Staten Island is the city's most car-dependent borough — no bike-share system, sparse protected lanes, and arterials like Hylan Boulevard and Victory Boulevard where traffic moves at highway-adjacent speeds. Riders who use electric scooters here, whether for commuting to the ferry or getting around neighborhoods the trains don't reach, share road space with drivers who simply are not looking for them. The result is crashes with outsized injuries.
The Coverage Trap for Scooter Riders
Scooter riders exist in a blind spot of New York insurance law. An e-scooter is not a motor vehicle, so it carries no no-fault coverage; and when a car strikes a rider, insurers often dispute whether the rider counts as a "pedestrian" eligible for no-fault benefits under the driver's policy — a question New York courts have answered inconsistently. A rider can do everything right and still face a fight over who pays the hospital. The counterweight: the at-fault driver's liability coverage, and frequently the rider's own household auto policy, whose uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can apply to a scooter crash.
Staten Island Crash Patterns
Hylan Boulevard's long, wide straightaways invite speed and left-turn conflicts across multiple lanes. Victory Boulevard and Forest Avenue mix commercial driveways with through traffic, so riders face cars entering and exiting constantly. There is little protected infrastructure to separate riders from any of it. Where a dangerous road condition contributes, a claim against the City must be noticed within 90 days. Richmond County cases are heard at the Supreme Court on Central Avenue in St. George.
What Recovery Looks Like
A successful claim can compensate medical treatment, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Comparative negligence applies: partial fault reduces, but does not eliminate, recovery. Helmet use is not a legal prerequisite to compensation.
Don't Wait on the Deadlines
Three years is the general statute of limitations; 90 days for municipal notice; video evidence lasts days, not months. The consultation is free and there is no fee unless we win.