Walking is part of everyday life in Manhattan. Residents, commuters, workers, and visitors cross busy avenues to reach subway stations, offices, schools, restaurants, stores, and neighborhoods throughout the borough. In Midtown, the Upper East Side, Harlem, Chelsea, and Lower Manhattan, pedestrians regularly share crowded streets with taxis, Uber and Lyft vehicles, buses, delivery vans, trucks, cyclists, and turning traffic.
According to NYC DOT traffic and crash data, Manhattan recorded 1,934 pedestrian injuries and 27 pedestrian fatalities during 2024. Those figures illustrate the scale of pedestrian safety concerns across the borough while recognizing that conditions differ significantly from one street or neighborhood to another.
After being struck by a vehicle, an injured pedestrian may face medical treatment, time away from work, insurance questions, and uncertainty about who may be responsible. A Manhattan pedestrian accident lawyer can evaluate the circumstances of the collision, identify potentially relevant evidence and insurance coverage, and explain what legal options may be available.
Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. represents injured pedestrians in Manhattan and handles New York City pedestrian accident cases involving different traffic conditions throughout the five boroughs.
Relevant Pedestrian and Manhattan Case Results
Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. has handled a range of motor vehicle and personal injury matters. The firm’s published case results include a pedestrian accident involving a taxi and a separate Manhattan automobile accident.
Because the pedestrian result does not identify the borough where the collision occurred, it is not presented here as a Manhattan-specific case.
$100,000 Case Result for Pedestrian Hit by Taxi
The firm reports a $100,000 auto accident result involving a pedestrian hit by a taxi. The published result does not identify where the collision occurred, so no borough is attributed to the matter.
$62,500 Manhattan Auto Accident Settlement
The firm also reports a $62,500 Manhattan auto accident settlement involving disputed liability. According to the firm’s published case result, the client underwent arthroscopic surgery on the right shoulder.
This was an automobile accident case and is not represented as a pedestrian case.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every matter depends on its individual facts and circumstances.
Pedestrian Accident Statistics in Manhattan
Manhattan’s concentration of homes, offices, transit stations, tourist destinations, hospitals, schools, restaurants, and commercial districts places large numbers of pedestrians near moving traffic every day.
Official NYC DOT pedestrian safety data reported 1,934 pedestrian injuries and 27 pedestrian fatalities in Manhattan during 2024.
Boroughwide figures provide useful context, but pedestrian risk is not distributed evenly across Manhattan. Conditions can change substantially depending on street width, traffic volume, bus activity, turning patterns, commercial activity, and the number of people walking through a particular intersection. A Manhattan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer can review how these local traffic conditions may relate to the circumstances of an individual pedestrian collision.
Manhattan Intersections and Corridors With Documented Pedestrian Collision Activity
The following Manhattan locations have documented pedestrian injuries, serious traffic crashes, Vision Zero designations, or NYC DOT safety projects.
Their inclusion does not mean each location should be described as one of Manhattan’s “most dangerous” intersections. Instead, official transportation records show documented safety concerns that have led NYC DOT to study or redesign these streets.
34th Street, From 12th Avenue to the FDR Drive
34th Street crosses Midtown from the West Side to the East Side and serves major destinations including Penn Station, Herald Square, hospitals, offices, shops, and transit connections. It also functions as an important truck and bus corridor.
NYC DOT reported 466 total crash injuries from 2019 through 2023 along the corridor. Pedestrians accounted for 123 injuries, including 15 severe injuries. The corridor was also identified as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor with priority intersections at 11th Avenue, Eighth Avenue, Sixth Avenue/Broadway, and the FDR Drive.
The city’s broader Better Buses program includes projects intended to improve movement and street conditions along corridors where pedestrians, buses, trucks, taxis, deliveries, and general traffic compete for limited space.
On 34th Street, those overlapping transportation demands create frequent interactions between pedestrians and vehicles, particularly at major intersections.
Ninth Avenue, West 34th Street to West 50th Street
Ninth Avenue through Hell’s Kitchen experiences heavy pedestrian activity near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Theater District, restaurants, businesses, and approaches to the Lincoln Tunnel.
According to the NYC DOT Ninth Avenue safety redesign, 37 people were killed or seriously injured from 2021 through 2025, including one pedestrian fatality. NYC DOT identifies this portion of Ninth Avenue as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor.
The redesign includes additional pedestrian space, corner islands, a wider protected bicycle lane, and a curbside bus lane.
Those improvements reflect the difficulty of accommodating pedestrians, cyclists, buses, taxis, rideshare vehicles, deliveries, and general traffic within the same limited street space.
