My friend was hit from behind by a car while riding his bike: what should he do in New York?

Attorney Answer

This is written for the injured rider, because the claim belongs to him. The first steps are medical and evidentiary: get treated and keep every record, make sure the police report exists and is accurate, and preserve the bicycle and the clothing before anything is repaired or cleaned. A cyclist struck by a car in New York is generally a covered person under the no-fault system, so his medical bills can start being paid before anyone decides who was at fault.

The driver's duties are statutory. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1146(a) provides: "Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist, pedestrian, or domestic animal upon any roadway and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary." And Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1129(a) forbids following another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for speed, traffic and the condition of the highway. Beyond the statutes, New York courts treat a rear-end collision as calling for an explanation from the driver behind — a doctrine described here generically because it comes from decisions rather than a statute, and one that matters when a rider is struck from behind.

New York's no-fault system decides what can be sued for. Insurance Law § 5104(a) provides: "Notwithstanding any other law, in any action by or on behalf of a covered person against another covered person for personal injuries arising out of negligence in the use or operation of a motor vehicle in this state, there shall be no right of recovery for non-economic loss, except in the case of a serious injury, or for basic economic loss." Medical expenses and a share of lost earnings are basic economic loss, paid as first-party benefits without regard to fault; Insurance Law § 5106(a) provides: "(a) Payments of first party benefits and additional first party benefits shall be made as the loss is incurred. Such benefits are overdue if not paid within thirty days after the claimant supplies proof of the fact and amount of loss sustained."

Which serious-injury definition applies turns on when an action is commenced, not on when he was struck. If nothing has been filed yet — which is the position of someone hurt recently — an action filed now falls under the current Insurance Law § 5102(d): "(d) 'Serious injury' means a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; or significant limitation of use of a body function or system." That regime also carries CPLR 1411(b), barring a claimant whose fault is greater than the defendant's, and Insurance Law § 5104(d), a $100,000 cap on non-economic damages for certain at-fault injured people, death actions excepted. If an action was already commenced before May 26, 2026, the former § 5102(d) governs it — those categories plus a ninth, a medically determined non-permanent injury preventing the person from performing substantially all of their usual daily activities for at least ninety of the one hundred eighty days after the occurrence — and CPLR 1411 (former text) applies pure comparative fault to it.

What you can do

1. Get seen by a doctor now and follow through on the treatment. Injuries that seem minor beside a broken bone are the ones disputed later for lack of early records.

2. Do not repair or clean the bicycle, helmet or clothing. Photograph all of it, and the injuries as they change.

3. Get the police report number, read it, and correct anything wrong early rather than at a deposition.

4. Collect the driver's name, insurer, policy number and plate, and every witness name. Ask nearby homes and businesses to preserve camera footage before it is overwritten.

5. Ask about no-fault benefits immediately. Those claims carry short filing requirements and are the fastest source of payment for treatment.

6. Bring it to a New York attorney quickly. Where the rider was riding, and in what light, will all be argued, and the evidence answering those arguments is perishable.

⏱ Time limits apply. CPLR 214(5) gives three years to commence an action for a personal injury, measured from the date of the collision, and § 214 carries its own exceptions. The date an action is filed also decides which serious-injury definition and which fault rule govern it, so that choice belongs with counsel rather than to delay. Separately, no-fault benefit claims carry their own much shorter requirements, set separately. Have a New York attorney check every one of these dates against the rider's facts now.