Editor's note: updated July 2026 for New York's 2026 tort-reform changes.
If your mother, father, sister, brother, wife, child, or best friend was in an accident, what would you want them to know? That question is why this guide exists.
No one expects to be seriously hurt in a car accident. Yet every day in the United States, more than 100 people are killed in crashes and thousands more are injured. Over a lifetime, most people will be in multiple accidents themselves. Or someone close to them will be.
When it happens, most people feel angry, confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed. They do not know what to do or who to trust. Bad advice can ruin your life.
This guide explains the New York legal framework that governs what happens after a collision. The decisions you make in the first days and weeks can protect your rights. They can also destroy them.
New York is a no-fault state. That changes everything.
New York runs on a no-fault insurance system under Insurance Law Article 51. Every auto policy in the state must include Personal Injury Protection, called PIP.
PIP covers up to $50,000 per person. That includes medical treatment, lost earnings at 80% of gross wages, and a transportation benefit. The lost-earnings benefit pays up to $2,000 per month for up to three years. The transportation benefit pays $25 per day for travel to medical appointments. There is also a $2,000 death benefit.
You file a PIP claim with your own insurer. It does not matter who caused the accident.
PIP covers economic losses only. It does not cover pain and suffering. To recover non-economic damages from the at-fault driver, your injuries must meet the serious injury threshold under Insurance Law Section 5102(d). If they do not meet the threshold, you are limited to your PIP benefits no matter how clearly the other driver was at fault. This threshold is the single most important legal concept in New York auto accident law. Every decision you make about medical treatment, documentation, and legal representation either supports or undermines your ability to meet it.
The serious injury threshold under Section 5102(d)
To sue for pain and suffering after a New York car accident, your injuries must meet at least one serious injury category under Section 5102(d).
The current categories include death and dismemberment. They also include significant disfigurement, fracture, and loss of a fetus. Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system qualifies as well. So does permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member. Significant limitation of use of a body function or system is the final category.
These categories are statutory requirements. The defense will move to dismiss your case if the medical evidence does not establish that your injuries meet at least one of them.
A fracture meets the threshold automatically. A cervical or lumbar disc herniation with documented range-of-motion deficits and radiculopathy typically meets the significant limitation or permanent consequential limitation categories. Soft tissue injuries without objective findings on examination are the cases that most frequently fail.
The medical evidence determines whether the threshold is met. The patient's pain level does not. This is why the treating physician's documentation matters at every visit. Objective measurements carry the case. Subjective complaints alone do not.
Start building that record at the first medical appointment.
Deadlines that can end your case before it starts
The 30-day no-fault application deadline is the most dangerous deadline in New York auto accident law. You must submit the NF-2 application for no-fault PIP benefits to your own insurance company within 30 days of the accident. Miss it and the carrier may deny your PIP benefits entirely. Your medical providers may refuse to treat you on a no-fault lien if the application was not filed on time. The 30-day period runs from the date of the accident. Not from the date you receive the form. Not from the date you feel well enough to fill it out. Not from the date you realize you need it.
Government vehicles and dangerous road conditions maintained by a municipality follow special rules. You must file a notice of claim within 90 days of the accident. The lawsuit must then start within one year and 90 days.
For most personal injury cases, the deadline is three years from the date of the accident under CPLR 214. A wrongful death action must start within two years of the date of death under EPTL 5-4.1. Uninsured motorist and supplemental underinsured motorist claims carry their own deadlines set by the policy terms.
Missing any one of these deadlines can permanently eliminate your right to recover.
What you do in the first 48 hours matters more than you think
Evidence starts disappearing the moment the crash happens. Vehicles get moved. Witnesses walk away. Road conditions shift.
Call 911 so police generate an MV-104 accident report. Photograph everything: vehicles from every angle, the road surface, traffic signals, skid marks, debris, and your injuries. Get every witness's name and phone number before they leave.
Exchange insurance information with the other driver. Note whether that driver owns the vehicle. The owner carries separate liability under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 388, even if someone else was driving.
If the at-fault driver was working at the time, note any commercial markings, the employer's name, and any fleet or DOT numbers. The employer may be liable under respondeat superior.
Seek medical evaluation within 24 hours, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks symptoms. Soft tissue injuries like disc herniations, ligament tears, and muscle strains often do not show their full symptom profile for hours or days after the trauma. The first medical visit creates the baseline record connecting your injuries to the accident. A gap between that visit and the accident date is one of the most effective tools the defense uses. It lets them argue your injuries were not caused by the collision. Prompt treatment protects your health and your claim at the same time.
