Brooklyn Personal Injury Lawyer

Brooklyn sees more than its share of serious accidents. The borough’s density, its mix of aging infrastructure and active construction, its congested expressways and pedestrian-heavy neighborhoods, all of it creates conditions where people get hurt through no fault of their own. When that happens, the path forward is rarely straightforward. Insurance companies move quickly to protect their own interests, medical bills accumulate while injured people miss work, and the legal clock starts running the moment an accident occurs. A Brooklyn personal injury lawyer from Mark David Shirian P.C. works to ensure that injured New Yorkers are not left to navigate that process at a disadvantage.

Personal injury claims in New York turn on specifics. The question of who was negligent, how that negligence connects to the injury, and what the full scope of damages actually looks like all require careful development before any claim can be properly valued. In Brooklyn, that work also requires knowledge of how cases move through Kings County courts, how local insurers and defense firms operate, and what kinds of evidence matter most in the particular accident contexts that come up frequently in this borough. This is not abstract legal theory. Getting injured clients fair outcomes depends on handling each of those elements with real precision.

Mark David Shirian P.C. represents victims of serious injury and catastrophic accidents across New York City and New York State, including throughout Brooklyn and the broader Kings County area. The firm was founded with one goal: to help those who have been wronged. Attorneys Mark D. Shirian and Shawn D. Shirian bring focused advocacy and direct client communication to every case, from the first evaluation through resolution.

Common Personal Injury Cases in Brooklyn

• Car and Traffic Accidents: Brooklyn’s road network, including the BQE, Atlantic Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, and Eastern Parkway, generates a significant volume of collisions each year. Liability disputes involving multiple drivers, rideshare vehicles, commercial trucks, and city buses are common, and New York’s no-fault insurance rules add procedural complexity to every claim.
• Pedestrian Knockdown Incidents: Crosswalks in neighborhoods like Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Bay Ridge see heavy foot traffic. Drivers who fail to yield, run red lights, or make aggressive turns create serious hazards, and pedestrian injuries tend to be severe given the absence of any physical protection for the person on foot.
• Bicycle Accidents: The expansion of protected bike lanes across Brooklyn has not eliminated risk. Collisions with opening car doors, right-hook turns by inattentive drivers, and accidents caused by poorly maintained road surfaces continue to injure cyclists throughout the borough.
• Construction Site Accidents: Brooklyn is in the middle of a sustained building boom, from Greenpoint and Dumbo to East New York and Sunset Park. New York Labor Law provides specific protections to construction workers injured on job sites, including claims under Sections 200, 240, and 241, which impose liability on property owners and general contractors in certain circumstances.
• Slip and Fall Accidents: Property owners in Brooklyn, whether residential landlords, retail businesses, or the City of New York itself, have a duty to maintain safe premises. Broken sidewalks, wet floors, inadequate lighting, and deteriorating stairways all give rise to premises liability claims when they cause a fall.
• Medical Malpractice: Brooklyn has numerous major hospitals and medical centers where patients are injured by substandard care. Medical malpractice claims require expert testimony, detailed review of medical records, and knowledge of the specific procedural requirements New York imposes on these cases.
• Defective Product Injuries: Products that malfunction, fail to warn, or are negligently designed injure consumers every day. When a defective product causes harm, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may all carry exposure depending on where the defect arose in the supply chain.

Why Mark David Shirian P.C. Handles Brooklyn Injury Claims Differently

Founded in 2016 by Attorney Mark D. Shirian, this firm has built its reputation on results and on the kind of direct, attentive client relationships that large volume injury firms rarely deliver. The firm has recovered millions on behalf of clients across New York City, and it approaches every case with the seriousness that significant stakes demand. Before any work begins on a claim, the attorneys take time to understand the client’s goals and the full picture of what happened, because the strategy for any given case depends on both.

Client feedback about the firm consistently reflects two things: that the attorneys fight hard, and that clients actually feel heard throughout the process. One client noted that Attorney Shirian “works very hard to get the outcome that we both were looking for” and another described him as someone who “pays close attention to details that are important for your case.” A third described the representation as compassionate and communicative, with the attorney keeping the client informed and advocating persistently. Those qualities matter in personal injury cases, where the process can take months, where medical decisions and legal decisions sometimes intersect, and where a client who is kept in the dark cannot make informed choices about their own case.

