Car Accident Lawsuit in NY: 2026 Changes, Damages, and Deadlines

A car accident lawsuit in New York is possible, but the state’s no-fault insurance system blocks most minor-injury claims from ever reaching court. To sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, you first have to show that your injury meets the “serious injury” threshold set by Insurance Law § 5102(d). If it does, you can step outside no-fault and pursue the full range of damages the law allows. If it doesn’t, your recovery is limited to the medical bills and lost wages your own insurer pays under Personal Injury Protection.

Recent legislation signed in May 2026 narrowed that threshold further and changed how fault is weighed against recovery. The rules below reflect both the long-standing framework and those recent changes.

When You Can Sue After a New York Crash

Every auto policy in New York must include Personal Injury Protection, which pays up to $50,000 per person for medical expenses, lost earnings (capped at $2,000 per month for up to three years), and incidental expenses up to $25 per day for a year, regardless of who caused the crash.¹ You collect those benefits from your own insurer without proving fault.²

In exchange for that guaranteed payment, you give up the right to sue the other driver for non-economic damages like pain and suffering unless your injury qualifies as “serious.” That single requirement is the biggest hurdle in New York car accident litigation, and defense attorneys routinely move for summary judgment arguing the plaintiff falls short of it.

One group is exempt from the whole system. Motorcycle operators and passengers are not covered by no-fault at all, and can sue the at-fault party from the first dollar of loss.²

What Counts as a Serious Injury

Insurance Law § 5102(d) lists the categories of injury that qualify:¹

Death
Dismemberment
Significant disfigurement
A fracture (including fractured teeth)
Loss of a fetus
Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system (must be total)
Permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member
Significant limitation of use of a body function or system

Fractures and dismemberment are straightforward. The “limitation of use” categories are where cases are won or lost. In Licari v. Elliott, the Court of Appeals held that a “significant limitation” has to be something more than minor, mild, or slight.³ Toure v. Avis Rent A Car Systems later clarified that a plaintiff can prove limitation either quantitatively (a numerical percentage of lost range of motion) or qualitatively (a medical comparison of current function to normal function).⁴ Subjective complaints of pain alone are not enough. The proof has to rest on objective medical evidence such as MRIs, CT scans, or physician-observed clinical findings.⁵

Causally-related PTSD can qualify as a significant limitation of a body function or system in the Third and Fourth Appellate Departments. The First and Second Departments have been more resistant to extending the threshold to psychological conditions.⁶

Once a plaintiff clears the threshold on any qualifying injury, non-economic damages are available for all injuries resulting from the accident, not just the one that qualified.

What Changed in May 2026

On May 26, 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul signed auto tort reform legislation as part of the FY 2027 state budget. The changes apply to any lawsuit filed on or after that date.⁷

The 90/180-Day Category Is Gone

The ninth category of serious injury, which let plaintiffs qualify by showing a non-permanent injury that prevented substantially all of their usual daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days after the accident, has been repealed.⁷ It was the most commonly invoked route for soft-tissue claims. Plaintiffs now have to fit one of the remaining eight categories, all of which require more objectively verifiable conditions.

You Can Lose Everything if You’re More Than Half at Fault

New York was a pure comparative negligence state since 1975: a plaintiff found 99% at fault could still recover 1% of damages. Under the new CPLR § 1411(b), plaintiffs in motor vehicle cases are completely barred from recovery if their share of fault exceeds the combined fault of the defendants.⁸ If a jury finds you more than 50% responsible, you get nothing.

Trials Are Sequenced, and Joint Liability Shrinks

Juries now decide liability first, then the serious injury question, and only then damages. The reforms also repealed the motor-vehicle exception to CPLR Article 16, so defendants 50% or less at fault in multi-party cases can invoke the several-liability limitation for non-economic damages instead of being on the hook for the full amount.⁸

A $100,000 Cap for Certain At-Fault Plaintiffs

Non-economic damages are now capped at $100,000 for plaintiffs who were at fault and who were also driving uninsured (with a narrow exception for lapses under 30 days), driving while impaired and later convicted, or committing or fleeing a felony and later convicted. The cap does not apply to wrongful death cases.⁷

How Long You Have to File

Deadlines are strict, and missing one can bar the claim permanently.