Insurance coverage is almost always more complex than people expect
A single car accident in New York can involve multiple layers of insurance. Those layers include the at-fault driver's liability policy and the vehicle owner's policy under VTL Section 388. They also include your own PIP coverage, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, and supplemental underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage. Umbrella policies and employer policies may apply too, if the at-fault driver was working at the time.
New York's minimum liability coverage is only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Those limits are grossly inadequate for any serious injury. When the at-fault driver carries only the minimum, your own SUM coverage may be the most significant source of recovery. For roughly a dollar a week in additional premium, a policyholder can carry SUM coverage that doubles or triples the available recovery. Many people do not realize they have this coverage until an attorney reviews their policy.
The at-fault driver's carrier will not tell you about your SUM coverage. Your own carrier may not volunteer it either. Identifying every applicable policy is not optional. It determines the maximum recovery available. Missing a policy means leaving money on the table.
The insurance company’s evaluation starts before yours does
The carrier assigns an adjuster and begins evaluating your claim within days of the accident. The adjuster reviews the police report, requests your medical records, and may ask for a recorded statement. The adjuster also sets a reserve, which is an internal estimate of what the claim is worth.
The adjuster's role is to protect the carrier's interests. That is not the same as protecting yours.
You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company. You can decline. A statement given before you understand the full extent of your injuries becomes part of the permanent record. The carrier will use it to minimize the value of your claim.
Do not sign a broad medical authorization. That gives the carrier access to your entire medical history.
Do not accept an early settlement offer before your condition has stabilized. Once you sign a release, the claim is closed permanently. It stays closed even if your condition worsens or you need additional surgery.
Carriers make early offers because early offers are cheap. The offer is calibrated to the financial pressure you are under right now, before the true value of the case is known.
Comparative negligence does not bar your claim
For motor vehicle accidents in New York, fault percentage now matters more than ever. A claimant is barred from recovering non-economic damages when their share of fault exceeds the combined fault of all defendants. That threshold is the number the adjuster is working toward.
This is a significant change from how New York handled car accident cases before May 26, 2026. Under the old rule, even a plaintiff 70% at fault could recover 30% of their damages. That rule no longer applies to motor vehicle cases.
Today, the adjuster has a direct incentive to build your share of fault as high as possible. Pushing it past the combined fault of all defendants eliminates your non-economic damages entirely. Every piece of evidence about how the accident happened feeds that calculation.
The evidence establishing who was at fault is as important as the evidence establishing your damages.
Document Everything: What Happened Only Matters If You Can Prove It
What actually happened matters less than what you can prove happened. You will need to prove the other driver was at fault. You will need to prove your damages. Documentation is how you do both.
Keep a daily symptom journal. Pain and suffering fade from memory faster than you expect. That is why people bring shopping lists to the store. Details you forgot at the scene will come back to you later. Write them down when they do.
Save every medical record. Save every bill, every insurance letter, every employment record showing lost wages. Photograph your injuries as they develop: bruising, swelling, surgical incisions, braces, casts.
This is not paperwork. It is proof.
Most Cases Settle. Only Trial-Ready Cases Settle Well.
Most car accident cases in New York settle before trial. But research from the insurance industry itself shows that represented claimants settle for significantly more than those who handle claims alone. The cases that settle for the most are the ones built as if they are going to trial.
When a carrier sees complete medical records, expert reports, thorough discovery, and an attorney with a real trial record, the risk calculation shifts. The carrier raises its reserve. The settlement offer follows.
An unprepared case settles for whatever the carrier decides to offer. The carrier knows it will never face a jury, and it prices the case accordingly.
How Schwartzapfel Holbrook handles car accident cases
At Schwartzapfel Holbrook, we evaluate every car accident case from the start. We identify the applicable insurance coverage and preserve the liability evidence. We make sure the NF-2 is filed within the 30-day deadline. We document the medical treatment to support the serious injury threshold. Then we prepare the case with the expectation it may need to be proven at trial.
We review every applicable policy. That includes the at-fault driver's liability coverage and the vehicle owner's policy. We also review the injured person's own automobile policy, including UM and SUM coverages. Household policies and any employer or commercial policies that may apply get the same attention.
We are selective about the cases we accept. When we take a case, we prepare it for trial. That preparation is what drives the outcome, whether the case settles or not.
Schwartzapfel Holbrook / Fighting For You
