Filing a lawsuit does not mean the case is going to trial next week. A car accident lawsuit in New York follows a structured process that typically takes one to three years from filing to resolution. Most cases settle during the litigation process rather than going to trial. But the cases that settle for the most money are the cases that are fully prepared for trial. Understanding each stage of the process helps you participate in your case effectively and sets realistic expectations about timing and involvement.
The lawsuit is the formal mechanism by which the legal system resolves disputes that the parties cannot resolve on their own. Filing the lawsuit is a step, not an endpoint. It opens the door to discovery, depositions, expert development, and ultimately either settlement or trial. Most car accident claims in New York do not require a lawsuit because the liability is clear, the damages are modest, and the insurance carrier offers a fair settlement before litigation is necessary. The cases that do require a lawsuit are typically the ones where the damages are significant, the liability is contested, or the carrier’s pre-suit offer does not reflect the value of the case.
Filing the summons and complaint
The lawsuit begins when your attorney files a summons and complaint in New York Supreme Court — the trial-level court in New York. The complaint sets out the facts of the accident, the legal theories of liability, and the damages claimed. The defendant has 20 or 30 days to answer depending on how service was effected. The answer typically denies most allegations and raises affirmative defenses including comparative negligence under CPLR 1411, failure to meet the serious injury threshold under Insurance Law Section 5102(d), and pre-existing conditions.
Venue — the specific court where the case is filed — matters. New York Supreme Court operates at the county level, and different counties have different jury pools, different judicial assignments, and different case management practices. Car accident cases involving Bronx, Kings, and Queens venues are generally considered more favorable to plaintiffs than cases venued in Nassau or Suffolk. The venue is determined by the residence of the defendant, the location of the accident, or in some cases the plaintiff’s residence. Strategic venue decisions are part of the lawsuit preparation.
Discovery: the exchange of information
Discovery is the longest phase of the lawsuit. Both sides exchange documents, answer written interrogatories, and produce records. You provide your medical records (through signed authorizations), employment records, tax returns documenting lost wages, prior insurance claim records, photographs of the scene and your injuries, and any other evidence relevant to the claim. The defense provides the at-fault driver’s insurance information, the driver’s own statements, any witness statements the carrier has obtained, the police report, and records relevant to liability.
You serve a Bill of Particulars — a detailed statement required under New York practice that identifies every injury claimed, the medical treatment received, how each injury meets the serious injury threshold, and how each injury has affected your daily life and ability to work. The Bill of Particulars is a critical document because it frames the damages claim and is the defense’s roadmap for attacking the case. It must be complete and specific. Amending a Bill of Particulars later to add new injuries or new theories can create procedural complications.
Discovery typically takes 6 to 12 months. Extensions are common in complex cases. The court sets a preliminary conference schedule that establishes the discovery deadlines, the depositions schedule, and the compliance conference dates.
Depositions
You will be deposed. The defense attorney asks you questions under oath about the accident, your injuries, your treatment, your daily activities before and after the accident, your work history, your prior medical history, and your current limitations. The testimony is recorded by a court reporter and produces a transcript that can be used at trial. Deposition testimony is binding — if you contradict your deposition at trial, the defense can impeach you with the transcript.
The key rules at deposition are simple. Tell the truth. Answer only what is asked. Do not guess — if you do not know, say you do not know. Do not volunteer information that was not requested. Ask for clarification if you do not understand a question. Do not argue with the defense attorney. You were not the wrongdoer. All you need to do is tell the truth. It is your lawyer’s job to spend the time and effort to present the evidence effectively.
The at-fault driver is also deposed. Your attorney questions them about how the accident happened, whether they were distracted, what they told the police, whether they have been in prior accidents, and any other topic relevant to liability. The defendant’s deposition is often where liability is established or undermined. A well-prepared deposition of the defendant is one of the highest-value activities in the case.
