ClaimMVA Now is a free attorney matching service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. Attorneys pay us to be connected with potential clients. Terms
There is a time limit on injury claims in New York, and the insurance company knows exactly when it runs out. Answer five questions and we will connect you, free, with an independent attorney licensed in New York.
Limited
Time to file most injury claims in New York. Miss it and the claim is gone
Shorter
Government vehicle and public entity claims run on their own, tighter clock
Varies
Coverage carried by the at-fault driver is often well below the real cost
Pure
New York follows pure comparative negligence
This page describes New York law in general terms only. It is not legal advice, deadlines and rules change, and exceptions apply. Confirm anything affecting your own claim with an attorney licensed in New York.
New York allows longer than most states to file an ordinary injury claim. The deadline that actually catches people is the short notice of claim required before suing a city, public authority or transit agency. In New York City that covers the MTA, the buses and the subway, so a great many ordinary collisions run on the short clock.
New York is a no-fault state. Your own policy pays medical bills and a portion of lost earnings regardless of who caused the crash, up to the basic $50,000 in economic loss. But the no-fault application has its own tight window, and missing it can cost the benefit.
To sue for pain and suffering you must meet the serious injury threshold set out in Insurance Law section 5102 — categories including fracture, significant limitation of use, permanent consequential limitation, and a category based on being unable to carry out usual activities for much of the period after the crash. New York applies pure comparative negligence, so fault reduces recovery but never bars it.
The notice of claim is the single most consequential deadline in New York practice. A collision with an MTA bus, a sanitation truck or a Health and Hospitals vehicle requires formal notice very quickly, and courts are not generous about extensions.
Venue differences are stark. Bronx and Kings County juries have a different reputation from Nassau, Suffolk or upstate counties, and carriers price settlements accordingly. The same injury genuinely does not carry the same value across the state.
The city produces case types that barely exist elsewhere: pedestrians struck in crosswalks at volume, cyclists in bike lanes, for-hire and TLC vehicles with their own insurance structures, and multi-party collisions where three policies argue about which applies first.
Each one is common, and each one is avoidable.
The ordinary deadline sounds generous until you learn that suing a public authority in NewYork requires notice almost immediately. People hit by an MTA bus often wait months before seeking help and find the claim procedurally gone.
New York’s no-fault benefits require an application very soon after the accident. It is a form, not a lawsuit, and missing it can forfeit coverage for medical care you are already receiving.
Soft-tissue injuries frequently do not, and the insurer will argue exactly that. What the medical record documents in the first weeks — range of motion, imaging, restrictions — often determines whether you can claim for pain and suffering at all.
Five questions from you. Everything after that is handled.
Free service · about 60 seconds · no obligation
A longer deadline than most states for ordinary claims, but a very short one for notice against a public authority and another for the no-fault application. New York runs more clocks than most states.
We match you with an attorney licensed in New York who handles your collision type and knows your county’s bench and carriers.
Your no-fault carrier and the at-fault driver’s insurer both go through your attorney. Those two conversations are not the same conversation.
Valuation waits for the record, and in New York the record is also what proves the serious injury threshold has been met.
Fault is contested under pure comparative negligence, so a percentage argued down is money recovered rather than a claim saved.
Most New York accident attorneys work on contingency, at rates the courts regulate. Our service is free to you throughout.
We match you with someone licensed in New York who works your area.
Not on the list? We cover the whole state, including rural counties where fewer firms compete.
New York sets a firm deadline running from the date of the accident, and a separate, considerably shorter one where a government vehicle or public entity is involved. Both are strict, and missing either generally ends the claim no matter how strong it was. An attorney can confirm which applies to your situation before anything expires.
New York follows pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, but it is never wiped out. Someone found 90% responsible can still recover the remaining 10%. Insurers know this, which is why so much of the early conversation is about shifting blame onto you.
Insurance Law section 5102 defines categories including death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, permanent loss or limitation of use of a body organ or member, and a medically determined injury preventing usual activities for much of the period after the accident. Meeting one of them is what allows a claim for pain and suffering.
Yes, substantially. Claims against public authorities require a notice of claim very quickly and are subject to a shorter suit deadline than ordinary claims. This is the most common waya valid New York claim is lost.
Possibly. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy may apply, including in hit-and-run cases where the driver was never identified. Many people do not realise they carry it.
Our service is free to you — attorneys pay us for the connection. Most New York accident attorneys work on contingency, so their fee comes from any recovery rather than from you upfront. Confirm the arrangement directly before signing anything.
Free, about a minute, no obligation. We connect you with an independent attorney licensed in New York.
ClaimMVA Now is a free matching service, not a law firm.