New York car accident lawyer.

Reviewed by Daniel Hochman, Esq. · Last updated November 1, 2026

The 30-day deadline nobody tells you about.

INSURANCE LAW · NO-FAULT (PIP)

After a New York motor vehicle accident, a no-fault application generally must be filed with the insurer within 30 days. Miss it and you can lose basic medical and wage benefits regardless of fault. This is the first thing we handle on every intake.

The serious injury threshold.

INSURANCE LAW § 5102(d)

To sue for pain and suffering after a car accident, New York requires a serious injury as the statute defines it: a fracture, significant disfigurement, a significant limitation of use of a body function or system, a permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, and a few others. For cases started on or after May 26, 2026, the old category for an injury that kept you from your usual activities for 90 of the first 180 days no longer counts. Insurers fight the threshold in nearly every case. Meeting it is a matter of medical proof: the right records, the right imaging, the right physician findings, assembled early.

Where the money actually comes from.

Recovery is limited by insurance and assets, so we chase every layer: the other driver's liability policy, your own supplementary underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage, umbrella policies, and employer liability for drivers on the job. Truck and rideshare cases carry larger commercial policies and their own regulations. In hit-and-run and uninsured cases, your uninsured motorist coverage or MVAIC may apply. Most people have coverage they do not know they own; we read every policy.

What drives value.

• Surgery, injections, or hardware
• Objective imaging: herniations, tears, fractures
• Lost earnings and diminished ability to work
• Future medical needs
• Available insurance across all layers

Deadlines.

The no-fault application is generally due in 30 days. Most lawsuits against the at-fault driver must be filed within three years, and claims involving city or public vehicles require a notice of claim within 90 days. Vehicle damage gets repaired and camera footage gets erased quickly. Preservation letters should go out immediately. Our first 72 hours checklist covers what to photograph, whose names to get, and what not to sign while you are still sore.

Hit as a pedestrian or on a bike.

If a car hit you while you were walking or riding, the car's no-fault insurance usually pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages, up to $50,000, no matter who caused the crash. The 30-day application deadline applies to you too, and medical bills must reach the insurer within 45 days of each visit. For pain and suffering you still need a serious injury, and the driver's liability insurance pays that claim. Drivers must take care to avoid hitting pedestrians and cyclists, and a driver who was turning, speeding or on a phone usually carries most of the fault. E-bike and scooter riders face extra insurance fights; see e-bike and delivery rider accidents.

What changed in 2026.

CPLR 1411 · INSURANCE LAW § 5102(d)

New York's 2026 budget changed car accident cases in two ways that matter at intake. First, in motor vehicle injury cases a person whose share of fault is greater than that of the person you sue, or of all defendants combined, can no longer recover at all; at half or less, the award is reduced by that share. Second, for cases started on or after May 26, 2026, being kept from your usual activities for 90 of the first 180 days is no longer a serious injury by itself. Fractures, permanent and significant limitations, and the other categories remain. Both changes make early medical proof and early fault evidence more important than they were.

Deadlines at a glance.