Personal injury against a private driver: three years from the date of the accident, under CPLR § 214(4).⁹
Wrongful death: two years from the date of death, under EPTL § 5-4.1.⁹
Claims against New York City or another municipality: a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident, and the lawsuit within one year and 90 days.⁹
Claims against New York State: filed in the Court of Claims within 90 days, though serving a notice of intention on the Attorney General within that window extends the claim deadline to two years.¹⁰

Separately, no-fault PIP benefits carry their own tight windows. Written notice to the insurer is due within 30 days of the crash, medical bills within 45 days of service, and lost-wage claims within 90 days of the loss.²

If the injured person is a minor, CPLR § 208 tolls the clock during infancy. For claims with a three-year or longer limitations period, the minor has three years after turning 18 to file suit.¹¹ The Court of Appeals has held that this toll is not cut short by actions a parent or guardian takes on the child’s behalf.¹²

Who You Can Sue

A car accident lawsuit isn’t limited to the other driver.

The Driver and the Owner of the Vehicle

Under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388, the owner of any vehicle used or operated in New York is jointly and severally liable for injuries caused by negligent operation, as long as the driver had the owner’s permission. If someone lends their car to a friend who causes a crash, both can be held responsible. Secured lenders and vendors who have transferred possession are generally not treated as owners under the statute.¹³

Employers

An employer can be vicariously liable when an employee causes a crash while acting within the scope of employment. Courts look at whether the employee was on a work-related task, whether the act was foreseeable within the employer’s business, and whether the employer had control over the employee’s actions. A purely personal errand usually falls outside this doctrine.¹⁴

Government Entities

Accidents caused by government vehicles, poorly maintained roads, defective traffic signals, or missing signs can give rise to claims against cities, towns, counties, or state agencies. For municipal claims, a sworn Notice of Claim must be served within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e, and the lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days.¹⁵ The municipality may require the claimant to appear for an examination under oath (a 50-h hearing) and may demand a medical exam.¹⁶ Claims against the state itself go to the Court of Claims under its own 90-day rule.¹⁷

Vehicle and Parts Manufacturers

If a mechanical defect contributed to the crash or made the injuries worse, the manufacturer and others in the distribution chain can be sued under product liability. New York recognizes strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty under UCC § 2-314.¹⁸ The three-year limitations period runs from the date of injury, with no discovery rule and no statute of repose.

How Fault Affects What You Recover

For lawsuits filed before May 26, 2026, pure comparative negligence under CPLR § 1411 still governs. Your own fault doesn’t bar recovery; it just reduces damages proportionally. A plaintiff found 30% at fault on a $100,000 verdict recovers $70,000.¹⁹ The defendant has the burden of proving the plaintiff’s share.²⁰

For motor vehicle cases filed on or after May 26, 2026, the modified rule bars recovery entirely if the plaintiff’s fault exceeds the combined fault of all defendants.⁷ Fault allocation is now a much higher-stakes question than it used to be.

What You Can Recover

Economic Damages

These are the documentable losses: past and future medical expenses, lost wages and lost earning capacity, transportation to treatment, in-home care, childcare made necessary by the injury, home and vehicle modifications, and replacement services such as housekeeping.²¹

Non-Economic Damages

These cover physical pain and suffering, emotional distress (including anxiety, depression, and PTSD), loss of enjoyment of life, scarring or disfigurement, and loss of consortium, which a spouse can claim for lost companionship and support.²¹

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are rare in car accident cases. They require clear and convincing evidence of serious misconduct, such as driving under the influence at a very high blood alcohol level, intentionally causing a crash, or knowingly operating a vehicle with dangerous defects.²¹

Wrongful Death

If the accident kills the victim, only the personal representative of the estate can bring a wrongful death action. Under EPTL § 5-4.1, recoverable damages are limited to pecuniary loss: the financial support and services the deceased would have provided, funeral expenses, loss of inheritance, and the economic value of parental guidance for minor children.²² New York does not allow survivors to recover for grief or emotional suffering. A separate survival action can recover the deceased’s own pain and suffering between injury and death, along with medical costs and lost wages during that period. The personal representative usually brings both together.²³

What the Process Looks Like

Most claims start with the at-fault driver’s insurer, not with a complaint. The injured person (or their attorney) submits documentation and negotiates. A large share of cases resolves at this stage or shortly after a suit is filed.

