Know Your Rights In An Accident

An Interview With Attorney Steve Goldman

Manhattan attorney Steve Goldman represented Transportation Alternatives and other bicycle advocates last fall in the successful lawsuit overturning the proposed midtown bike ban last fall. He currently represents bike messengers, commuter bicyclists and recreational riders in personal injury and other lawsuits.  City Cyclist co-editor Jeannie Arlin talked with Steve recently at the 5th Avenue offices of Goldman & Goldman. 

City Cyclist: Do you mostly represent bicyclists who've been hit in traffic accidents?
Steve Goldman: The majority of my bicyclist clients have been hit, say by a cab door opening or from behind or at an intersection. I also represent cyclists who were assaulted and sprayed by mace by someone, or were locked up or pulled over by the police. There's also a group of cases I get involving potholes in the street. The bicycling community doesn't know their rights.

CC: What are our rights? 
SG: For example, if someone is driving along and he doesn't hit you, but you feel he's been reckless, and you get his license plate, you can try to institute an administrative complaint or traffic proceeding. The mere fact that someone doesn't hit you doesn't mean that you can't pursue something to protect other bicyclists.

CC: Is that a productive way of going after a reckless driver? 
SG: It is, but you have to have the follow-through and the perseverance. If you make the complaint and you're called for follow-up by whatever agency handles the complaint, and you don't cooperate, it will just go down the tubes.

CC: Do you need a lawyer for that?
SG: No. Absolutely not. Hit-and-run is another area where people don't know their rights. In New York, if you're a bicyclist or a pedestrian and you're hit by a motor vehicle which leaves the scene of the accident unidentified, if you report that to the police within 24 hours, you can institute a claim with a state-run organization called Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation, or MVAIC. You have to file a claim within 90 days and prove that the vehicle had no insurance or that you couldn't identify it. You can get all your medical bills paid for and all your hospital bills paid for up to $50,000 and your lost time from work up to $1,000 a month. And if your injury is serious, you can receive up to $10,000 for your pain and suffering. These are "no fault benefits" - if you pursue a lawsuit, you're still entitled to those things. MVAIC is like a back-up to regular insurance; they won't pay unless you've exhausted all the other possibilities.

CC: If the accident wasn't a hit-and-run, what kind of insurance would cover you? SG: If you're hit by a car that can be identified, the car owner's insurance will pay, no matter whose fault the accident is. So, even if you don't bring a case in court, the person who hit you, through his insurance, will have to pay any medical bills, hospital bills, lost time from work, drugs, orthopedic appliances, homemaker services, transportation related to your injury - up to $50,000. If the driver was at fault and you were seriously injured you would also bring a lawsuit, legally against the other person, but practically, against his insurance company.

CC: Would the car driver's insurance cover repairs or replacement of the bike?
SG: Yes, it's regular property damage. In fact, when bicyclists come to me, the first thing I ask is, "Did you fix your bike yet? If not, get me the repair bill, and get me photographs." Once a bike is fixed, you don't have evidence to show the damage, the extent of impact. But in a hit-and-run, you can't get property damage from the insurance of a member of your household, and you can't get it from MVAIC either.

CC: What's the first thing a cyclist should do if he (or she) has been in an accident, assuming he hasn't been seriously injured?

SG: First, try to identify the vehicle by license plate, make and model. Of course, also try to have that vehicle stopped or detained to exchange information, because even if you don't want to bring suit against this person, the driver's insurance will be responsible for all your medical bills. Get as many witnesses at the scene as he can, by name, address, and phone number. If these people want to back up the bicyclist's story of what happened, they can be helpful down the road. The police aren't going to come in and investigate unless there was a really serious injury.

If the case ever gets to court, the mere fact that the bicyclist has been in an accident doesn't allow him to win. He has to prove negligence.

The next thing is to make sure there's a police report with as much detail and description as possible. Then he'll have a public record and better credibility. He won't have to overcome the burden of proving that something happened.

CC: What should a bicyclist do if the police were never at the scene of the accident? SG: He should leave and go to the precinct. They'll take his report and they'll give him an accident number - a little slip of paper. Very important.

CC: What else should a bicyclist do after an accident?
SG: If he's able to take care of those other things, he should probably get some immediate medical attention to get himself checked out, whether it's waiting for an ambulance, or going to a local emergency room, or going to his family physician.

CC: To get a doctor's report?
SG: Yes. It protects him physically, and it protects him later on if he wants to bring some sort of litigation. But I'm not saying he should schmooze up his case. I'm saying, he should just do something for his own good. You'd be surprised how many cases I have where a person gets in an accident, a rather serious one, and because he doesn't like doctors, he doesn't get treated until maybe a lawyer sends him, or a friend suggests he go. And the first thing I hear from the insurance company or from the other lawyer when I'm negotiating is, "Hey, your client got such a serious injury — why didn't he go to the doctor or the emergency room from the scene of the accident?"

CC: What's the best way to look for a lawyer?
SG: Go to your friends, business people that you know, people you trust who have been around the city. Get several different names, and feel them out for yourself. Call the lawyer on the phone, meet with the lawyer. These are usually free consultations, because lawyers will handle personal injury cases on a contingency basis.

CC: Did you enjoy working on the bike ban case?
SG: August and September 1987 were very exciting months. All different people from the community came in and everybody banded together. It was a whirlwind two months and a satisfying victory. Unfortunately, the court's decision didn't say that the City could never try the ban again — the decision was narrower, it just said the City violated the requirements for public input. But fortunately, when the Mayor brought the ban back for a second try, you guys were organized enough to stop it through the political process.

Read more legal advice articles for cyclists.