Hempstead, Nassau County

Hempstead Car Accident Lawyer

Fulton Avenue, Front Street, Peninsula Boulevard and the busiest bus hub on Long Island — and two different governments that are both called Hempstead. Free consultation, and you pay nothing unless we win.

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Car accidents in Hempstead

Downtown Hempstead is built around the Hempstead Transit Center, where the Long Island Rail Road's Hempstead Branch ends and more NICE bus routes meet than anywhere else in the county. Fulton Avenue, Front Street, Main Street and Peninsula Boulevard carry that bus traffic through a dense, walkable downtown, and Hempstead Turnpike carries it east past Hofstra University toward Uniondale and East Meadow.

The deadline to know

A private car brings one insurer and a three-year statute of limitations.

01

The crashes that follow are the ones that pattern predicts:

buses pulling in and out of stops, turning collisions at signalised intersections with heavy foot traffic, rear-end collisions in stop-and-go arterial traffic, and drivers leaving the many curb cuts and small lots along the commercial strips.

02

A bus or a commercial vehicle in the crash changes who the claim is against and how fast it has to move.

A NICE bus, a village or town vehicle, or a road defect brings a public defendant and a deadline measured in days.

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

"Hempstead" is two governments. The Incorporated Village of Hempstead has its own police department and maintains its own streets; the Town of Hempstead surrounds it and is responsible for many of the roads outside the village line.
  1. 01

    Nassau County maintains county roads, and some of the arterials through the area are State highways.

    Which one owns the stretch of road where the crash happened is the first thing to establish, because each has its own notice requirements:

    • Village, town or county, NICE bus, a school district: a Notice of Claim under General Municipal Law § 50-e, normally within 90 days, and suit within one year and 90 days. The municipality can demand a sworn examination under § 50-h before suit.
    • The State of New York: claims against the State are not brought in the Nassau Supreme Court at all but in the Court of Claims, under the Court of Claims Act, on a 90-day timetable of its own.
    • A private driver or company: generally three years under CPLR 214, filed in the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola.
  2. 02

    The police report usually tells you which agency responded —

    the Hempstead Village Police inside the village, the Nassau County Police outside it — and that is often the first clue to whose road it was.

What New York law requires

This is general information about how New York car claims work, not advice about yours.
  1. 01

    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.

  2. 02

    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 Hempstead

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

Ask us directly
I was hit by a NICE bus near the Hempstead Transit Center.
A claim arising from a NICE bus is treated as a claim involving a public transit operation, so a Notice of Claim is normally due within 90 days — not three years. Any video that exists — from the bus, the transit center or the businesses nearby — is kept only for a limited time. Call as soon as you can, and do not attend a recorded hearing without a lawyer.
The police report says "Hempstead". Was it the village or the town?
It depends on which side of the village line the crash happened, and the report alone does not always make that clear. We check the location against the village and town boundaries and the road's ownership before anything is filed, because the wrong municipality on a Notice of Claim can cost the claim.
Do I have a case if the injury was not a fracture?
Possibly. Insurance Law § 5102(d) also covers a permanent or significant limitation of use of a body part or system, and an injury that kept you from most of your usual activities for 90 of the first 180 days. Whether an injury meets one of those categories is a medical and legal question that depends on your records — which is why the treatment in the first weeks matters.
Do you handle cases in Spanish?
Yes. Clifford Gabel is fluent in Spanish and the firm handles cases in Spanish from the first call through trial.
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 Hempstead and Nassau County

Injury cases in Hempstead

Hempstead Turnpike has appeared repeatedly on state lists of the most dangerous roads for pedestrians in New York.

Hempstead overview

Nassau County car accidents

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

Car accidents in Nassau County

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
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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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