What counts as a serious injury in New York to sue for pain and suffering?

New York's Insurance Law §5102(d) lists nine categories of serious injury that unlock your right to sue a negligent driver for pain and suffering. The most commonly litigated categories include:

• Fracture — any broken bone qualifies automatically
• Significant disfigurement — visible scarring that would be objectionable to a reasonable person
• Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system
• Significant limitation of use of a body function or system
• 90/180 rule — you were substantially unable to perform your usual daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days following the accident

Insurance companies routinely challenge serious injury claims. They hire doctors to perform independent medical examinations (IMEs) and review your records looking for gaps in treatment. Gaps in care — even a few weeks without seeing a doctor — can be used against you to argue your injury was not serious or was caused by something other than the accident.

To build a strong claim, document everything: get treated promptly, follow your doctor's orders, and keep records of every appointment. Your attorney will also gather MRI reports, EMG results, and physician affidavits to support your threshold showing.

Under Insurance Law §5104, even when you clear the threshold, you cannot recover basic economic losses already paid by no-fault. Your lawsuit focuses on pain and suffering, excess economic loss, and other non-economic damages.

You have three years from the accident date under CPLR 214 to file suit. Do not wait — evidence disappears and witnesses forget.