Car Accident Lawyer in Kew Gardens Hills, NY
Kew Gardens Hills has no subway stop, which means almost everyone here drives, rides a bus or walks — often all three in one day. Main Street is the neighborhood's spine, lined with shops, synagogues and schools, and on its western edge three highways meet at the Kew Gardens Interchange. Between the two, there is a steady supply of the collisions we handle.
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Main Street, Jewel Avenue and the Interchange
The neighborhood runs from Union Turnpike north to the Long Island Expressway, and from the Van Wyck Expressway and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park east to Kissena and Parsons Boulevards. Most crashes we hear about from here happen in four places.
Main Street. The commercial stretch carries the Q20 and the Q44 Select Bus Service, delivery trucks double-parked outside the shops, and heavy foot traffic — especially before Shabbat and holidays, when the stores are at their busiest and many people cross mid-block. Drivers looking for parking and pedestrians stepping out between parked cars is the classic Main Street collision.
Jewel Avenue. An east–west street with the Q64, crossing Main Street, 164th Street and Kissena Boulevard. Intersections along Jewel see turning crashes and pedestrian strikes near the schools and the Pomonok area.
The Kew Gardens Interchange. The Grand Central Parkway, the Van Wyck Expressway and the Jackie Robinson Parkway meet at the southwest corner of the neighborhood. Lane changes at speed, short merges and drivers unfamiliar with which ramp they need produce sideswipes and rear-end chains that can involve several cars.
Union Turnpike and the expressway service roads. Union Turnpike forms the southern edge, with the Q46 running along it, and the Horace Harding service roads along the north side meet Main Street and Kissena Boulevard at busy, wide intersections near Queens College.
Students walking to Queens College and Lander College, and children walking to the neighborhood's yeshivas, are among the people most often hit on foot here. If you were walking when you were struck, see our pedestrian accident practice.
Immediately After a Collision
The NYPD 107th Precinct at 71-01 Parsons Boulevard covers Kew Gardens Hills. On the interchange or the Van Wyck itself, a highway unit may respond instead, so write down which officers came and ask for the incident number. Photograph the scene, the other car's plate and both drivers' documents.
For medical care, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is north in Flushing and Queens Hospital Center is south in Jamaica. Even if the pain seems minor, get seen within a day or two. Neck and back injuries from a rear-end chain on the interchange often feel worse the following week, and the first medical note is what links them to the crash.
The Police Report
New York crash reports are distributed by the state, not the precinct. Request yours from the DMV crash report page once it posts. If police did not respond and someone was injured, file an MV-104 within ten days. On a multi-car highway crash, check that the report lists every vehicle and the right order of impact; that sequence decides who pays.
No-Fault Benefits and the Serious Injury Rule
Your own auto policy pays first. No-fault coverage under Insurance Law §5103 covers medical bills and a share of lost earnings, and the application is due within thirty days of the crash. If you do not own a car and were hit as a pedestrian or bus passenger, no-fault may still be available through a household member's policy or the vehicle that struck you. A claim for pain and suffering against the driver at fault requires a serious injury as defined in Insurance Law §5102(d).
Disputed Fault
In a chain collision, each driver tends to blame the one ahead or behind. CPLR §1411 reduces what you recover by your own percentage of fault. Since a 2026 amendment, a motor-vehicle injury claim is barred if your share of the fault is greater than the other side’s; that rule governs any lawsuit filed on or after May 26, 2026, even if the accident happened earlier. Dashcam footage, the damage on each bumper and the timing of the impacts usually answer the question better than the drivers do.
Time Limits and Where the Case Goes
You generally have three years to sue another driver under CPLR §214. If a city vehicle, an MTA bus or a defect in a public road is involved, a notice of claim must be served within 90 days. Kew Gardens Hills cases are filed at Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term on Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica.
What We Charge
Talking to us is free. We take injury cases on contingency — a percentage of the recovery, and no fee if there is no recovery — as set out in our contingency fee guide. The attorneys and staff are on our team page.
Coming to Our Office
Our office is about two miles straight east along Union Turnpike:
- Get onto Union Turnpike heading east
- Stay on Union Turnpike past Utopia Parkway to 185th Street
- We are between 185th and 186th Streets, with street parking nearby
The Q46 runs the whole way along Union Turnpike, so it is one bus with no transfer.
Davidov & Cohen Law, PLLC
185-22 Union Tpke, Suite 203
Fresh Meadows, NY 11366
(718) 328-8001
Neighboring pages: car accidents in Fresh Meadows, car accidents in Kew Gardens and car accidents in Flushing, plus our motor vehicle accident practice.
Common questions
Can we meet on a day other than Saturday?
Yes. We understand that many people in Kew Gardens Hills do not travel or use the phone on Shabbat and holidays, and we will schedule around that. Call during the week and we will find a time that works.
I was rear-ended on the Grand Central Parkway near the interchange and three cars were involved. Who is responsible?
Often more than one driver, in different proportions. Each driver's insurance may contribute, and sorting out the order of impact is the first step. Your own no-fault benefits pay your initial medical bills in the meantime.
I was hit crossing Main Street outside a crosswalk. Do I still have a claim?
Possibly. Drivers in New York must use due care to avoid pedestrians wherever they are. Crossing mid-block may reduce the claim, and since this was a collision with a motor vehicle, the 2026 amendment's cut-off applies if your share of fault is greater than the driver's. The details of the scene matter a great deal.
This page is general information about New York law for people in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Attorney Advertising.
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