Traumatic Brain Injury Claims After a Pedestrian Accident in New York City

Fighting for Injured New Yorkers for Over 39 Years

Personal Injury Attorney Michael Gunzburg

What Our Clients Say

Do You Have a Claim for Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury qualifies as a compensable claim in a New York pedestrian accident case when the injury meets the serious injury threshold under New York Insurance Law Section 5102(d). For TBI victims, this typically means a significant limitation of use of a body function or system, a medically determined injury that prevents you from performing substantially all of your daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days following the accident, or a permanent consequential limitation.

In practical terms: if a brain injury is diagnosed by a physician and supported by objective medical evidence, such as imaging, neurological testing, or documented cognitive deficits, it will generally satisfy this threshold. You do not need to be hospitalized to qualify.

How Traumatic Brain Injuries Happen in Pedestrian Accident Cases

Pedestrians have no structural protection when a vehicle strikes them. The forces involved in a collision with even a slow-moving car are enough to cause a TBI. In New York City, these injuries occur across the full range of pedestrian accident scenarios.

Direct Impact to the Head

When a vehicle strikes a pedestrian, the most common cause of TBI is the head hitting the pavement, the hood of the vehicle, or a fixed object like a curb or signpost. On New York City streets, where asphalt and concrete are hard and unforgiving, even a fall from standing height can produce a serious brain injury. The impact does not have to look dramatic from the outside to cause significant internal damage.

Acceleration-Deceleration Forces

A vehicle does not need to hit your head directly to cause a TBI. When the body is thrown forward or sideways by the force of impact, the brain moves inside the skull. This causes bruising, tearing of neural tissue, and diffuse axonal injury, a type of damage that does not always show up on standard imaging but can produce lasting cognitive, emotional, and physical impairment. This mechanism is especially common in crosswalk accidents where a pedestrian is struck at speed.

Secondary Injuries from the Fall

Many pedestrian TBIs involve a two-step injury: the initial vehicle strike, followed by an uncontrolled fall. In NYC, pedestrians are often struck near intersections, bus stops, and curb cuts where the fall surface is hard and offers no protection. A second impact to the head upon landing can compound the initial injury or cause a separate TBI entirely.

What Is Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain caused by an external physical force. TBIs range from mild concussions to severe injuries involving prolonged unconsciousness, memory loss, or permanent neurological deficits.

Diagnosis typically begins in the emergency room with a CT scan, which identifies bleeding, swelling, or fractures. An MRI may follow to detect more subtle structural damage. Neuropsychological testing is often used to evaluate cognitive function, memory, attention, and processing speed.

Treatment depends on severity. Mild TBIs may be managed with rest and monitoring. Moderate to severe TBIs often require hospitalization, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, and long-term care. Symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, confusion, mood changes, sensitivity to light and sound, and difficulty concentrating.

TBI symptoms do not always appear immediately. Some pedestrian accident victims feel disoriented at the scene but are discharged from the ER without a clear diagnosis, only to develop more significant symptoms in the days or weeks that follow. Medical documentation from the earliest point after your accident is critical.

Why These Cases Are Harder to Win Without an Attorney

TBI claims are among the most contested in personal injury law. Insurance companies routinely challenge the severity of brain injuries, particularly when imaging is inconclusive or symptoms are subjective in nature.

The most common tactic is to argue that the injury is not as serious as claimed, that it predated the accident, or that the victim has made a full recovery. Adjusters look for gaps in treatment, missed appointments, or prior medical history that can be used to minimize or deny the claim. Without an attorney, you may not recognize these tactics until it's too late.

Attorney Michael Gunzburg's CPA credentials give TBI victims a concrete advantage. A brain injury often affects a person's ability to work, earn, and function independently for years or the rest of their life. Calculating those damages accurately requires expertise in financial analysis, not just legal argument. Michael Gunzburg is specifically equipped to document and prove lost earning capacity, future rehabilitation costs, home care expenses, and long-term economic losses with the same rigor an accountant brings to a financial audit.

This matters at settlement negotiations and even more so at trial, where economic damage testimony from an attorney-CPA carries a different weight than estimates assembled by a generalist

What Compensation Is Available?

Pedestrian TBI victims in New York can pursue several categories of compensation.

No-Fault PIP benefits are available through the at-fault driver's auto insurance policy, regardless of who caused the accident. No-fault covers up to $50,000 in medical expenses and lost wages, and the application must be filed within 30 days of the accident.

Once the serious injury threshold is met, you can pursue a liability claim for:

• Past and future medical costs, including emergency care, hospitalization, neurosurgery, imaging, rehabilitation, and ongoing therapy
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity, particularly relevant for TBI victims whose cognitive or physical limitations affect their ability to return to prior employment
• Long-term care and home assistance costs, which can represent the largest component of a TBI damages claim
• Pain and suffering, including the chronic headaches, cognitive impairment, emotional instability, and personality changes that often accompany brain injuries
• Loss of enjoyment of life and permanent disability where applicable

As both a trial attorney and licensed CPA, Michael Gunzburg calculates future economic damages with precision, identifying losses that are often underclaimed when victims are represented by attorneys without financial expertise.

