Personal Injury Lawyer in Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn injury cases we take

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We take Brooklyn cases where the harm is serious: catastrophic injuries, deaths, and select cases of severe emotional or psychological harm. The firm is small and takes fewer cases on purpose, so we often decline minor-injury claims and say so quickly.

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Brooklyn cases the firm takes include:

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• Car, truck, bus and motorcycle crashes, including taxis and Uber and Lyft cars

• Pedestrians and cyclists struck by vehicles, including fatal knockdowns

• Construction and renovation site injuries (workplace and construction accidents)

• Falls on sidewalks and in stores and apartment buildings (slip and fall and premises cases)

• Subway and city bus injuries, and other claims against New York City Transit, the City, NYCHA or the State, which have much shorter deadlines (see below)

• Deaths caused by any of these

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Kings County Supreme Court: where Brooklyn injury cases are filed

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Most serious Brooklyn injury lawsuits are filed in Supreme Court, Kings County, Civil Term.

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A case can be filed in Kings County if a party lived in Brooklyn when the suit began or a substantial part of the events, such as the accident, happened there (CPLR 503(a)). A suit against the City of New York is tried in the borough where the claim arose (CPLR 504(3)).

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• Supreme Court, Kings County: 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term, on nycourts.gov).

• Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County: 141 Livingston Street. It hears money claims up to $50,000 (New York City Civil Court Act § 202).

• Federal court: the Eastern District of New York, 225 Cadman Plaza East. It hears injury claims against the federal government, such as a crash with a federal vehicle, after a claim is first made to the agency, and some cases against out-of-state companies.

• Appeals: from Supreme Court to the Appellate Division, Second Department, at 45 Monroe Place; from Civil Court to the Appellate Term (New York City Civil Court Act § 1701).

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If you were hurt in Manhattan, read about our work as a personal injury lawyer in Manhattan.

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Car, truck, bus and motorcycle crashes on Brooklyn roads

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After a car, truck or bus crash, no-fault insurance pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages. A lawsuit for pain and suffering needs a "serious injury" under Insurance Law § 5102(d), such as a fracture, significant disfigurement, a permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, or a significant limitation of use of a body function or system.

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Crashes here happen on the Belt Parkway and the BQE, on Ocean Parkway and Flatbush Avenue, and on Atlantic Avenue, which the City's Department of Transportation calls a Vision Zero priority corridor.

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For no-fault-covered vehicle lawsuits started on or after May 26, 2026, whatever the crash date, an injured person who is more at fault than the defendants combined recovers nothing (CPLR 1411(b)), and the car accident claims page explains the other 2026 changes (Insurance Law § 5104(a), (d)). Because fault can now decide whether you recover at all, ask nearby stores and homeowners for camera footage within days.

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Motorcycles are left out of the no-fault law's definition of a motor vehicle (Insurance Law § 5102(f)), so a rider's claim generally falls outside that system. See how comparative negligence affects your injury case.

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Pedestrians and cyclists hit in Brooklyn

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New York requires every driver to use due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian or bicyclist (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1146(a)). A driver who turns into a pedestrian crossing in the crosswalk on Flatbush or Atlantic Avenue, or speeds down a residential street, can be held responsible for failing to use that care.

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A pedestrian hit by a car or truck can usually claim no-fault benefits, most often from the insurer of the vehicle that hit them. A City vehicle or a New York City Transit bus starts the 90-day notice-of-claim clock described below; a federal vehicle, such as a mail truck, follows federal claim rules instead.

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When a crash is fatal, the estate representative brings the family's wrongful death lawsuit; the deadlines are below.

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Construction accidents in Brooklyn

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A worker hurt in a fall from a scaffold, ladder or roof on a Brooklyn job site, from Downtown Brooklyn towers to brownstone gut renovations and the Sunset Park waterfront, can usually sue the property owner and general contractor.

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The Scaffold Law requires owners and contractors to provide scaffolds, ladders, hoists and other devices that properly protect workers who are erecting, demolishing, repairing, altering, painting or cleaning a building or structure (Labor Law § 240(1)). Owners of one- and two-family homes who hire the work out but do not direct or control it are exempt, which matters for many brownstone renovations.