When negotiation fails, litigation generally runs through these stages:

Filing a summons and complaint in New York Supreme Court, with the defendant typically answering within 20 to 30 days.²⁴
Discovery over six to twelve months, including document exchanges, interrogatories, a Bill of Particulars detailing injuries, and depositions.²⁴
An independent medical examination the defense can require under CPLR § 3121.²⁴
A threshold motion in which the defense argues the injury does not meet the serious injury standard. If the court agrees, the case is dismissed.
Settlement conferences before a judge, and often private mediation.
Trial, usually three to seven days, with the jury deciding liability, comparative fault, and damages. Post-trial motions and appeals can follow.²⁴

Timelines vary. Minor-injury claims with clear liability sometimes settle in one to three months. Serious-injury cases, especially with disputed fault or multiple parties, often run one to three years, and longer if they go to trial in a congested court like those in New York City.²⁵ Attorneys typically wait until the injured person reaches maximum medical improvement before settling, because taking a deal earlier risks underestimating the full injury.

If the Other Driver Has No Insurance

New York’s minimum liability coverage is low: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for death, and $10,000 for property damage.²⁶ When those limits run out or the at-fault driver has no coverage at all, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage becomes the primary source of additional compensation. Mandatory UM minimums match the liability floor at $25,000/$50,000.²⁷ Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (SUM) coverage, which offers broader and often higher limits, is optional but widely carried.

Disputed SUM and UM claims go to mandatory arbitration through the American Arbitration Association rather than to court. Filing requires a $250 fee and service on the insurer’s claims office by certified mail.²⁸ Arbitrators are New York-licensed attorneys with at least ten years of experience, appointed by the Superintendent of Financial Services.²⁹ Hearings are held within 100 miles of the applicant’s residence, and a written decision is due within 30 days of the hearing’s close.

1
New York State Senate. New York Insurance Law Section 5102
2
NY Department of Financial Services. No-Fault Automobile Insurance FAQs
3
NY Courts. Licari v. Elliott, 57 NY2d 230
4
Justia. Toure v. Avis Rent A Car Systems, 98 NY2d 345
5
Albany Law School. Toure v. Avis Rent A Car Systems Analysis
6
Medical-Dental-Attorneys Foundation of New York. Serious Injury and PTSD
7
Barclay Damon. NYS Enacts Sweeping Auto Insurance Reforms Impacting Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
8
JT NY Law. Hochul Tort Reform 50 Percent Bar Joint and Several New York 2026
9
NY Courts. Statute of Limitations Timetable
10
New York State Senate. Court of Claims Act Section 10
11
Justia. NY CPLR Section 208
12
Law Fitz. Infancy Toll on Statute of Limitations Not Terminated by Acts of Guardian
13
New York State Senate. Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 388
14
Martin Colin. Who Pays for a Company Vehicle Accident New York
15
NY Courts. How to File a Notice of Claim
16
NYC Bar Association. Suing Government
17
NY Courts. Court of Claims Act
18
Enjuris. New York Product Liability Lawsuits
19
New York State Senate. CPLR Section 1411
20
NY Accident Case. Pure Comparative Negligence in New York Injury Cases
21
1800 NY NY Law. New York Car Accident Damages
22
New York State Senate. EPTL Section 5-4.1
23
Enjuris. New York Wrongful Death Lawsuits
24
Fighting for You. Car Accident Lawsuit Process New York
25
Orlow Law. How Long Does It Take to Settle a Car Accident
26
NY DMV. Insurance Requirements
27
Plymouth Rock. Uninsured Motorist Coverage
28
ICDR/AAA. Rules for Arbitration of SUM/UM Disputes in New York
29
Cornell Law Institute. 11 NYCRR 60-2.4