Subway Transit & MTA Accidents

New York City’s subways, buses, and Access-A-Ride programs are all run under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), through public authority agencies including New York City Transit (NYCTA), and the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MABSTOA).

A transit accident happens in seconds and leaves you with questions that cannot wait. How will you get the medical treatment you need? Who will pay for it? What if you are unable to work? Who is responsible when the train, the bus, the platform, the stairs, or the station itself caused your injury?

The unfortunate reality is that people are injured in the transit system every day in New York — on platforms and stairways, in and out of train doors, on escalators and elevators, on buses, and by trains themselves. You may be entitled to monetary compensation.

Accidents we handle

• Falls on platforms, stairways, and in stations

• Falls on escalators and in elevators

• The gap between the train and the platform

• Train doors closing on passengers

• Being struck by a train

• Sudden starts, stops, and derailments

• Broken or missing handrails, damaged stairs, poor lighting, and loose or cracked tile

• Assaults and attacks in stations where security was inadequate

• Track and roadbed accidents

Hurt on a city bus or during an Access-A-Ride trip? Those cases are covered on our City Buses & Access-A-Ride Accidents page.

A transit claim is not an ordinary accident claim

A claim against a public agency carries deadlines that an ordinary accident claim does not.

A notice of claim must be served within 90 days. A lawsuit for negligence must be started within one year and 90 days. Missing either deadline can end the claim entirely.

Other deadlines can apply depending on the agency involved and the nature of the claim. If you were hurt in the transit system, the safest thing you can do is call today.

Access-A-Ride is its own problem

All Access-A-Ride service is operated by private contractors under the MTA. That affects who is responsible for your injury and which rules apply to your claim. It is not something you should try to work out on your own, and it is a reason to call sooner rather than later.

Why calling early matters

Transit video does not last. Station and train camera recordings are overwritten on a schedule, and once they are gone they are gone. We move immediately to demand that the footage, the incident reports, the maintenance and inspection records, and the repair history be preserved. The sooner we are involved, the more of it still exists.

The Law Offices of Kaplan & Kaplan represent victims of subway, bus and transit accidents throughout the New York City Area, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester.

We offer a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover for you — no fee, and no reimbursement of case expenses.

The Law Offices of Kaplan & Kaplan is a Brooklyn personal injury and civil rights law firm representing people injured throughout New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester. To speak with a lawyer about your case, call us.