In New York City in 2011, more than 137,000 vehicles were involved in almost 50,000 car accidents that resulted either in injury or death. There were 250 fatal car accidents in New York City in 2011. For a city whose residents and visitors rely heavily on public transit and their feet to get around, that’s a lot of car crashes.
Compensating victims of New York City car accidents has been a problem for New York for many decades. This is true even though New York law makes it mandatory for registered vehicles to carry liability coverage plus at least $50,000 in no-fault benefits. But what happens if you are the victim of a car accident with a vehicle that is not covered by the mandatory insurance and you have no applicable insurance of your own?
The New York State Legislature recognized this as a problem as long ago as 1959, when it enacted the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Act (MVAIA). MVAIC, a nonprofit organization provides benefits to otherwise uninsured New York residents who suffer injury as a result of car accidents with:
- Uninsured vehicles
- Hit and run drivers
- Stolen cars or cars “borrowed” without the owner’s permission
- Unregistered vehicles
- Vehicles where the insurer denies liability or denies coverage
The MVAIA has very strict notice requirements, which you must follow or risk losing access to financial benefits. These notice requirements include:
- Notify the police of the accident within 24 hours
- File completed MVAIA/MVAIC claim forms usually within 90 days of the accident
Learn more about eligibility and the claims procedure at the website of the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation.
Contact Our Motor Vehicle Accident Law Firm in Bronx, NY
If you need legal assistance to help you with your MVAIA claim, contact the Bronx motor vehicle accident lawyers at Oresky & Associates, PLLC at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation.
Our main office is located in the Bronx, near the Deegan Expressway and easily accessible by trains numbers 2, 4 and 5 at the 149th Street station and Grand Concourse. Our office in Queens is located on Roosevelt Avenue, near Junction Boulevard station number 7 train. Our office in Manhattan is located on Fifth Avenue near Bryant Park. The Office of Oresky & Associates, PLLC., represents people injured throughout the State of New York, including New York City, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn (Kings County), Staten Island (Richmond County), Westchester, Long Island, Suffolk County and Nassau County.
We have two convenient locations in New York:
Oresky & Associates, PLLC – Bronx Office
149 E 149th St
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 993-9999
Oresky & Associates, PLLC – Queens Office
104-09 Roosevelt Ave
Queens, NY 11368
(347) 507-3884
