New York Pedestrian Accident Settlement Calculator

Pedestrian struck-by-vehicle injuries are typically severe because the human body has no protection from the impact. Reported NY pedestrian settlements span from $25,000 for minor cases to multi-million-dollar wrongful death verdicts. Settlement values typically run 20 to 50 percent above comparable auto-occupant cases for the same injury type because of the VTL 1146 rebuttable presumption, the available NYC § 19-190 criminal-law evidence, and the typical injury severity.

Cited representative outcomes from New York plaintiff firms include:

• • $4,000,000 for a 12-year-old child struck in a Brooklyn crosswalk
• • $3,000,000+ for a Manhattan pedestrian injured in a crosswalk collision
• • $2,250,000 for a 16-year-old Bronx Science student struck by a school bus that ran a red light
• • $2,000,000 wrongful death for a graduate student crossing in a designated crosswalk with a walk signal, struck by a left-turning vehicle
• • $1,500,000 for a Bronx woman struck in a crosswalk (driver inattention)
• • $1,500,000 for an NYC pedestrian struck by a truck in a crosswalk
• • $1,000,000 for a woman struck while crossing the street

Under NY's no-fault system, all pedestrians struck by motor vehicles in NY are covered persons under the at-fault vehicle's no-fault policy. The first source of medical and wage payment is the PIP coverage of the vehicle that hit you, regardless of fault. Pedestrians do not need to use their own health insurance first.

PIP pays necessary medical expenses at the no-fault fee schedule, 80 percent of lost wages capped at $2,000 per month for up to 3 years, $25 per day in other reasonable expenses, and a $2,000 death benefit. Submit Form NF-2 to the at-fault vehicle's no-fault carrier within 30 days or risk forfeiting all PIP benefits. Healthcare providers must submit medical bills within 45 days of treatment.

New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1146 is the most powerful evidentiary tool in any NY pedestrian or cyclist case. The statute requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian, bicyclist, or domestic animal upon any roadway and to give warning by sounding the horn when necessary.

VTL 1146 Criminal Penalties

VTL 1146 also carries criminal traffic-infraction penalties:

• • Physical injury caused by failure to exercise due care: up to $500 fine, up to 15 days imprisonment, or both
• • Serious physical injury caused by failure to exercise due care: up to $750 fine, up to 15 days imprisonment, or required participation in a motor vehicle accident prevention course, plus license suspension

A VTL 1146 traffic-infraction conviction or even an issued summons is strong civil evidence. Subpoena the NYPD's investigation file, the criminal court record, and any DMV abstract showing the conviction or pending charge.

NYC Administrative Code Section 19-190 (passed in 2014 as part of the Vision Zero legislative package) is one of the most powerful pedestrian-protection laws in the country. It applies citywide and provides both administrative and criminal sanctions against drivers who fail to yield.

Why § 19-190 Matters for Your Civil Case

A § 19-190 charge or conviction is powerful evidence in the civil personal injury case because it establishes the driver's failure to yield as a matter of NYC law. Combined with VTL 1146's rebuttable presumption, the two statutes create a one-two evidentiary punch unique to NY pedestrian and cyclist cases: the driver bears the burden to rebut the VTL 1146 presumption, and the § 19-190 record (where applicable) establishes the underlying right-of-way violation.

On April 22, 2024, Governor Hochul signed Sammy's Law (NY State Senate Bill S524A), named after 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein who was struck and killed by a driver in October 2013. The law grants NYC the AUTHORITY to reduce speed limits to 20 mph (down from the prior 25 mph default in place since 2014) on individual streets with proper signage, and to 10 mph on roads undergoing safety-related redesigns.

Why Sammy's Law Matters for Your Civil Case

Reduced speed limits matter for civil cases in three ways. First, excess speed at impact dramatically increases pedestrian injury severity (a pedestrian struck at 30 mph is roughly twice as likely to die as one struck at 20 mph per published transportation safety research). Second, where the posted limit was 20 mph and the driver was traveling faster, the violation supports a negligence-per-se theory in addition to the VTL 1146 presumption. Third, NYC DOT's documented redesign locations are publicly searchable (NYC DOT Vision Zero View at vzv.nyc), so an attorney can quickly confirm the posted limit at the strike location.