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Comp benefits do not stop you from suing someone other than your employer or a co-worker, such as the owner or general contractor, though the comp carrier has a lien on the recovery (Workers' Compensation Law § 29(1), (6)). Reza Yassi does not appear at Workers' Compensation Board hearings, but works with law firms that do. If the City or NYCHA owns the site, a 90-day notice of claim is usually needed. On School Construction Authority projects, an injured worker's notice is due within 90 days and the lawsuit against the Authority within one year of the accident (Public Authorities Law § 1744(1)).

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Slip, trip and fall cases: sidewalks, stores and apartment buildings

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A slip and fall case claims that a property owner or tenant let a dangerous condition cause your fall. Brooklyn examples:

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• A raised or broken sidewalk flag, or ice left on a sidewalk

• Broken stairs, loose treads or a missing handrail in a walk-up apartment building

• A wet or slippery floor in a store or supermarket

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A store or building owner is responsible for a dangerous condition inside if it created the condition or knew, or should have known, about it long enough to fix it.

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Outside, the owner of the property next to a sidewalk must generally keep it reasonably safe and can be liable for a fall it causes. Owner-occupied one-, two- and three-family homes used only as residences are the exception (NYC Administrative Code § 7-210): a fall in front of one of those homes is generally a claim against the City, which needs the 90-day notice of claim and, in general, prior written notice of the defect.

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If you were partly careless, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault but not barred (CPLR 1411(a)). Photograph the spot, get witness names, report the fall in writing, and ask the owner to keep any video.

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How long you have to sue, and the 90-day notice for City claims

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Most Brooklyn injury lawsuits must be started within three years of the accident (CPLR 214(5)). Claims against public bodies run on far shorter clocks, and a late notice can sink the case.

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• City of New York (a City truck or City-maintained sidewalk, for example): a sworn notice of claim within 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e) and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-i). A court can allow a late notice, but only if asked within that one year and 90 days (§ 50-e(5); longer for children, see below). NYC Health + Hospitals, the City's public hospital system, has the same limits (Health and Hospitals Corporation Act § 20(2)).

• NYCHA (Public Housing Law § 157(2)) and New York City Transit buses and subways (Public Authorities Law § 1212(2)): the same 90-day notice and one year and 90 days to sue; death cases follow the wrongful death limits below.

• State of New York (for example a State hospital such as SUNY Downstate, or a State vehicle): the claim must be filed in the Court of Claims and served on the Attorney General within 90 days. If a written notice of intention is served on the Attorney General within those 90 days instead, the claim itself is due within two years of the accident or malpractice (Court of Claims Act § 10(3)). In a death case the 90 days run from the estate representative's appointment, and the claim is due within two years of the death in any event (§ 10(2)).

• No-fault benefits after a car or truck crash: the written application is generally due within 30 days of the accident (11 NYCRR 65-1.1); a late one can put payment at risk.

• Wrongful death: two years from the death (EPTL 5-4.1). If the same person was prosecuted over the death, the family has at least one year after that criminal case ends, even if the two years have run (EPTL 5-4.1(2)). A notice of claim to the City or another public body is due 90 days after the estate representative is appointed.

• Medical malpractice: two years and six months from the malpractice or the end of continuous treatment, with limited exceptions (CPLR 214-a). At a City public hospital (NYC Health + Hospitals), the 90-day notice and the one year and 90 days to sue apply instead, and at a State hospital the Court of Claims limits above apply.

• Children: a three-year deadline on the child's own claim generally runs until three years after the child turns 18, and shorter deadlines, such as the one year and 90 days to sue the City, are extended by the time the child is under 18, with a 10-year limit in malpractice cases (CPLR 208(a)). A late notice of claim still needs a court's permission, and the extension does not cover a parent's own claim.

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Our notice of claim under GML § 50-e guide explains what the notice must say and where it goes.

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How a case moves through Kings County Supreme Court

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A Kings County injury case usually moves in five stages:

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1. Notice and hearing, if a public body is involved: the City can demand a sworn oral examination (a 50-h hearing) before you sue (General Municipal Law § 50-h).