The firm’s approach is captured in four words it uses to describe itself: assertive, dependable, creative, and honest. For injury clients in Brooklyn specifically, that means not accepting low early offers from insurers, developing claims thoroughly enough to demonstrate their real value, and remaining straightforward with clients about both the strengths and the realistic range of outcomes in their case. Senior Associate Shawn D. Shirian works alongside Mark D. Shirian to ensure each client receives the depth of attention their case requires.

What Injured Brooklyn Residents Should Do After an Accident

The decisions made in the days and weeks after an accident have a direct effect on how a claim develops. The most important early step is getting medical attention promptly, even when injuries seem manageable at first. Delayed treatment creates gaps in medical records that defense attorneys and insurers point to as evidence that the injuries were not serious or were caused by something else. Brooklyn has several major trauma and emergency facilities, including NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn, Maimonides Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist, and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Establishing care and following through on recommended treatment is not just a health issue; it is also the foundation of the medical documentation on which a personal injury claim is built.

Accident reports should be filed appropriately depending on the type of incident. For vehicle accidents in Brooklyn, a police report is filed through the New York City Police Department, and the relevant precinct depends on where the accident occurred. For accidents on city-owned property, including sidewalks and parks, specific notice requirements under New York law impose strict deadlines, sometimes as short as 90 days from the date of injury, for filing a notice of claim against the City of New York. Missing that deadline can eliminate an otherwise valid claim entirely. Personal injury claims in New York generally must be filed within three years from the date of injury under the applicable statute of limitations, but certain claims against government entities require action far sooner.

Preserve everything related to the accident: photographs of the scene, your injuries, and property damage; contact information for any witnesses; medical records and bills; communications with insurance companies; and any documentation of lost wages or income. Avoid giving recorded statements to the other party’s insurer before consulting with a Brooklyn personal injury attorney. Insurers use these statements to lock injured people into incomplete or inconsistent accounts before they understand the full scope of their injuries or their legal rights. Brooklyn injury cases are handled in Kings County Supreme Court for most tort claims of substantial value, and familiarity with that court’s procedures and timeline matters when preparing litigation strategy.

How Compensation Is Calculated in New York Injury Cases

New York uses a pure comparative negligence standard, which means that an injured person’s compensation is reduced in proportion to their own share of fault but is not eliminated entirely even if they were partially responsible for the accident. If a jury finds that a plaintiff was 20 percent at fault and awards $500,000, the plaintiff receives $400,000. This framework means that having contributed to an accident does not bar recovery, but it does make the factual development of fault allocation important to the outcome.

Damages in a Brooklyn personal injury case can include compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. For serious injuries, future damages often represent the largest component of a claim’s value because they account for the long-term medical care, rehabilitation, and life disruption that an injury causes over years or decades. Expert testimony from medical professionals, economists, and life care planners is frequently necessary to establish these future damages credibly.

New York’s no-fault insurance system applies to vehicle accidents and requires that certain medical expenses and lost wages be covered by the injured person’s own insurer up to the policy limit, regardless of who caused the accident. However, no-fault coverage does not compensate for pain and suffering, and it does not apply outside the vehicle accident context. To pursue a claim for pain and suffering in a vehicle accident case, the injury must meet New York’s serious injury threshold, a legal standard that encompasses categories such as significant disfigurement, fractures, and permanent limitation of use of a body organ or member. An injury attorney familiar with Brooklyn cases understands how to document injuries in ways that satisfy this threshold and position a claim appropriately for negotiation or trial.

Questions Brooklyn Injury Clients Ask Most Often

How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in New York?

For most personal injury claims in New York, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of injury. However, claims against the City of New York or other government entities require a notice of claim to be filed within 90 days of the incident, and the lawsuit itself must typically be commenced within a year and 90 days. Medical malpractice claims have their own timeline. Missing any of these deadlines is generally fatal to a claim, which is why contacting an attorney promptly after an injury is important.

Will my case go to trial or settle?

The large majority of personal injury cases resolve through settlement before trial. However, the value of a settlement is directly tied to the credibility of the threat to proceed to trial if a fair offer is not made. Cases that are thoroughly prepared and litigated seriously produce better settlements than cases where defendants sense the plaintiff has no real intention of trying the matter. The firm takes that preparation seriously from the outset, regardless of whether any particular case ultimately reaches a jury.

What does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer?

Personal injury attorneys in New York typically represent clients on a contingency fee basis, meaning the attorney’s fee is paid as a percentage of the recovery only if the case is successful. There is no fee if there is no recovery. Contingency fee percentages in New York are regulated and depend in part on the type of case and the stage at which it resolves. Costs of litigation, such as filing fees and expert expenses, are handled differently depending on the fee agreement and should be discussed directly with the attorney during the initial evaluation.

