New York City & Long Island Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers

New York is a no-fault state. In most crashes, your medical bills and a portion of lost wages are first paid by no-fault insurance, usually the policy covering the car you were in, regardless of who caused the crash. Basic no-fault benefits cover economic loss up to $50,000 per person under Insurance Law § 5102(a). You generally must submit your no-fault application within 30 days of the accident. Costs beyond no-fault, and pain and suffering, may be pursued in a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

To recover for pain and suffering after a car accident in New York, an injured person generally must show a "serious injury" as defined in Insurance Law § 5102(d), and Insurance Law § 5104 limits suits for non-economic loss to those cases. The definition includes injuries such as a fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent loss of use of a body part, and an injury that prevents you from performing your usual daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the accident. Medical documentation is critical to meeting this threshold.

In most cases, a negligence lawsuit for injuries from a car accident must be filed within three years of the accident under CPLR 214. Much shorter deadlines apply when a government vehicle or public entity is involved: a notice of claim is generally required within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e. Wrongful death claims and claims involving minors follow different rules. Because missing a deadline can end a claim entirely, it is important to confirm the deadline that applies to your case as early as possible.

Yes. New York follows pure comparative fault under CPLR 1411. If you were partly responsible for an accident, you can still recover damages, but your award is reduced by your share of fault. For example, if a jury finds you 20 percent at fault, your recovery is reduced by 20 percent. Insurance companies often try to shift blame to injured people to reduce what they pay, so do not admit fault at the scene or in conversations with an insurer.

An injury claim can arise from almost any crash caused by someone else's carelessness, including collisions between cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, rideshare vehicles, and taxis, as well as crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists. The rules that apply can differ by vehicle type. Motorcyclists, for example, are treated differently under no-fault, and crashes involving city buses or other government vehicles carry short notice deadlines. Identifying every insurance policy and potentially responsible party early helps protect the full value of a claim.