Personal Injury Laws in New York: Deadlines, Fault Rules & Damages

If you were hurt in New York, the deadline that matters most is usually three years. Under New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) § 214(5), a general negligence-based personal injury claim — a car crash, a slip-and-fall, most everyday accident cases — must be filed within three years from the date of the injury. Miss it, and a New York court will almost always dismiss the case, no matter how strong the underlying facts are. Medical malpractice, some intentional torts, and claims against government agencies run on different, often much shorter, clocks — covered below. Because deadlines and damage rules can change, always confirm the current text of the statute or check with a New York court clerk before relying on any date.

New York's Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

The default rule for ordinary negligence claims — vehicle collisions, premises/slip-and-fall injuries, most product and general liability cases — is three years from the date of the incident, per CPLR § 214(5). This is a strict filing deadline, not a suggestion; New York courts apply it rigidly, and the clock generally starts on the date of injury even if symptoms appear later.

• Medical malpractice has its own, shorter rule — generally two years and six months from the act or omission (or from the end of continuous treatment), under CPLR § 214-a.
• Wrongful death claims must generally be brought within two years of death under New York's Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 5-4.1.
• Minors get the clock paused: under CPLR § 208, a person injured before age 18 generally has three years from their 18th birthday to sue, though there are outer limits and exceptions.

Because exceptions exist (discovery-rule carve-outs, disability tolling, and claims against government bodies discussed below), treat three years as the starting point for research, not a guarantee, and verify against the current statute or a New York court if your situation is unusual.

Comparative Negligence: Pure — With a New Exception for Car Accidents

For most personal injury claims, New York follows pure comparative negligence under CPLR § 1411(a): your own share of fault reduces your recovery proportionally but does not bar it. If a jury finds your total damages are $100,000 and that you were 70% responsible for a slip-and-fall, you can still recover the remaining 30% — $30,000. In many other states, being found more than 50% (or 51%) at fault would end the case entirely; New York's general rule has traditionally had no such cutoff. This shared-fault rule applies to personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death claims.

Important recent change for car-accident cases. A New York amendment enacted in May 2026 added CPLR § 1411(b), which switches motor vehicle injury cases subject to the state's No-Fault Law to a modified comparative negligence rule. In those car-accident cases, if you are found more than 50% at fault — more responsible than the other driver, or than the other drivers combined — your claim can be barred entirely. Based on reporting on the new law, it generally applies to motor vehicle actions commenced on or after its effective date and does not cover cases involving death or property damage, which remain under the pure rule. Because this change is recent and still being interpreted by courts, confirm the current text of CPLR § 1411 and how it applies before relying on it.

Comparative fault is generally raised by the defense as an affirmative defense they must plead and prove (CPLR § 1412).

Does New York Cap Damages?

New York generally does not cap compensatory (economic or non-economic) damages in ordinary personal injury or medical malpractice cases, and it has no statutory cap on punitive damages either. Lawmakers have repeatedly proposed a cap on non-economic ("pain and suffering") damages in medical malpractice cases — including a commonly discussed $250,000 figure — but as of this writing those proposals have not been enacted into law in New York.

Instead of a hard dollar cap, New York courts use a different check on jury awards: under CPLR § 5501(c), an appellate court can reduce a verdict if it "deviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation." That's a case-by-case review standard, not a fixed ceiling, and it applies to non-economic damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Punitive damages, while uncapped by statute, must still meet federal due-process reasonableness limits set by U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Because legislation in this area is revisited periodically, confirm current law before assuming any number applies to a specific case.

Car Insurance: New York Is a No-Fault State

New York requires no-fault auto insurance, regulated under Insurance Law Article 51 and overseen by the state Department of Financial Services (DFS). Every auto policy issued in New York must include a minimum of $50,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP), called "basic economic loss" coverage, which pays your own medical bills, a portion of lost wages, and other out-of-pocket costs after a crash — regardless of who caused the accident.

Because it's a no-fault system, you generally cannot sue another driver for pain and suffering after a car accident unless your injury meets the "serious injury" threshold defined in Insurance Law § 5102(d) — categories like death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, or a permanent or significant limitation of a body function. You can still sue for economic losses that exceed your PIP benefits. Because the serious-injury categories and related no-fault rules are amended from time to time, check the current text of Insurance Law § 5102 or ask a New York court clerk which category might apply before assuming your injury does or doesn't qualify.

Dog Bite Liability in New York

New York uses a hybrid rule, not a clean strict-liability or one-bite system. Agriculture and Markets Law § 123 allows a bitten victim to recover strict liability for medical and veterinary costs if the dog has been legally declared "dangerous" by a court or local authority — no need to prove the owner was negligent or knew the dog was dangerous beforehand.

For everything beyond medical bills — pain and suffering, lost wages, scarring — New York has traditionally required the injured person to show the owner knew or should have known the dog had "vicious propensities" (the classic "one-bite" concept; it does not require a literal prior bite, just some notice of dangerousness). New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, has also allowed ordinary negligence claims (for example, failure to restrain a dog properly) in dog-injury cases in recent case law. Because this area has been actively litigated and can shift, confirm the current rule with a New York court or the current text of Agriculture and Markets Law § 123 rather than assuming a fixed rule.

Shorter Deadlines for Claims Against the Government

If your injury involves a New York city, county, town, school district, or other public corporation, the ordinary three-year deadline does not apply. Under General Municipal Law § 50-e, you generally must serve a written notice of claim within 90 days of the incident, and under General Municipal Law § 50-i, the lawsuit itself generally must be commenced within one year and ninety days of the incident.

Claims against New York State itself (state agencies or state employees) go through a different court entirely — the Court of Claims — under the Court of Claims Act. For most negligence-based personal injury claims, you generally must file and serve a claim within 90 days, unless you first serve a written "notice of intention to file a claim" within that 90-day window, which can extend your filing deadline to two years. These government deadlines are short, procedurally strict, and unforgiving of paperwork mistakes — if a government entity may be involved, treat the 90-day mark as urgent and confirm the exact requirements immediately.

Where to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in New York

Most personal injury lawsuits in New York are filed in New York State Supreme Court (the state's general trial-level court, despite its name) in the county where the injury occurred or where a party resides. Smaller claims may be eligible for a local City Court, County Court, or small claims part depending on the amount and location. Claims against New York State agencies go to the Court of Claims instead. The New York State Unified Court System's website explains local court structure and self-help resources for people representing themselves.

What to Do in New York After an Injury

1. Get medical care and documentation immediately. Prompt records connect your injury to the incident and support both no-fault and liability claims.
2. Report the incident. File a police report for a crash, an incident report with a property owner or business, or an animal-control report for a dog bite.
3. Identify if a government entity might be involved (a city vehicle, a public school, a state highway defect, a public hospital). If so, treat the 90-day notice-of-claim deadline as your real deadline and act right away.
4. Notify your auto insurer promptly if a vehicle was involved, to preserve your no-fault (PIP) benefits, which have their own short internal filing deadlines separate from the lawsuit deadline.
5. Track every expense and lost workday. New York's no-fault and comparative-fault rules both depend on documented economic losses.
6. Calendar the applicable statute of limitations — three years for ordinary negligence, shorter for malpractice or government claims — and don't wait until close to the deadline to act.
7. Confirm current law before relying on any specific number or rule. Check the official CPLR, Insurance Law, General Municipal Law, or Court of Claims Act text, or contact a New York court clerk, since statutes and thresholds are periodically amended.

This article is general information about New York law, not legal advice for your specific situation.