On October 26, 2024, the NYC City Council passed Int. 0346-2024 to legalize jaywalking. The bill became law without a veto from Mayor Adams. The new law allows pedestrians to legally cross the street at any point and permits crossing against traffic signals.

Critical: Decriminalization Does NOT Change Civil Liability

The new law removes the criminal traffic-infraction penalty for jaywalking. It does not alter the civil right-of-way framework:

• • VTL § 1152 still gives vehicles the right of way over a pedestrian crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection
• • Comparative negligence under CPLR 1411 still applies; a pedestrian crossing mid-block can still be assigned a percentage of fault that reduces (but does not eliminate) the recovery
• • VTL § 1146 due-care obligation still applies to the driver regardless of where the pedestrian crossed
• • NYC § 19-190 right-of-way criminal law still applies where the pedestrian DID have the right of way

New York applies pure comparative negligence under CPLR § 1411. You can recover damages even if you were 99 percent at fault; your award is reduced by your percentage of fault but never eliminated. In pedestrian cases, the strike location (crosswalk vs mid-block) and the signal status (with the light vs against the light) are the central factors driving comparative-fault analysis.

Even at high comparative-fault percentages, NY's pure comparative system means the case is not eliminated. A pedestrian who crossed mid-block, was assigned 40 percent fault, and had $500,000 in damages still recovers $300,000.

The Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) was created by NY Insurance Law Article 52 in 1958 as a public safety net for pedestrians and other crash victims when the at-fault vehicle is uninsured, unidentified (hit-and-run), or otherwise unavailable. MVAIC is operated as a non-profit and funded by an assessment on NY auto insurance premiums.

MVAIC Eligibility Requirements

• • The crash occurred in New York State
• • You were a NY resident at the time of the crash
• • Neither you nor anyone in your household owns a vehicle with NY auto insurance covering the accident (if you do, your own SUM coverage is the primary recovery source instead)
• • The at-fault vehicle was uninsured OR unidentified (hit-and-run)

MVAIC Filing Deadlines (Strict)

• • Hit-and-run police report: filed within 24 hours of the crash, or as soon as reasonably possible
• • MVAIC Notice of Claim: filed within 90 days of the crash
• • MVAIC Affidavit of Intention to Make Claim: filed within 180 days of the crash
• • Lawsuit: filed within 3 years of the crash (CPLR 214(5)) and within 2 years of qualification for benefits

NYC recorded 122 pedestrian fatalities in 2024 (an 18 percent surge over 2023) and 111 in 2025 (a 9 percent decline). 2025 was the safest year on record since records began in 1910. Wide arterial roads in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx still produce the deadliest crashes. Queens Borough fatalities fell 23 percent (74 in 2024 to 57 in 2025).

Pedestrian-vehicle impact mechanisms produce more catastrophic injury patterns than auto-on-auto crashes: head trauma from windshield/curb strike, leg fractures from bumper height, pelvic injuries from hood impact, and abdominal trauma from being thrown. Pedestrian cases also routinely clear the 5102(d) threshold without contest because injury severity is high.

Source: SetCalc analysis of NY pedestrian accident settlement data, 2024 to 2026. Cited verdicts: $4M (Brooklyn 12yo crosswalk), $3M+ (Manhattan crosswalk), $2.25M (Bronx Science 16yo school bus red light), $2M wrongful death (graduate student walk signal), $1.5M (Bronx woman crosswalk), $1.5M (truck strike crosswalk), $1M (woman crossing). Pedestrian wrongful death cases commonly exceed $5M.

Five steps tailored to NY pedestrian cases. Each is designed to lock in the VTL 1146 / § 19-190 evidentiary advantages before NYPD records and surveillance overwrite.

Five NY pedestrian scenarios calibrated to the available insurance stack and the VTL 1146 / § 19-190 evidentiary advantages. Each example highlights a pedestrian-specific dynamic.

For broken bone settlement data see our broken bone settlement calculator. For NY auto framework basics see our New York car accident guide.

Every NY pedestrian case is different. Your settlement value depends on the vehicle that struck you (private auto, NYC TLC vehicle, commercial truck, MTA bus, or hit-and-run/MVAIC), the crosswalk vs mid-block strike location, the availability of VTL 1146 and § 19-190 evidence, the injury severity, and the venue.