New York City Personal Injury Lawyers
Frekhtman & Associates Injury and Accident Attorneys is a plaintiff-side personal injury law firm founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1999 by Arkady Frekhtman (New York Bar #2931723). The firm handles serious and catastrophic injury litigation – motor vehicle accidents, construction accidents under New York Labor Law §§ 240 and 241, traumatic brain injury, premises liability, medical malpractice, and wrongful death – for clients across all five New York City boroughs, from six offices in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan.
Why Choose Our New York City Personal Injury Lawyers?
Nearly $1 Billion Won
We’ve recovered almost $1 billion for injured clients across documented cases
Largest MVA Recovery
We recovered $69.5M, the largest single motor vehicle accident settlement
Media Recognition
We’ve been featured in national and local outlets including the New York Post, Daily Mail, and CBS New York
No Fee Unless We Win
Because we work on a contingency fee, you won’t pay us a dime unless we win your case
Contact For A Free Case Review
Or fill out the form below for a free case review with our experienced injury attorneys.
Since 1999, our firm has recovered more than $900 million for injured New Yorkers, including a $69,225,000 jury verdict in a motor vehicle case - one of the largest auto accident verdicts in New York State history.
We work on a 100% contingency fee: no fee unless we recover compensation for you. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and deducted from the recovery at the end of the case.
Client Testimonials
Personal Injury Lawyer Client Testimonial: A Success Story In New York.
Personal Injury Lawyer Client Testimonial: $800k verdict
Personal Injury Lawyer Client Testimonial: Val P.
About Frekhtman & Associates
Arkady Frekhtman was admitted to the New York bar on January 13, 1999 (Registration #2931723). He passed both the New York and Texas bars, began his career as an associate at a plaintiff’s personal injury firm, and opened his own practice in Brooklyn shortly after. His first settlement was $12,000 for a Queens mother who sued a life insurance company alleging fraud – enough to hire one paralegal.
The firm has grown from one attorney to 25 people – attorneys, paralegals, investigators, and file clerks – across six New York City offices. Mr. Frekhtman is admitted to the Supreme Court of the State of New York and to the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. He handles case preparation, motions and appeals, depositions, mediations, and trials himself.
He hosts Trial Stories, a podcast on civil justice now in its ninth season, and publishes a video library explaining injury law to non-lawyers.
What we tell clients: the truth about their case, including when the answer is that they don’t have a case worth bringing. Consultations are free and answered 24 hours a day. We make hospital and home visits when an injury makes travel impossible. Our attorneys and staff speak English, Spanish, and Russian, and we serve clients across the five boroughs.
NYC Personal Injury Cases We Handle
New York law treats these claims differently from one another. The deadline, the defendant, and the proof required all change with the type of case.
Accidents
New York is a no-fault state, so your own insurer pays medical bills and lost wages first. Suing the at-fault driver for pain and suffering requires meeting the serious injury threshold in Insurance Law § 5102(d). A New York City car accident lawyer at our firm builds that threshold case from the first medical record, whether it’s a head-on collision, a rideshare accident, a rear-end crash, or a low-speed impact causing whiplash.
Accidents
A truck accident case is not a bigger car case. It’s a complex commercial vehicle case involving 18-wheelers, delivery trucks, and other large vehicles, where liability can fall on the driver, the carrier, the trailer owner, or the freight broker instead of just one person. Our New York City truck accident attorneys act fast to preserve safety logs and black box data before a carrier can destroy or overwrite them.
Accidents
Motorcyclists fall outside New York’s no-fault system, which removes the serious injury threshold as a barrier to suing but also strips away automatic medical coverage while the case is pending. Riders face jury bias that has to be answered with scene evidence and reconstruction. Our New York City motorcycle accident lawyers can recover damages even without a helmet, though a jury may reduce the award.
and Fall
Property owners are liable when they create a hazard or ignore one they knew about, whether it’s a slip and fall, a staircase accident, a ceiling collapse, a negligent security incident, a dram shop case, a drowning, a building accident, or an Airbnb injury. Our premises liability lawyers in New York City recover for clients that insurers call marginal.
Malpractices
A bad outcome is not malpractice. A departure from the accepted standard of care that causes injury is. New York requires a certificate of merit from a qualified physician, and the filing deadline is two years and six months, shorter than most people expect. Our New York City medical malpractice attorneys pursue medical negligence cases involving surgical errors, delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and birth injury claims.
Accidents
New York Labor Law § 240 imposes absolute liability on owners and general contractors for elevation-related injuries, including scaffold collapses, ladder falls, and falling objects. Labor Law § 241(6) covers Industrial Code violations, including crane accidents and electrocution injuries. Our construction accident lawyers serving NYC pursue these claims alongside any workers’ compensation case, not instead of it.
Catastrophic Injury
Some brain injuries do not appear on an MRI or CT scan, and proving them takes neuropsychological testing, treating physician testimony, and often a life care plan and an economist. Our attorneys handle brain injury, spinal cord injury, paralysis, burn injury, and other catastrophic injury cases, including those requiring lifetime care.
New York City’s density puts pedestrians and cyclists at daily risk from turning vehicles and distracted drivers. Transit accidents involving a city bus, a school bus, the MTA or subway system, or a commuter train each involve a different carrier and a different claims process. We identify the right carrier early and file the notice each one requires.