Third Avenue, East 24th Street to East 59th Street
Third Avenue connects residential and commercial areas through Kips Bay, Murray Hill, and Midtown. The corridor carries pedestrians, buses, bicycles, private vehicles, taxis, rideshare vehicles, and delivery traffic throughout the day.
NYC DOT reported 131 pedestrian injuries from 2020 through 2024, including 10 severe pedestrian injuries. The corridor is designated as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor. NYC DOT also documented a pedestrian fatality at Third Avenue and East 37th Street in 2019.
The agency’s current Manhattan street improvement projects include measures intended to reorganize roadway space, improve pedestrian safety, and reduce conflicts involving turning vehicles.
Changes proposed for Third Avenue include pedestrian islands, protected turning phases, bicycle infrastructure, bus improvements, and adjustments to general travel lanes.
Third Avenue, East 60th Street to East 96th Street
Farther north on the Upper East Side, Third Avenue has undergone a substantial redesign focused on pedestrian and cyclist safety.
Before the redesign, the corridor recorded 31 severe traffic injuries and five traffic fatalities from 2020 through 2024. Four of the five fatalities were pedestrians.
The Third Avenue pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements include pedestrian islands, a protected bicycle lane, an offset bus lane, and traffic signal changes.
At intersections where vehicles turn across bicycle or pedestrian paths, more organized traffic movements may help reduce conflicts among pedestrians, cyclists, buses, and turning vehicles.
Canal Street, West Street to the Bowery
Canal Street passes through one of Lower Manhattan’s busiest transportation environments. The corridor accommodates pedestrians, cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, commercial activity, deliveries, and traffic traveling between Lower Manhattan and major bridge and tunnel connections.
According to the NYC DOT Canal Street redesign proposal, three people were killed and approximately 200 were injured in traffic crashes along Canal Street from 2020 through 2024, including 23 people who were severely injured.
These figures cover all road users rather than pedestrians alone.
The city’s redesign addresses pedestrian crowding, sidewalk access, complex intersections, crossing distances, bicycle connections, and conflicts between people walking and moving vehicles.
Proposed treatments include curb extensions, additional pedestrian space, new crosswalks, and pedestrian refuge areas.
116th Street, Morningside Avenue to Pleasant Avenue
116th Street crosses Harlem and East Harlem and serves as an important neighborhood, transit, and commercial corridor.
NYC DOT identifies the street as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor. The study area serves 10 bus routes carrying more than 65,000 daily riders, creating substantial pedestrian activity around bus stops, intersections, businesses, and subway connections.
The city’s current NYC DOT street projects include safety work focused on improving visibility, organizing roadway movements, slowing turning vehicles, and creating safer pedestrian crossings along 116th Street.
These issues are especially relevant where buses, commercial activity, turning traffic, and large numbers of pedestrians converge.
West 181st Street, Amsterdam Avenue to Broadway
West 181st Street is a major commercial and transit corridor in Washington Heights. The street connects neighborhood businesses and residential blocks with subway service and several bus routes.
NYC DOT previously described 181st Street as one of Manhattan’s busiest and most congested corridors, with average bus speeds below 4 mph before implementation of the busway.
The city’s NYC busway program includes West 181st Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway. Through traffic is restricted while buses, trucks, emergency vehicles, and qualifying local traffic can continue using the corridor.
For pedestrians, subway connections, bus stops, commercial activity, deliveries, and frequent intersection movements create an environment where visibility and predictable traffic patterns matter.
Pedestrian Accident Risks Across Manhattan Neighborhoods
Pedestrian conditions vary substantially across Manhattan.
In Midtown, pedestrians encounter dense office traffic, tourists, taxis, rideshare pickups, buses, delivery vehicles, and major destinations around Penn Station, Times Square, Herald Square, and Grand Central. Wide avenues and constant turning movements can place pedestrians and vehicles in close interaction.
On the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, major avenues combine residential activity with schools, hospitals, restaurants, stores, buses, bicycles, and delivery traffic. Third Avenue’s redesign illustrates how transportation agencies attempt to accommodate these competing uses within limited roadway space.
Harlem and Washington Heights include heavily traveled pedestrian and transit corridors such as 116th Street and West 181st Street. Subway entrances, bus stops, businesses, and neighborhood destinations bring pedestrians into frequent contact with traffic.
Farther south, Chelsea, SoHo, the East Village, Lower Manhattan, and the Financial District have their own mix of residents, commuters, tourists, taxis, delivery vehicles, construction activity, bicycles, trucks, and rideshare traffic.
Pedestrian collisions also occur under different roadway conditions throughout the other boroughs. Cases involving a Bronx pedestrian accident may involve major arterial roads, bus corridors, and neighborhood commercial streets.
