In New York, you usually have 3 years from the injury date to file a product liability lawsuit.

Before you know that, this kind of case feels like a blame maze. Your front fork snaps on Second Avenue, or your brake fails coming down a Manhattan bridge ramp, and the shop says it was the manufacturer, while the manufacturer hints it was bad installation or misuse.

After you know how New York handles it, the picture gets clearer: it may be more than one defendant.

If the part was defectively designed, poorly made, or sold without proper warnings, New York law can let you pursue the manufacturer, distributor, and even the seller under strict liability. That means you do not always have to prove they were careless in the ordinary sense. You're proving the product was defective and that the defect caused your injury.

If a Manhattan bike shop or mechanic installed it wrong, then the installer or shop may also be liable for negligence.

A recall can help, but you do not need a recall to have a case. Lots of valid defective-product claims involve parts that were never formally recalled.

What changes right away once you know this:

• Keep the bike and broken part exactly as-is
• Save receipts, work orders, texts, and purchase records
• Photograph the part, the whole bike, road rash, helmet, and scene
• Get the ER and follow-up records from places like Bellevue or NYU Langone
• Do not let the shop "fix it" before the part is documented

If you were riding for work when it happened, workers' compensation may exist alongside the product claim. If you work for an authority like the MTA, injury reporting can involve separate internal and benefit rules, but that does not automatically wipe out a claim against a defective-part maker or installer.

One more deadline to know: if there's a breach of warranty claim, that can run on a different clock, often 4 years from the sale date under New York's UCC.