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Accident Help in New York:
Your Rights, Deadlines and Where to Get Help

If you were hurt in a crash in New York, your own insurance usually pays your first medical bills no matter who caused it, and whether you can sue depends on how serious your injury is. Here’s how that works, plus a way to talk to a New York attorney today.
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Accident Help in New York
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Accident claims in New York, the short version

New York works differently from most states because it is a no-fault state. After a crash, your own insurer pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages first, up to your no-fault limit, no matter who caused the accident. You can only step outside that system and sue the other driver for pain and suffering if your injury meets New York’s serious injury threshold. For the lawsuit side, you generally have three years to file, and if you can sue, New York splits fault by percentage rather than barring you for sharing some of the blame.

to file a lawsuit
0 years
no-fault medical, PIP
$ 0
minimum liability coverage
0 /50/10

Easy Accident Help isn’t a law firm and doesn’t give legal advice. We connect you with an independent attorney licensed in New York who can look at your situation, at no cost to you.

New York at a glance

Accident claim rules in New York

General information about New York law. It isn’t legal advice about your case, and an attorney can tell you how any of it applies to what happened to you.
  • Last updated

October 14, 2026

How no-fault works

Your own insurer pays first, up to $50,000

$50,000

New York requires no-fault coverage, also called personal injury protection or PIP, of at least $50,000. After a crash your own policy pays your medical bills and a share of lost wages up to that limit, no matter who was at fault. There are deadlines that catch people out: you usually have to file the no-fault claim with your insurer within 30 days of the crash, so this is one of the first things to handle.

Source New York Insurance Law, Article 51 (no-fault)

When you can sue

Only if your injury is "serious"

No-fault covers your basic costs, but it does not pay for pain and suffering. To sue the other driver for that, your injury has to meet New York’s serious injury threshold. That includes things like a broken bone, significant disfigurement, permanent limitation of a body part or an injury that keeps you from your normal activities for at least 90 days. Soft tissue injuries alone usually do not qualify, which is one reason getting properly examined and documented matters so much.

Source New York Insurance Law section 5102(d)

How long to file

Three years for most injury lawsuits

3 years

If your case clears the serious injury threshold, you generally have three years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Wrongful death claims are shorter, usually two years from the date of death. Crashes that involve a city, a transit authority or another public body are stricter still: you often have to file a formal notice of claim within 90 days, so those cannot wait.

Source New York Civil Practice Law and Rules section 214, and General Municipal Law section 50-e for claims against public entities

Coverage and shared fault

25/50/10 liability, plus mandatory no-fault and UM

25/50/10

New York requires at least $25,000 for injuries per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 for property damage, on top of the mandatory $50,000 no-fault coverage and uninsured motorist protection. If your case does reach a lawsuit, New York uses pure comparative negligence, so sharing part of the blame reduces what you recover but does not wipe it out. Found 20 percent at fault on a claim, you still recover 80 percent.

Source New York Insurance Law, New York Civil Practice Law and Rules section 1411

What to do after an accident
First steps

What to do after an accident in New York

After a crash in New York, the first steps matter for both your health and your claim, and because of no-fault a couple of them are time-sensitive here. This is general guidance that applies anywhere in the state, and none of it replaces talking to a doctor or an attorney about your own situation.
  1. Get looked at by a doctor, even if you feel fine. Beyond your health, prompt medical records are what connect your injuries to the crash. Under no-fault, gaps in treatment are one of the main reasons insurers cut off benefits.
  2. File your no-fault claim quickly. New York usually gives you about 30 days from the crash to notify your own insurer for PIP benefits. This is easy to miss and hard to undo, so handle it early.
  3. Call the police and get the crash report. In New York the report is usually available through the DMV or the responding agency. It won’t settle fault by itself, but it’s the document everyone works from later.
  4. Photograph everything before it moves. Both vehicles, where they came to rest, skid marks, the intersection, signals, signs and your injuries as they develop.
  5. Trade insurance and contact details with the other driver, and get any witness’s number. Witnesses are hard to find again a week later.
  6. Go slow with the adjuster. The other driver’s insurer may call within a day or two asking for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one, and most people talk to an attorney first.
  7. Keep the deadlines in view. The lawsuit deadline is usually three years, but the no-fault filing window is about 30 days and a claim against a public body can require notice within 90 days.
Practice areas

Accident types we help with in New York

Different crashes turn on different evidence. Pick the one that matches what happened and we’ll look for an attorney who handles that kind of claim in New York.

Car Accidents

Rear-end hits, intersection collisions, highway pileups, drunk drivers. These are the most common claims we see in New York and often the ones insurers try to close fastest.

Truck Accidents

18-wheelers and commercial vehicles bring federal safety rules, driver logs and sometimes several insurers into the same claim. Evidence like electronic logs can be overwritten, so these move fast.

Motorcycle Accidents

Riders get blamed by default more often than not. Injuries tend to be more serious and the argument over who did what is usually harder fought.

