Hit in New York? The Deadlines, Calls, and Offers Coming Your Way

The Deadline No One Mentions

Thirty days. That's how long New York gives you to file the application that unlocks your own no-fault coverage. Your medical bills get paid through that coverage first, even when the other driver caused everything. Nothing after a crash is more time-sensitive, and nothing gets missed more often.

A claim number and a call from the carrier can feel like progress, but they are not protection. The no-fault deadline, the adjuster's questions, and the first settlement offer all land before most people know what any of them mean.

These rules cover drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike. A person struck while walking or biking has no-fault rights too. And if the driver was a friend or relative, don't be afraid to file; a claim runs against an insurance policy, not against the person.

The policy exists for exactly these moments. What follows moves from most urgent to least.

No-Fault Pays First, but Only If You File

New York is a no-fault state. Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, under the policy covering the vehicle you were in pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages. Fault is irrelevant to these benefits. Pedestrians and cyclists usually claim under the policy on the vehicle that hit them.

Insurance Law § 5102 sets the basic package at up to $50,000 per person. It covers medical treatment, lost wages up to $2,000 per month at 80 percent of earnings for up to three years, and up to $25 per day for travel to medical appointments.

None of it arrives on its own. You have to file the no-fault application, usually Form NF-2, with the correct insurer within 30 days of the crash. A late filing lets the carrier deny every bill and every wage check, no matter who caused the collision.

Your first job then is to find the right policy, get the application, and file it. Make sure you see a doctor, report every symptom, and file on time. Pain that showed up two days later does not extend your deadline, and delayed symptoms are common after crashes.

Two Insurers, Two Very Different Phone Calls

Expect calls from two directions: your own carrier and the liability carrier for the other driver. Treat them differently.

Your policy requires you to cooperate with your own insurer; make sure you report the crash promptly and answer their basic factual questions. Do not estimate speeds or distances, and never guess at the other driver's intentions. "I do not know" is a complete answer.

The other driver's carrier will likely ask for a recorded statement, often within days. But you owe them nothing. The adjuster may sound friendly and helpful, but every word still feeds that company's evaluation of fault and injury. A statement given while medicated or before an MRI can shadow a claim for years. Declining until you have spoken with a lawyer is normal and reasonable.

Watch authorizations, too. A broad medical release opens your entire history, not just crash records. Sign only what the no-fault process actually requires.

Why the First Offer Comes So Fast

A liability carrier sometimes puts money on the table within weeks. When bills are piling up and paychecks have stopped, that check can be a big deal. However, signing a settlement release closes the claim permanently. If a shoulder "sprain" needs surgery six months later, the deal does not reopen. Carriers price early offers knowing that injury values are hardest to measure at the start.

No honest lawyer can value a case in month one because nobody knows what the injury is yet. Imaging, response to treatment, and permanence all take time to develop. An offer made before that picture exists rests on incomplete information, and the gap favors the insurance company.

Some early offers are fair! But no one should sign a release without knowing the full injury and what New York law allows them to recover.

Sharing Fault Does Not End Your Claim

Some people abandon claims because they feel partly responsible. Resist that instinct. Fault is a legal determination, not a roadside feeling, and doing the carrier's math for it costs you money.

CPLR § 1411(b) applies a modified comparative fault rule to motor vehicle cases. Your percentage of fault reduces your recovery by that share. Recovery is barred entirely if your fault exceeds the combined fault of everyone you are seeking recovery from. This framework governs actions filed on or after May 26, 2026. Filing timing can decide which fault rule applies, so review deadlines with counsel early.

Evidence of fault now carries the whole case. The police report, camera footage, witness names, and photos of the vehicles and intersection are the case, not clerical extras. Under Insurance Law § 5104(a), fault must be decided before anyone reaches the serious injury question.

Two more current rules matter. Suing for pain and suffering requires a serious injury under Insurance Law § 5102(d). The categories include death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system, permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, and significant limitation of use of a body function or system. Separately, § 5104(d) caps non-economic damages at $100,000 for certain at-fault injured people. The cap reaches drivers who failed to insure a vehicle they were required to insure. It also reaches people with an impaired-driving or connected felony conviction arising from the crash.

If the crash involves an uninsured or hit-and-run driver, uninsured motorist coverage under your own policy, or the policy covering the vehicle you occupied, exists. Its filing deadlines are short, so raise it early.

When a Lawyer Actually Helps

Some crashes may not need a lawyer at all. Clean property damage with no injury usually resolves on its own.

Injuries change that. The deciding questions are technical - was the no-fault application filed correctly and on time? Does the injury clear the serious injury threshold? How does your fault share interact with the modified comparative rule? Which policies apply, and in what order? A first-time claimant faces carriers that resolve thousands of these files.

Then there is the deadline stack. CPLR § 214 gives most New York personal injury lawsuits three years, and wrongful death claims get two. A municipal defendant, including a city vehicle, can trigger a 90-day notice of claim requirement. Any one of these can kill a valid claim, and none of them pause while you finish treatment.

A consultation commits you to nothing - it simply tells you where you stand. That knowledge is worth having whether or not you ever sue.

A Realistic Timeline

Your timeline depends on the injury, the fault dispute, and the coverage picture. No-fault benefits should begin within weeks of a timely application. A liability claim with clear fault and a settled medical picture can resolve in months. A disputed serious injury case that goes into suit takes longer, sometimes years. The one variable you control is the start. File on time, document everything, and get answers early.