What if the person who injured me does not have insurance or has minimal coverage?

In vehicle accident cases, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on the injured person’s own policy may provide compensation when the at-fault driver lacks adequate insurance. In other contexts, determining available sources of recovery, such as other liable parties, property owner coverage, or umbrella policies, is part of the attorney’s early case assessment. The existence or absence of insurance should not be the first assumption made about whether a claim is worth pursuing.

Can I still recover damages if I was partially at fault for the accident?

Yes. New York follows a pure comparative negligence rule, which allows an injured person to recover compensation even if they were partly at fault, with the recovery reduced by their percentage of responsibility. The allocation of fault is a factual question that is developed through the evidence, and how that evidence is gathered and presented has a direct effect on the percentage attributed to each party.

How is a construction accident claim in Brooklyn different from other personal injury claims?

New York Labor Law provides specific protections for construction workers that go beyond ordinary negligence principles. Sections 240 and 241 impose what is known as non-delegable liability on property owners and general contractors for certain elevation-related hazards and safety violations, regardless of whether those parties were directly negligent. These provisions can significantly expand the pool of defendants in a construction accident case and affect how damages are contested. Brooklyn’s active construction environment makes these claims common, and they require attorneys who understand the specific statutory framework that applies.

What if my injury happened on a New York City subway or bus?

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is a public benefit corporation with its own notice of claim requirements and procedural rules. Accidents on the subway, on MTA buses, or at MTA-managed facilities must be reported to the agency within a short window after the incident. The process for pursuing a claim against the MTA differs from a standard private defendant case and requires attention to those administrative prerequisites before a lawsuit can be filed.

How does New York’s no-fault system affect my right to sue after a car accident?

No-fault insurance covers certain medical expenses and lost wages up to the policy limit without requiring proof of fault, but it does not cover pain and suffering. To pursue a pain and suffering claim in a vehicle accident, the injury must satisfy New York’s serious injury threshold, which includes categories like significant fractures, permanent loss of a body organ or member, and other defined injury types. A qualified Brooklyn injury attorney can assess whether your injuries meet this threshold based on your medical records.

What happens if the property owner who caused my slip and fall was the City of New York?

Claims against the City of New York, including those involving city-owned sidewalks, parks, and public buildings, require a notice of claim to be filed with the New York City Comptroller’s Office within 90 days of the injury. The City also has the right to conduct an examination before trial known as a 50-h hearing before litigation proceeds. These procedural requirements are mandatory, and failure to comply with them can bar the claim entirely regardless of its underlying merit.

How long does it typically take for a personal injury case in Brooklyn to resolve?

The timeline varies considerably depending on the complexity of the case, the severity of the injuries, and whether the matter proceeds through litigation or settles during early negotiations. Cases involving permanent or serious injuries often take longer because reaching maximum medical improvement, or getting close to it, is important before the full value of future damages can be assessed accurately. Cases filed in Kings County Supreme Court go through a structured discovery and motion practice process before reaching trial. It is not uncommon for contested cases to take one to three years from filing to resolution, and sometimes longer in complex litigation.

Brooklyn and Kings County Personal Injury Representation

Mark David Shirian P.C. represents injury clients throughout Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and communities, including Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Flatbush, Crown Heights, Bushwick, East Flatbush, Sunset Park, Borough Park, Bensonhurst, Canarsie, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bed-Stuy, East New York, Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Ditmas Park, and Sheepshead Bay. The firm’s representation extends across Kings County and throughout New York City, including clients in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Clients from Long Island communities and elsewhere in New York State who have been injured in the city are also welcome to reach out for an evaluation. Whether the accident happened on a borough expressway, at a construction site in one of Brooklyn’s rapidly developing neighborhoods, or on a commercial property anywhere in the five boroughs, the firm is prepared to represent seriously injured clients and pursue full accountability from those responsible.

Talk to a Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorney About Your Case

Mark David Shirian P.C. offers confidential case evaluations for injured clients at no charge and no obligation. A Brooklyn personal injury attorney from the firm will review what happened, explain how New York law applies to your situation, and give you an honest assessment of what your claim may be worth and how it should be pursued. The firm treats clients like family and brings the same diligence and attention to a first conversation as it does to a courtroom.

Reaching out costs nothing, and waiting works against you when deadlines are running and evidence is becoming harder to preserve. Call Mark David Shirian P.C. today to speak with a Brooklyn personal injury attorney and get a clear picture of your options.