Long Island Car
Accident Lawyer

Long Island Car Accident Lawyer Near You

A car accident on Long Island can happen in an instant — roughly every four and a half minutes across New York State. Whether you were hit on the Southern State Parkway, the LIE, Sunrise Highway, or a local road in Hempstead, the aftermath is the same: physical pain, mounting bills, and an insurance company looking for reasons to pay you less.

At the Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, P.C., we represent car accident victims throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. We combine aggressive advocacy with personalized attention to pursue every dollar you are owed — for your injuries, your lost wages, and your no-fault claims.

New York's no-fault insurance system

New York requires every driver to carry no-fault insurance, also called Personal Injury Protection (PIP). After a car accident, your own insurer covers initial expenses regardless of who was at fault:

• Medical bills — up to $50,000 for necessary treatment
• Lost wages — 80% of your income, up to $2,000 per month
• Other basic expenses — household services, transportation to appointments

You must file your no-fault application within 30 days of the accident. Missing this deadline can cost you benefits.

No-fault does not cover pain and suffering. To sue the at-fault driver for additional compensation, your injuries must meet the "serious injury" threshold under Insurance Law Section 5102(d). That includes fractures, significant disfigurement, permanent limitation of a body organ or member, or inability to perform substantially all of your daily activities for 90 of the first 180 days after the accident.

Common car accident types on Long Island

Rear-end collisions

The most common type on congested roads like Sunrise Highway and Jericho Turnpike. These crashes frequently cause whiplash, herniated discs, and concussions. The trailing driver is presumed at fault under New York law, but insurance companies still dispute the severity of injuries.

T-bone (side-impact) accidents

Common at busy intersections across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Limited side protection means these crashes produce severe injuries — fractured ribs, pelvic injuries, internal organ damage. Fault often comes down to who had the right of way, and proving it usually requires traffic camera footage or witness statements.

Highway crashes

High-speed collisions on the Long Island Expressway, Southern State Parkway, and Northern State Parkway often involve catastrophic injuries and complex multi-vehicle liability. These cases require accident reconstruction and thorough investigation of each driver's actions.

Rideshare accidents

Uber and Lyft accidents involve special insurance layers — the driver's personal policy, the rideshare company's policy, and potentially a third party's policy. Determining which coverage applies depends on the driver's status at the time of the crash (app off, waiting for a ride, or carrying a passenger).

Hit-and-run accidents

When a driver flees the scene, your uninsured motorist coverage becomes your primary source of recovery. We work with police reports, surveillance footage, and witness accounts to identify the at-fault driver when possible — and to maximize your UM claim when it's not.

Dangerous roads and intersections on Long Island

Certain Long Island roads see a disproportionate share of serious accidents. If your crash happened at one of these locations, you may have a stronger case — especially if the road design, signage, or maintenance contributed to the collision.

The Long Island Expressway (I-495), Southern State Parkway, and Northern State Parkway remain among the highest-volume accident corridors in the state. Municipal road defects — potholes, missing signage, malfunctioning traffic signals — can also create liability for the county or town under New York law.

How we handle Long Island car accident claims

Why hire Jason Tenenbaum for your car accident case?

Jason has handled no-fault and personal injury cases on Long Island since 2002. He writes his own appeals and tries his own cases, which means the attorney who knows your file is the one standing in front of the judge. Most firms hand off that work to different lawyers at different stages.

A few results that show what that looks like in practice: a $1.2 million settlement for a Nassau County driver with spinal injuries from a rear-end crash, and a case in Suffolk County where we obtained dashboard camera footage within 48 hours that proved the other driver was at fault. In another case, an insurer offered $15,000 for a client with a herniated disc who needed surgery. We rejected it and fought for what the case was actually worth.

Jason handles the full process from your first call through trial or settlement. He knows the judges in Nassau and Suffolk County, he understands New York's no-fault system, and he has seen enough of these cases to spot the moves insurers make before they make them. Consultations are free, and you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.

What to do after a Long Island car accident

Attorney Jason Tenenbaum walks through the steps you should take right after an accident on Long Island:

Case study: Monica R., side-swipe on the LIE

Monica R., a teacher and single mother from Nassau County, was driving east on the Long Island Expressway near Exit 41 during rush hour in fall 2023 when a commercial truck side-swiped her sedan in the middle lane. Her car spun into the guardrail. She fractured her wrist badly enough to need surgery, metal pins, and months of physical therapy. Between the medical bills and missed work, she was in serious trouble.

The case looked difficult on paper. The truck driver claimed Monica changed lanes into him. An independent witness backed his story. The police report recorded conflicting accounts but assigned no fault. Accident reconstruction came back inconclusive, leaning slightly toward shared blame.

But the truck driver's deposition told a different story. He was hostile, dismissive, and made comments that suggested racial bias. None of that changed the physical evidence, but Jason knew from trying hundreds of cases that Nassau County juries pay attention to credibility. A witness who comes across as arrogant and prejudiced loses the room, no matter what the reconstruction report says.

Jason deposed both the driver and the witness under CPLR Article 31, found inconsistencies in their accounts, and prepared cross-examination that would expose those gaps at trial. He assembled Monica's medical records to establish the severity of her injuries under Insurance Law Section 5102, and built the case to survive a comparative fault defense under CPLR Section 1411.

The trucking company's lawyers could read the situation. They had a witness, but they also had a defendant who would alienate jurors the moment he opened his mouth. They chose to settle rather than risk it. The case resolved for $750,000, covering Monica's medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and future care. Early settlement offers had been a fraction of that.

The takeaway: evidence matters, but it is rarely the whole picture. Cases like these turn on credibility, preparation, and knowing what a particular jury pool is likely to care about.