Important Deadlines

Act quickly. Missing a deadline can permanently end your right to compensation.

• Most pedestrian accidents (private defendants): You have 3 years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit in New York State court.
• Accidents involving a NYC bus, MTA vehicle, or municipal vehicle: You must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident. The lawsuit itself must be filed within 1 year and 90 days.
• No-fault PIP benefits: Your application must be submitted within 30 days of the accident.

If your TBI caused symptoms that delayed your awareness of the injury's severity, speak with an attorney immediately about whether any exceptions may apply to your situation.

Proven Results and Why Clients Choose Michael Gunzburg, P.C.

Michael Gunzburg, P.C. has recovered multimillion-dollar results for pedestrian accident victims throughout New York City, including a $3 million settlement for a pedestrian struck in a Manhattan crosswalk, a $2.85 million settlement for a Bronx pedestrian hit by a bus, and a $1.9 million post-verdict settlement in a Bronx pedestrian case where a bus struck a woman in a crosswalk.

These results reflect 39+ years of NYC trial experience and a consistent willingness to take cases to verdict when insurers refuse to pay fair value.

The firm's dual attorney-CPA credential is a direct asset in TBI cases, where the economic damages are complex and often contested. Michael Gunzburg, P.C. works on a contingency fee basis with a 24-hour callback policy, so you can reach someone when you need to.

Key Takeaways

• Pedestrian accident victims in Manhattan have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit, but if a city vehicle was involved, a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days of the accident.
• New York's pure comparative negligence law allows you to recover compensation even if you were partly at fault for the accident.
• Michael Gunzburg, P.C. secured a $3 million settlement for a pedestrian struck in a Manhattan crosswalk at 59th Street and 2nd Avenue.
• Insurance companies contact accident victims quickly and with low offers; having legal representation before responding to any adjuster protects the value of your claim.
• Surveillance footage, witness statements, and physical evidence disappear fast in Manhattan; contacting an attorney immediately after the accident preserves what is needed to prove your case.

Common Questions About Traumatic Brain Injury Claims in NYC

Does a TBI qualify as a serious injury under New York law?

A traumatic brain injury qualifies as a serious injury under New York Insurance Law Section 5102(d) when it produces a significant limitation of a body function or system, a permanent consequential limitation, or prevents normal daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the accident. This threshold is met in most medically documented TBI cases. Objective evidence, such as imaging, neuropsychological testing, or a treating physician's findings, is key to establishing qualification.

What if the insurance company says my TBI symptoms are not supported by imaging?

Insurance companies frequently argue that TBI claims lack objective support when CT and MRI results appear normal. This argument is misleading. Many TBIs, including diffuse axonal injuries and post-concussive syndrome, do not appear on standard imaging but can be documented through neuropsychological testing, functional MRI, and expert testimony. An experienced attorney builds the medical record needed to counter these challenges before they derail your claim.

What if the driver says I was at fault for the accident?

New York follows comparative negligence, meaning your compensation is reduced in proportion to your share of fault. If a driver claims you crossed against the light or were outside a crosswalk, that argument does not bar your recovery; it only affects the amount. In most pedestrian accidents, the driver bears the greater degree of fault. The key is a thorough investigation conducted early, before evidence disappears and witnesses become unavailable.

How does a TBI affect the value of a pedestrian accident claim?

A TBI significantly increases the potential value of a pedestrian accident claim compared to soft tissue injuries. The reason is the scope of damages: neurosurgery, long-term rehabilitation, cognitive therapy, home care assistance, and the impact on the victim's ability to work and function independently can produce substantial economic damages that extend decades into the future. Attorney Michael Gunzburg's CPA credentials allow him to calculate and present these future losses with the precision that maximizes recovery.

How long does a TBI pedestrian accident case take in New York?

Most TBI pedestrian accident cases in New York take one to three years to resolve. The timeline depends on the severity of the injury, how long treatment continues, and whether the insurance company makes a fair offer or the case proceeds to trial. Michael Gunzburg, P.C. does not pressure clients to settle before reaching maximum medical improvement. Settling too early, before the full extent of a TBI is understood, is one of the most common and costly mistakes injured pedestrians make.

Other Pages That May Help You

• NYC Pedestrian Accident Attorney — the parent page for pedestrian accident claims throughout New York City
• Fatal Pedestrian Accident in NYC: Rights of Surviving Family Members
• Thinking About Waiting to File After a NYC Pedestrian Accident?
• Bus Strikes Pedestrian: $1.9 Million Post-Verdict Settlement
• 90-Year-Old Woman Killed in NYC Pedestrian Accident: What Victims Can Do