The Independent Medical Examination
The defense has the right to have you examined by a physician of its choosing under CPLR 3121. The IME physician is selected and paid by the insurance carrier. The examination is typically brief — 15 to 30 minutes. The report will almost always conclude that your injuries are less severe than your treating physician found, that you have reached maximum medical improvement, or that your condition is caused by pre-existing factors rather than the accident. Your treating physician’s thorough documentation is the counterweight. Be honest during the IME. Give maximum effort on every physical test. Do not exaggerate and do not minimize.
The threshold motion
The defense may file a motion for summary judgment arguing that your medical evidence does not establish a serious injury under Section 5102(d). If the motion is granted, the case is dismissed entirely — regardless of how clear the liability is or how serious the injuries feel. Your attorney responds with the treating physician’s affirmation, objective clinical findings, imaging reports, and a causation opinion connecting the injuries to the accident. Threshold motions are routine in New York car accident litigation and are granted in a meaningful percentage of cases where the medical evidence is thin.
Defeating the threshold motion requires the medical evidence to be in order before the motion is filed — which is why the quality of the treating physician’s documentation from the first visit matters so much. A case that proceeds through months of discovery and then loses on a threshold motion is a case where the underlying evidence was never adequate to meet the statutory standard. The threshold motion is won or lost in the examination room, not in the courtroom.
Settlement conferences and mediation
Before trial, the court schedules settlement conferences where a judge reviews the case with both sides and facilitates negotiation. Many cases settle during or shortly after these conferences because both sides now have complete information: full medical records, full discovery, deposition transcripts, and expert opinions. If the case does not settle at the judicial conference, mediation with a private mediator — often a retired judge — may follow. Mediation allows both sides to explore resolution with a neutral third party who provides candid assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s case.
Trial
If the case does not settle, it goes to trial before a jury. The trial typically lasts three to seven days for a standard car accident case, longer for complex cases. Jury selection, opening statements, plaintiff’s case (witness testimony, medical experts, economic experts), defense case, closing arguments, jury charge, and deliberation all occur in sequence. The jury determines liability, any comparative negligence percentage, and the damages on each category of loss. The verdict is entered, and post-trial motions may follow regarding the adequacy of the verdict or legal errors during trial.
The vast majority of car accident cases settle before trial. But the cases that settle for the most money are the cases prepared and ready to be tried. An attorney who cannot or will not try the case has no leverage in settlement negotiations. The carrier knows which firms try cases and which do not, and the settlement offers reflect that knowledge.
What your attorney does during the lawsuit
The attorney’s work during the lawsuit phase includes drafting and filing pleadings, serving discovery demands on the defense, responding to the defense’s demands, preparing the plaintiff for deposition, taking the depositions of the at-fault driver and any other witnesses, obtaining and analyzing medical records and imaging, retaining experts as needed, preparing expert reports, filing or opposing motions including the threshold motion, participating in settlement conferences and mediations, and preparing for trial if the case does not settle.
Each of these tasks requires attention and time. A case handled by an attorney who is deeply involved in the litigation produces a different record than a case handled by an attorney who delegates extensively or who carries too large a caseload to give any individual case focused attention. When you evaluate attorneys to represent you, ask about caseload, about how involved the attorney personally will be in your case, and about the attorney’s trial experience. The attorney’s engagement with the case is as important as the attorney’s credentials.
How Schwartzapfel Holbrook prepares cases through litigation
At Schwartzapfel Holbrook, we prepare every case through the full litigation process as if it will be tried. Thorough discovery. Deposition preparation for our clients that treats the deposition as the second-most important proceeding in the case after trial. Aggressive depositions of the at-fault driver. Medical evidence development that defeats the threshold motion before it is filed. Expert retention where the case requires it. Trial-ready case presentation. We do not file lawsuits as a bluff. We file them because the case needs to be litigated, and we prepare them with the expectation that they may need to be tried. That preparation changes the carrier’s evaluation whether or not the case actually reaches a jury.
Schwartzapfel Holbrook / Fighting For You