A Brooklyn pedestrian accident may occur along dense residential streets, major avenues, commercial districts, school zones, or heavily traveled intersections.
In Queens, a Queens pedestrian accident may involve wide arterial roads, large intersections, bus traffic, turning vehicles, and longer pedestrian crossing distances.
Staten Island presents a different transportation environment, where a Staten Island pedestrian accident may involve more car-oriented streets, large intersections, shopping areas, bus stops, and higher-speed roads.
Together, these local conditions form part of the broader pattern of New York City pedestrian accidents across the five boroughs.
Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Manhattan
Pedestrian crashes can occur when drivers fail to yield, become distracted, travel too quickly for conditions, run traffic signals, make unsafe left or right turns, back without checking their surroundings, drive while impaired, or fail to see someone walking because of limited visibility.
Manhattan adds several local factors.
Taxi and rideshare pickups frequently occur near crowded curbs. Delivery vehicles may stop along commercial streets throughout the day. Trucks and buses require additional room to maneuver. Bike lanes create another movement that turning drivers must account for. Tourist-heavy intersections may also contain pedestrians who are unfamiliar with local traffic patterns.
Turning conflicts can be especially significant. A pedestrian may be crossing with the signal while a driver simultaneously attempts to turn through the same crosswalk. When fault is disputed, a Manhattan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer may examine traffic signals, witness accounts, video footage, vehicle movements, and other evidence.
Common Pedestrian Accident Scenarios in Manhattan
A pedestrian collision may occur in a marked crosswalk, at an intersection, near a subway entrance, beside a bus stop, along a commercial avenue, in a parking or loading area, or while a vehicle is entering or leaving a driveway.
A rideshare driver may be watching for a passenger while pulling toward a curb or making a turn. When an Uber or Lyft accident involves a pedestrian, the driver’s rideshare activity at the time of the collision may affect which insurance policies and electronic records become relevant.
Commercial vehicles can raise separate issues involving ownership, employment, insurance, vehicle maintenance, and company records. Those questions may arise when a pedestrian is involved in a New York City truck accident or is struck by a delivery vehicle.
Common Pedestrian Injuries
Pedestrians have little physical protection when struck by a motor vehicle.
Depending on the speed, vehicle type, angle of impact, and other circumstances, injuries may include broken bones, head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, knee and leg injuries, shoulder injuries, internal injuries, road rash, lacerations, or permanent physical limitations.
Some pedestrian crashes result in fatal injuries.
The severity of an injury cannot always be determined from the appearance of the accident scene alone. Some symptoms may also become more noticeable after the initial impact.
Who May Be Responsible for a Manhattan Pedestrian Accident?
Responsibility depends on how the collision occurred and what the available evidence shows.
Potentially responsible parties may include a passenger vehicle driver, taxi driver, Uber or Lyft driver, delivery driver, truck driver, vehicle owner, or employer.
More than one party may potentially be involved when someone other than the driver owns the vehicle or when a driver was performing work at the time of the collision.
A government entity could also become relevant in limited circumstances involving a public vehicle or another governmental issue.
Liability should not be assumed before evidence such as the police report, photographs, witness accounts, video, vehicle information, insurance documentation, and other records has been considered.
What to Do After Being Hit by a Vehicle in Manhattan
An injured person’s immediate health and safety should come first.
When circumstances allow:
- Call 911 and request emergency medical assistance when needed.
- Obtain medical treatment and follow appropriate medical advice.
- Get the driver’s name, contact information, license plate, vehicle information, and insurance details when possible.
- Photograph or record the vehicles, crosswalk, traffic signals, street conditions, surrounding area, and visible injuries if it is safe to do so.
- Obtain names and contact details for witnesses.
- Obtain the NYPD collision report when available.
- Preserve medical records, bills, receipts, and documentation of missed work or other financial losses.
- Be cautious about unnecessary statements concerning fault when communicating with insurance representatives.
- Consider having the accident, insurance coverage, and available evidence reviewed by a pedestrian accident attorney.
A person who needs urgent medical treatment should not delay care to gather evidence personally.
Evidence That May Help a Pedestrian Accident Claim
Evidence can become especially important when the driver and pedestrian disagree about how the crash occurred.
Potentially relevant evidence may include the NYPD collision report, photographs, witness statements, surveillance video, dash-camera footage, medical records, vehicle information, insurance documents, and employment records.
Manhattan’s dense commercial and residential environment can make video evidence particularly important. Nearby stores, apartment buildings, office properties, taxis, buses, delivery vehicles, or private cars may have cameras that captured the collision or the moments immediately before it.
