Hurt in a Car Crash? New York No-Fault Does Not Cover Everything.
What You Need to Know After a New York Car Accident
New York is a no-fault state under Insurance Law §5102. Your own insurer pays first, regardless of who caused the crash. But no-fault only goes so far. To sue the negligent driver for pain and suffering you must clear the serious injury threshold under Insurance Law §5102(d). That means a fracture, permanent loss of a body function, significant disfigurement, or 90 out of 180 days of disability. Miss the threshold and your recovery is capped at no-fault benefits. Meet it and we go to work. You have three years under CPLR 214 to file. If a city vehicle was involved, you have just 90 days to file a Notice of Claim under General Municipal Law §50-e.
What you need to know
Plain-English answers to the questions that come up most often on these cases.
No-Fault PIP Coverage
Insurance Law §5102 requires every NY vehicle owner to carry Personal Injury Protection. PIP pays your medical bills and 80% of lost wages up to $50,000, no matter who caused the crash. File your no-fault application within 30 days or risk denial.
Read moreSerious Injury Threshold
Under Insurance Law §5102(d), you must prove a qualifying serious injury to sue for pain and suffering. Fractures qualify automatically. Soft-tissue injuries require objective medical proof of permanent limitation. Gaps in treatment hurt your case.
Read moreThird-Party Negligence Claim
When the at-fault driver is uninsured, underinsured, or simply negligent, we file a third-party lawsuit. New York follows pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault but never eliminated entirely.
Read moreDeadlines That Cannot Wait
Three years from the accident date under CPLR 214 for most car crash suits. Just 90 days for a Notice of Claim if a municipal vehicle or road defect is involved (General Municipal Law §50-e). Miss these and your case is gone.
Read moreUninsured & Underinsured Motorist Coverage
If the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little insurance, your own UM/UIM policy steps in. We make sure you claim every available dollar, including SUM coverage under NY Insurance Law §3420.
Read moreContingency Fee — No Upfront Cost
We work on contingency. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you. That means we have every incentive to maximize your settlement or verdict. Free consultation, no risk.
Read moreHow we handle these cases
Step 1
Gather the police report, crash photos, witness statements, and black-box data within days of the accident.
Step 2
File your no-fault application immediately and monitor for denials we can challenge.
Step 3
Retain medical experts to document your injuries and connect them to the crash.
Negotiate directly with the at-fault driver’s insurer
and go to trial if they lowball you.
Step 5
Handle every communication so you can focus on recovering.
Real cases. Real results.
Three recent Personal Injury outcomes — case context and result. No client identifying information.
No-fault benefits secured and kept flowing while your third-party claim develops.
Serious injury threshold documented with objective medical proof to withstand insurer challenges.
Maximum recovery for pain and suffering, lost wages, and future medical costs.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is evaluated on its own facts. The case outcomes shown are representative examples; details have been altered or generalized to protect client confidentiality.
Related questions
Quick answers from our FAQ library.
Other ways we help
Same firm, same approach — different practice areas under one roof.
Workers’ Compensation
Injured at work. Lost wages. Denied benefits.
Learn more →Social Security Disability
Can’t work due to a disability. SSDI & SSI claims, denials, appeals.
Learn more →Long-Term Disability
Private LTD insurance denied or cut off. ERISA appeals.
Learn more →Personal Injury
Car accident. Construction site. Scaffold Law.
Learn more →Workers’ Rights
Retaliation, wage theft, harassment. Plaintiff-side only.
Learn more →Personal Injury lawyers near you
Seven New York offices serving working clients across the state.
The attorneys who work your case
Not a call centre. The lawyer who signs you is the lawyer who shows up.
Brian M. Mittman, Esq.
Managing Partner · Markhoff & Mittman, P.C.
Call 866-205-2415 Schedule with Brian- Admitted in New York
- 30+ years in practice
- Attends Board hearings personally
Brian has personally handled New York workers' compensation, SSDI, and personal-injury cases for over three decades. Your case is never handed off to a paralegal.
- Admitted in New York and New Jersey
- Pace University School of Law, J.D.
- Litigates before the Workers' Compensation Board
Randy has litigated every type of claim before the Workers' Compensation Board on behalf of hundreds of claimants.
- Admitted in New York, 2008
- New York Law School, J.D. 2007
- With The Disability Guys since 2013
Benai has spent more than a decade fighting for injured workers before the Workers' Compensation Board and the New York State Employees' Retirement Board.
Need a personal injury lawyer?
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