island's. Crashes on the local streets are handled by the NYPD's 112th Precinct, and the report it prepares is the starting document. The possible public defendants are different too:
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    • The City of New York — a City-owned vehicle, or a crash caused by a signal, a road defect or a dangerous condition the City was responsible for. A Notice of Claim is normally due within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e, suit within one year and 90 days, and the City usually demands a § 50-h examination first. Road-defect claims generally also require prior written notice of the defect, which in practice means the Big Apple Pothole map.
    • An MTA or New York City Transit bus — the same 90-day Notice of Claim structure applies to claims against the transit authorities.
    • A taxi, a for-hire vehicle or a rideshare — a private claim on the ordinary three-year statute, but against a commercial policy; rideshare coverage in New York reaches $1,250,000 depending on the phase of the trip.
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    Queens civil cases are filed in the civil term of the Queens County Supreme Court, at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica.

What New York law requires

This is general information about how New York car claims work, not advice about yours.
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    No-fault comes first. New York no-fault coverage pays medical bills and part of lost wages regardless of who caused the crash, up to the $50,000 basic limit. The NF-2 application has to reach the insurer within 30 days of the accident, and medical bills within 45 days of treatment. Missing those dates is the most common reason no-fault benefits are denied.

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    Then the serious-injury threshold. Insurance Law § 5102(d) allows a claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering only where the injury falls into one of the statutory categories — among them a fracture, significant disfigurement, a permanent loss of use, a permanent consequential or significant limitation of use of a body organ, member, function or system, or an injury that prevented you from performing substantially all of your usual daily activities for 90 of the first 180 days. Economic loss above the no-fault limit can be claimed without meeting the threshold. Whether an injury qualifies is decided on the medical evidence, which is why consistent treatment and documentation in the first weeks carry so much weight.

Verdicts and settlements

Car accident recoveries obtained by this firm

  • $4,400,000

    Verdict for motor vehicle accident causing spinal injuries requiring surgery.

  • $1,000,000

    For the driver of car struck in the rear who sustained cervical herniated discs which required surgery.

  • $1,000,000

    For a man injured in a low impact rear end collision causing injuries to his lumbar and cervical spine requiring surgery.

All results

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different, and the result in any case depends on its own facts.

The first weeks

What usually matters most early on

  • A police report, and the DMV MV-104 report that drivers must file within 10 days when anyone is injured
  • The NF-2 no-fault application, which must reach the insurer within 30 days
  • Medical treatment that starts promptly and is documented consistently
  • Photographs of the vehicles, the scene and the injuries, and the names of witnesses
  • Any camera footage nearby — it is usually overwritten within weeks
  • A Notice of Claim within 90 days if a public vehicle or a public road is involved

Questions about car accidents in Forest Hills

Not answered here? A lawyer will answer it, free and at any hour.

Ask us directly
I was hit while turning off the Queens Boulevard service road.
Service-road crashes usually turn on lane position, signals and who had the right of way at the crossover — which is why the 112th Precinct report, any traffic or dash-camera video, and photographs of where the cars came to rest matter. Your own no-fault coverage pays medical bills and part of your lost wages either way, provided the NF-2 reaches the insurer within 30 days.
The car that hit me was an Uber (or a yellow cab).
Then the claim runs against a commercial or rideshare policy rather than a personal one. Rideshare coverage depends on the phase of the trip — whether the app was on, whether a ride had been accepted, whether a passenger was in the car — so the driver's app status at the moment of the crash becomes evidence.
An MTA bus was involved.
A claim against the transit authorities normally requires a Notice of Claim within 90 days, and they may demand a recorded hearing before suit. Do not attend it without a lawyer.
How close is your office?
About five minutes — 80-02 Kew Gardens Road, Suite 307, a short walk from the Union Turnpike E and F station.
What does it cost to hire you?
Nothing up front. The consultation is free and the fee comes out of the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.

More for Forest Hills and Queens

Injury cases in Forest Hills

Queens Boulevard and Austin Street — the densest pedestrian environment in central Queens, next door to our office.

Forest Hills overview

Queens car accidents

The roads, the courthouse and the deadlines across the borough.

Car accidents in Queens

How car accident cases work

No-fault, the serious-injury threshold, hit-and-run and uninsured drivers.

Car accident practice

In their words

What our clients say

5.0 from 90 Google reviews
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No complaints at all. Everything went according to what they said and I’m thankful for their representation.
M M
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If there was more than 5 stars Seth Fields and his associates would get them all. Mr. FIelds went to trial with a jury in Suffolk Cty Riverhead Supreme Ct & won w/ a verdict in minutes for 100% Liability. The defense worked with Mr. FIelds in a settlement before the damages trial began. I would stop here searching any further & contact Seth Fields if you want a Smart, Attainable for your questions, concerns, Empathetic to your needs but a Bull Dog with your case, then you found your attorney.I can’t thank you enough for all your long hours, weekends, holidays that you put into 7 yrs of all my medical, motions, hearings & trial etc. WE WON! You did it and obtained a large settlement that I couldn’t be more happy after this long tough journey. I would refer everyone to you that has a case that needs fighting for. 🙏
Kristen Parker
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The most amazing, professional and knowledgeable with great communicators with injury law, and I highly recommend that there is no reason for second and third opinions on procuring a law firm with their experience and know how. They are second to none. My time was precious, and they respected every minute of it. Thank you!
Robert Hendy

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