Some injuries trace back to a product, not a person. Defective drugs and consumer products can make a manufacturer liable regardless of fault, separate from any claim against a doctor or hospital. We handle product liability claims involving Zantac, defective hernia mesh, talcum powder, and other recalled medical devices, pursuing the manufacturer directly.
Death
A wrongful death claim exists when negligence causes a fatal injury rather than a survivable one. Under EPTL § 5-4.1, the estate’s representative must bring the action within two years of death. Our New York City wrongful death lawyers pursue these claims, limited to pecuniary loss, which makes proof of economic dependency central.
Under General Municipal Law § 50-e, anyone injured by the City of New York or the MTA, including NYC Transit, must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident. Missing that deadline generally bars the claim regardless of its merit. Our New York City municipal claims attorneys file the notice quickly to preserve the case.
Meet Our Attorneys
Arkady Frekhtman
- Owner & Founder
- New York Bar #2931723
- Admitted January 13, 1999
- English and Russian
Richard R. Mogg
- Attorney and Counselor at Law
- New York Bar #2304582
- Admitted January 17, 1990
- 35+ years
Michael Roitman
- Associate Attorney
- New York Bar #5361936
- Admitted June 24, 2015
- New York and New Jersey
Arleen Polishchuk
- Associate Attorney
- New York Bar #5665518
- Admitted February 27, 2019
- English and Russian
Our Locations
Six offices across New York City, each answered 24 hours a day. We serve injury victims in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island. If your injury makes travel impossible, we come to you – at home or in the hospital.
Your Personal Injury Questions, Answered
Do I have a personal injury case in New York?
You have a case when three conditions are met. Negligence – another party’s carelessness caused the accident. Treatment – the injury required medical care. Threshold – the injury meets New York’s serious injury threshold under Insurance Law § 5102(d), which includes any fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent loss of a body system, or 90 of the first 180 days of disability.
How much is my New York personal injury case worth?
It depends on five factors: injury severity, medical costs, lost wages, future care needs, and liability clarity. The firm’s average settlement is $250,000, and results have ranged from five figures to a $69,225,000 verdict. No honest lawyer can value your case at the first meeting – it takes investigating liability and reviewing the medical records. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome
How do I know if I have a good case?
Two things decide it: whether liability can be proven, and whether the injury and its consequences can be documented. A clear liability picture with thin medical records is a weak case. Serious, well-documented injuries with contested liability are often still worth bringing. We tell you which one you have.
What will I have to prove to win my case?
Two elements: liability – that someone else’s negligence caused the accident – and damages – the nature and extent of what you lost. Both must be proven. Neither alone wins.
Will my pre-existing condition hurt my case?
No. New York follows the eggshell skull rule – a defendant takes the plaintiff as found. The defendant is liable for the full aggravation of a pre-existing condition, even where a healthier person would have been less badly hurt.
How are damages calculated?
Economic damages are added up from records: medical bills, lost earnings, future treatment, and future lost earning capacity, usually with an economist and a life-care planner in serious cases. Non-economic damages – pain and suffering – are assessed by a jury against comparable verdicts.
What types of damages can I claim?
Past and future medical expenses; past and future lost earnings; pain and suffering; loss of enjoyment of life; permanent disability, scarring or disfigurement; and, for a spouse, loss of services. In a wrongful death case, EPTL § 5-4.1 limits recovery to pecuniary loss.
Should I accept the insurance company's first settlement offer?
No. First offers run far below case value. Adjusters move quickly on low numbers because injured people are frightened, in pain and worried about bills. In one brain injury case the carrier opened at $140,000; the final settlement reached $3.1 million. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
How long will my New York personal injury case take?
A New York personal injury case takes a few months to several years. Simple cases with clear liability and minor injuries resolve faster. Serious injury cases take longer because a settlement requires reaching maximum medical improvement. Complex cases with disputed liability or catastrophic injuries require a trial.
How long will my case take?
Anywhere from a few months to several years. Cases with clear liability and minor injuries resolve faster. Serious injury cases take longer because a fair settlement requires reaching maximum medical improvement first – settling before then means guessing at your future care.
What if my claim is against the City of New York or the MTA?
If your claim is against the City of NYC or MTA, you have 90 days to file a claim.
How much does it cost to hire Frekhtman & Associates?
Nothing upfront. The firm works on a 100% contingency fee – you pay no legal fee unless we recover money for you. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and deducted from the settlement or verdict at the end. The initial consultation is free, available 24 hours a day, with hospital, office and home visits for serious injuries.
Learn From Our Trial Lawyers
Trial Stories – Arkady Frekhtman’s podcast on civil justice, now in its ninth season. Recent episodes: How To Prove Pain And Suffering In Personal Injury Claims · Defense Tricks, How To Beat Them · How a Personal Injury Lawyer Works Up a Car Accident Case. Listen on Spotify · Apple Podcasts
The Vlog – short explainers on how injury cases actually work: The Brain Injury That MRI & CT Scans Can Miss · What Happens in the First 24 Hours After a Truck Crash · Who Gets Paid From Your Settlement?
The Right Representation Near You
While it’s possible to handle a personal injury case on your own, having an experienced attorney by your side significantly increases the likelihood of a favorable outcome. We have our office located all over New York City, so you don’t have to worry about office visits. You can find and visit one of our offices near you.