In commercial vehicle and rideshare cases, trip information, electronic records, company documentation, employment relationships, and vehicle records may also become relevant. A Manhattan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer can help identify which types of evidence may be important based on how and where the collision occurred.
Potential Compensation After a Pedestrian Accident
The financial and personal effects of a pedestrian collision differ from case to case.
Depending on the facts and applicable law, potential damages may involve medical expenses, lost wages, future medical treatment, rehabilitation costs, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and losses associated with permanent injuries.
Not every claim supports every category of damages. A Manhattan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer can evaluate documented medical expenses, lost income, future treatment needs, and other losses connected to the accident. Liability, insurance coverage, medical evidence, the severity of the injuries, and the long-term effects of those injuries may all influence a claim.
When a pedestrian collision results in death, surviving family members may face separate legal issues involving a potential New York City wrongful death claim.
New York No-Fault Insurance and Pedestrian Accident Claims
New York’s automobile insurance system may affect how certain medical expenses and economic losses are handled after a pedestrian is struck by a motor vehicle.
The New York State Department of Financial Services Auto Insurance Resource Center explains New York’s No-Fault insurance system and how coverage may apply to pedestrians injured through the use or operation of motor vehicles.
No-Fault benefits and a potential liability claim are different issues. Questions involving negligence, serious injuries, pain and suffering, available insurance, and other damages require a separate analysis based on the circumstances.
Comparative Fault in New York Pedestrian Cases
Disputes sometimes arise over whether a pedestrian contributed to a collision.
An insurer may question where the pedestrian entered the roadway, what the traffic signal displayed, whether the driver had sufficient visibility, or how much time either person had to react.
New York addresses contributory negligence and comparative fault under CPLR Section 1411.
Because the effect of comparative fault can depend on the circumstances and applicable law, a single detail such as whether a pedestrian was inside a marked crosswalk should not be treated as enough to determine the outcome of an individual case.
How Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. Can Help
A pedestrian accident claim can involve more than determining whether a driver received a traffic ticket.
Medical evidence, witness accounts, video footage, insurance coverage, vehicle ownership, employment relationships, and the long-term effect of an injury may all need to be considered. As a Manhattan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer, Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. can investigate these issues and assess the evidence available in a particular case.
As a New York City personal injury lawyer, Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. handles motor vehicle and personal injury claims involving different circumstances throughout New York City.
Depending on the case, representation may include investigating the collision, preserving available evidence, communicating with insurance companies, identifying potentially responsible parties, and evaluating damages supported by the evidence.
Manhattan Pedestrian Accident FAQs
What should I do if I am hit by a car while walking in Manhattan?
Call 911 when appropriate and obtain medical treatment. If you can safely do so, collect information about the driver and vehicle, identify witnesses, and photograph the crash scene. Preserve the police report, medical records, bills, and other accident-related documents.
Can I have a claim if I was outside a crosswalk?
Being outside a marked crosswalk does not by itself determine the outcome of a claim. The pedestrian’s actions, driver’s conduct, traffic controls, visibility, location of impact, and applicable New York law may all need to be considered.
What if a taxi hits me in Midtown?
Try to preserve the taxi’s identifying information, the driver’s details, photographs, witness contacts, medical information, and police report. Taxi collisions may involve commercial insurance and records that differ from those involved in an ordinary passenger vehicle crash.
What happens if an Uber or Lyft vehicle hits a pedestrian?
The driver’s rideshare status at the time of the collision may affect which insurance coverage and records are relevant. Trip information, electronic records, photographs, witness statements, police documentation, and video may all become important.
Does No-Fault insurance apply to pedestrians?
New York’s No-Fault system may apply to pedestrians injured through the use or operation of a motor vehicle. The insurer involved and available benefits depend on the circumstances, so the specific insurance situation should be evaluated individually.
What if the driver leaves the scene?
Call the police and seek medical treatment. If possible, preserve details such as the vehicle’s plate number, make, model, color, or direction of travel. Witness statements and surveillance footage may also help identify the vehicle.
What evidence can help after a pedestrian accident at a Manhattan intersection?
Potential evidence includes the police report, photographs, witness statements, medical documentation, vehicle information, and surveillance or dash-camera footage. Nearby businesses, residential buildings, buses, taxis, delivery vehicles, or other vehicles may also have cameras that captured relevant events.
Speak With a Manhattan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
If you were struck by a car, taxi, rideshare vehicle, truck, or another motor vehicle while walking in Manhattan, Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. can review the circumstances of the collision and discuss what legal options may be available.
The firm offers free consultations. You can call (212) 240-9465 or contact Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. through the firm’s online contact form.
No attorney can guarantee the result of a pedestrian accident claim. Every matter depends on its individual facts, evidence, injuries, available insurance, and applicable law.