Rideshare Accidents

Uber and Lyft coverage shifts depending on whether the app was off, waiting for a ride request or already carrying a passenger. Which policy applies is often the whole question.

Pedestrian Accidents

Crosswalk and parking lot collisions, often at low speed and still severe. Drivers frequently say they never saw you, which puts the focus on sight lines and signals.

Hit & Run

When the other driver takes off, your own uninsured motorist coverage is usually the route to getting paid. Worth checking your policy even if you assume you don't have it.

Coverage
Find accident help in your New York city
Pick your city for pages written around that area, or start the form from anywhere in the state.
New York City
Car
Truck
Motorcycle
Rideshare
Pedestrian
Buffalo
Car
Truck
Motorcycle
Rochester
Car
Truck
Motorcycle
Albany
Car
Truck
Syracuse
Car
Motorcycle
Yonkers
Car

We cover all of New York, not just the cities above. If your crash happened in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, White Plains or anywhere else in the state, we can still look for an attorney who works your area. Start the form or call (888) 401-3677.

 
Coverage

Find accident help in your New York city

Pick your city for pages written around that area, or start the form from anywhere in the state.

New York City

Car
Truck
Motorcycle
Rideshare
Pedestrian

Buffalo

Car
Truck
Motorcycle

Rochester

Car
Truck
Motorcycle

Albany

Car
Truck

Syracuse

Car
Motorcycle

Yonkers

Car

We cover all of New York, not just the cities above. If your crash happened in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, White Plains or anywhere else in the state, we can still look for an attorney who works your area. Start the form or call (888) 401-3677.

How it works

Three steps. One free phone call.

We do the work of finding you a New York attorney so you can put your attention on getting better.

Tell us what happened

A few questions about the crash, your injuries and where in New York it happened. Around 90 seconds.

Get matched with an attorney

We connect you with an independent personal injury attorney licensed in New York who takes cases like yours.

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You talk to that attorney directly, at no charge. If they take the case, you only pay if they win.

See if you qualify

Two minutes, no cost and no obligation to hire anyone. If nobody in the network is right for your case, we’ll say so rather than matching you anyway.
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Getting matched costs nothing and neither does the first conversation with the attorney. There’s no fee to you for the matching itself at any point.

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Attorneys in the network work on contingency. Their fee comes out of a settlement or award rather than your savings, and if the case doesn’t succeed you owe no attorney fee.

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Common questions

New York accident claim questions

How does no-fault insurance work in New York?

After a crash in New York, your own insurer pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages first, up to your no-fault limit of at least $50,000, no matter who caused the accident. That coverage is called personal injury protection, or PIP. You file the claim with your own insurer rather than the other driver’s, and you usually have about 30 days from the crash to do it, which is one of the easiest deadlines to miss.
Only if your injury meets New York’s serious injury threshold under Insurance Law section 5102(d). That covers things like a broken bone, significant disfigurement, permanent limitation of a body part or an injury that keeps you from your normal activities for at least 90 days. Soft tissue injuries on their own usually do not qualify. No-fault pays your basic costs either way, but pain and suffering is only on the table once the threshold is met.
Usually three years from the date of the crash for a personal injury lawsuit, under CPLR section 214. Wrongful death claims are shorter, running about two years from the date of death. Two other clocks run faster: the no-fault claim with your own insurer is about 30 days, and a claim against a city, a transit authority or another public body often needs a formal notice of claim within 90 days.
At least 25/50/10 in liability coverage, which is $25,000 for injuries to one person, $50,000 for injuries in one accident and $10,000 for property damage. On top of that, New York requires $50,000 of no-fault personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage, so the mandatory package here is wider than in most states.
If your case clears the serious injury threshold and reaches a lawsuit, New York uses pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your share of the fault rather than barred, so being found 20 percent responsible leaves you with 80 percent of the award. There is no cutoff that ends the claim outright. An adjuster’s opinion about fault is not the final word.
Yes. We work with attorneys across all of New York, not only the cities listed on this page. Those cities have their own pages because they are the ones we get asked about most. Fill out the form or call (888) 401-3677 and we will look for someone who covers your area.
No. Easy Accident Help is a marketing and matching service. We are not a law firm and not a lawyer referral service, we do not give legal advice and we do not represent you. We take a few details about your accident and connect you with an independent personal injury attorney licensed in New York. Any attorney-client relationship is formed between you and that attorney, not with us.
Nothing. The match is free and so is the case evaluation. Personal injury attorneys in our network work on contingency, which means their fee comes out of a settlement or award instead of your pocket, and you owe no attorney fee if the case does not succeed. The attorney will go through their fee agreement with you before you sign anything.

Hurt in a crash in New York?

Find out in about two minutes whether you qualify to be matched with a New York attorney. It’s free, there’s no obligation and you only pay your attorney if they win.
See If You Qualify
Call (888) 401-3677
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