2. Filing: the summons and complaint are filed with the Kings County Clerk and served on each defendant.

3. Discovery: the sides exchange records and give testimony at depositions, and the defense can have you examined by a doctor it chooses (CPLR 3121(a)).

4. Trial calendar: once discovery ends, a note of issue puts the case on the court's calendar (CPLR 3402(a)); pretrial motions often follow.

5. Settlement or trial: most cases settle; some are decided on motions, and the rest go to trial, usually before a Brooklyn jury.

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A child's settlement needs a court order, sought by a parent or guardian, and the same order approves the lawyer's fee (CPLR 1207).

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How much a personal injury lawyer costs in Brooklyn

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The standard fee for a Brooklyn injury case is a contingency fee: no fee unless money is recovered, and the fee is taken from the recovery.

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• Most injury cases: one-third of the net recovery.

• Medical malpractice: the sliding scale set by Judiciary Law § 474-a, which is 30% of the first $250,000, 25% of the next $250,000, 20% of the next $500,000, 15% of the next $250,000 and 10% of anything over $1,250,000.

• A written retainer agreement sets out the fee and how case expenses are handled before work begins.

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Our office is at 333 Park Avenue South in Manhattan; Reza meets Brooklyn clients in person, by phone or by video, and visits at home or in the hospital when travel is hard.

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Guides on this topic

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• NYC construction accidents in 2026 and Labor Law § 240: who can be held liable for a job-site fall, and how a Labor Law suit works alongside workers' comp.

• Hit by a turning car while crossing with the walk signal: who is at fault and how no-fault pays when a pedestrian is struck in a crosswalk.

• New York notice of claim: how GML § 50-e can make or break your injury case: what the 90-day notice requires when the City, NYCHA or another public body is involved.

• How long do you have to sue after an accident in New York?: when the three-year clock starts and which claims have shorter deadlines.

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Frequently asked questions

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Where is the Kings County Supreme Court, and will my Brooklyn injury case be filed there?

It is at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Most serious Brooklyn injury lawsuits are filed there when a party lives in Brooklyn or the accident happened there.

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How do I reach the Kings County Supreme Court clerk or motion support office?

The court's main number is (347) 296-1800, and it is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The County Clerk's Office is in Room 189 and the Motion Support Office in Room 227 of the courthouse.

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How do I look up a case or a judge's part rules in Kings County Supreme Court?

Kings County justices post their part rules (motion days, appearances, conference practice) on the court's Judges & Part Rules page at nycourts.gov. The part pages direct litigants to the court system's online WebCivil Supreme listings to see which part is hearing a motion. To look up a case, search the court system's WebCivil Supreme or NYSCEF by index number or party name.

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What should I do if I was hit by a car as a pedestrian in Brooklyn?

Get medical care the same day, make sure a police report is made, and note the plate and any witnesses. Send the written no-fault application within 30 days (11 NYCRR 65-1.1), usually to the insurer of the vehicle that hit you; if the driver fled or was uninsured, other coverage may apply. If a City vehicle or a New York City Transit bus hit you, the 90-day notice-of-claim clock is already running (General Municipal Law § 50-e).

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What counts as a slip and fall case?

It is a claim that a dangerous condition on someone's property, such as a wet floor, broken stairs or a raised sidewalk flag, caused your fall, and that the owner created the condition or knew or should have known about it in time to fix it. A fall caused only by your own misstep, with no hazard, is not a case.

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How do I choose a personal injury lawyer in Brooklyn?

Ask who will actually appear for you in court and answer your calls, and ask to see the fee and the handling of expenses in writing before you sign. A ranking or an ad will not tell you any of that. At Yassi Law P.C., the person who appears in court and answers your calls is Reza Yassi; read more about Reza Yassi.

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Talk with Reza Yassi about a serious injury or death in Brooklyn. Call (646) 992-2138 or book a free consultation. If the City, NYCHA, New York City Transit or the State may be responsible, call well before the 90-day deadline.