Personal Injury Lawyer in Brooklyn, NY

The useful question is not "are you a personal injury lawyer" — nearly everyone says yes. It is "how many cases like mine have you taken through discovery in Kings County, and who at your firm handles them?"

Brooklyn injury claims run across a wide range: intersection collisions on Atlantic and Flatbush, falls in walk-up buildings and on sidewalks, construction accidents on the Downtown Brooklyn and Gowanus job sites, bus and subway incidents, dog bites. The legal framework underneath them is shared:

• Deadlines. Three years for personal injury under CPLR 214; two years for wrongful death; two and a half years for medical malpractice (CPLR 214-a). Against the City, NYCHA, H+H or the New York City Transit Authority: notice of claim within 90 days under GML § 50-e, a § 50-h examination, and suit within one year and 90 days.
• Motor vehicle rules. No-fault benefits ($50,000 basic economic loss) require the NF-2 application within 30 days; recovery for pain and suffering requires meeting the serious injury threshold in Insurance Law § 5102(d).
• Sidewalk liability. Under NYC Administrative Code § 7-210, the abutting property owner — not the City — is generally responsible for maintaining the sidewalk, with limited exceptions for one-to-three-family owner-occupied homes. Identifying the correct defendant early is not a formality; it decides the case.
• Construction. Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) impose strict duties on owners and general contractors for height-related and specific safety-rule violations.
• Comparative fault. Pure comparative negligence under CPLR 1411 — partial fault reduces, never eliminates, the recovery.

Cases are filed in Supreme Court, Kings County, 360 Adams Street. Ask about trial experience specifically, since Kings County juries are the reason many of these cases settle at all. General information, not legal advice.

Nothing upfront. New York injury attorneys take these matters on contingency — a share of the recovery, nothing if there is no recovery. One-third of the net recovery is the customary arrangement, apart from medical malpractice, where Judiciary Law § 474-a imposes a descending scale beginning at 30% of the first $250,000.

The variables:

• Whether the case settles before suit, during discovery, at mediation, or after verdict
• Case expenses — engineering and medical experts, narratives, transcripts, filing fees — and the deduction order relative to the fee
• Liens: no-fault, health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, workers' compensation
• Insurance limits available, and whether SUM coverage applies
• Municipal defendants, which add § 50-e and § 50-h steps and lengthen the timeline

Where a child is the plaintiff, the court approves the settlement and the fee. Our consultation and referral are free, and remain free regardless of outcome.

Because matching the case to the right practice — Labor Law, premises, motor vehicle, municipal — is the decision with the largest effect on the result, and it is made before any legal work begins.

• Free consultation; the referral costs you nothing.
• Available 24/7 at (800) 669-0060.
• English, Spanish, and Russian.
• Over 30 years connecting injured people with attorneys in New York and New Jersey.
• Local case experience in Kings County.
• Continued involvement after the introduction.

Attorneys in Michael Brook's network repeat one caution about Brooklyn premises cases: photograph the defect immediately and from several distances. Landlords and managing agents repair conditions quickly after an accident, and a repaired staircase leaves nothing to litigate.

Disclaimer: Michael Brook Attorney Referral is not a law firm and provides no legal representation or legal advice. This is general information and does not replace advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. No result is guaranteed.