New York Car Accident Law FAQs

You can turn right on red in New York State if you are not in a city with 1 million or more residents. You can also turn left on red from a one-way street onto another one-way street. However, you cannot turn right on red in New York City, unless a sign permits this maneuver.

No, rolling stops are not allowed in New York. Under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1142, a driver must stop when approaching a stop sign. A rolling stop is treated as if the driver ran the stop sign.

The points for a speeding ticket in New York usually depend on how much a driver exceeded the limit. If they were 10 mph or less over the limit, they will get three points. Speeding 11-20 mph over the limit is four points, while speeding 21-30 mph over the limit is six points, and speeding 31-40 mph over the limit is eight points. Speeding more than 40 mph over the limit will result in 11 points. A speeding violation based only on driving too fast for conditions will result in three points.

A New York driver needs to get $10,000 in liability insurance for property damage, $25,000 for injuries per person per accident ($50,000 for death), and $50,000 for injuries to multiple people in an accident ($100,000 for deaths to multiple people). Drivers should consider getting larger amounts in case they get into an accident that causes serious injuries.

The most important thing to do after a car accident in New York is to get the medical attention that you need. Even if your injuries seem minor, you may want to see a doctor because some serious injuries may not be immediately apparent. If you are physically able, you should try to take photos or videos of the accident scene and your injuries. You may want to get the contact information of any eyewitnesses to the accident. You should report the accident to your insurer as soon as possible, while keeping any paperwork documenting the costs arising from the accident, such as medical bills or pay stubs showing lost income. You also should get a copy of the police report on the accident. Finally, you may want to consult a car accident lawyer in your area for advice on your legal options.

Under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 605, you must report a car accident to the New York DMV within 10 days if it caused injuries or death to any person, or if it caused over $1,000 of property damage.

Yes, New York is a no-fault state. This means that anyone who suffered injuries in a car accident can recover no-fault benefits from their own insurer, regardless of who caused the accident. They can sue an at-fault driver or vehicle owner for economic damages only if these exceed the “basic economic loss” addressed by no-fault benefits ($50,000 in certain financial costs), and for non-economic damages only if they suffered a “serious injury” as defined by the New York Insurance Law.

No-fault insurance in New York covers reasonable and necessary medical and rehabilitation costs, in addition to 80 percent of lost income (up to $2,000 per month) for up to three years after an accident. It also provides up to $25 per day for reasonable and necessary expenses arising from the accident for up to a year afterward.

You can sue an at-fault driver for pain and suffering in New York if you have suffered a “serious injury,” as defined by Section 5102 of the Insurance Law. A “serious injury” may involve a broken bone, significant disfigurement, the permanent loss of use of a body organ, or the significant limitation of use of a body function or system, among other injuries. The statute also defines this term to cover any injury or impairment that prevents the victim from doing the material acts that constitute their usual daily activities for 90 of the 180 days after the accident.

Generally, you have three years to sue after a New York car accident. Section 214 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules provides this deadline, which applies to claims for injuries as well as claims for property damage. However, Section 5-4.1 of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law provides a two-year deadline for wrongful death lawsuits after a fatal accident. If you are suing a government entity, you generally will need to file a “notice of claim” within 90 days after the accident and bring your lawsuit within one year and 90 days, as provided by Section 217-a of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. Claims brought against New York State and certain related entities in the New York State Court of Claims follow distinctive rules.

You can sue an at-fault driver or vehicle owner after a car accident in New York if your claim meets the requirements for going outside the no-fault system. Potential defendants also may include an employer of an at-fault driver if they were on the job at the time, a manufacturer of a car that had a defect, a maintenance shop that conducted faulty repairs, a government entity that failed to adequately design or maintain a road, or a bar that served alcohol to a drunk driver.

Fault is often determined in a car accident in New York by reviewing photos and videos of the accident scene. Physical evidence like skid marks, the relative positions of the vehicles, and the nature of the damage also may help show what caused the accident. People who witnessed the accident may be able to explain the events leading to it, while the police report generated by the officer who came to the scene may contain key information about fault. If a driver violated the Vehicle and Traffic Law, they will be found at fault if the violation contributed to the accident.

A driver is usually at fault in New York if they rear-ended someone else. Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1129 prohibits following too closely, and a violation of this provision will be considered negligence. Similarly, New York courts have found that a rear-end collision supports an inference that the rear driver was negligent. (Some courts describe this rule as applying when the front vehicle was stopped, stopping, or slowing down.) However, the rear driver can avoid liability if they can show that something other than their negligence caused the accident.

The comparative negligence rule in New York allows a victim who was partly at fault for a car accident to still recover damages from someone else who was also at fault. The victim’s damages would be reduced by their percentage of fault. No amount of fault completely bars a victim from recovering damages as long as someone else was at fault to any degree.

The money that you can get from a car accident settlement in New York depends on the strength of your case and the amount of damages that you have incurred. If fault is relatively clear, and you have sustained permanent or otherwise serious injuries, the insurer for an at-fault driver or other defendant will be more likely to offer a substantial amount. Damages can account not only for financial losses resulting from an accident, such as medical bills and lost income, but also for non-economic forms of harm like pain and suffering and lost enjoyment of life.

If the driver who hit you fled the scene, and the police cannot find them, you can bring a claim against your uninsured motorist insurance provider. While you have a contractual relationship with this insurer, you can expect them to contest fault as vigorously as if they were the insurer of the at-fault driver.

You should strongly consider hiring a lawyer for a New York car accident case if your injuries are serious, and you are claiming substantial damages. A defendant or insurer likely will put up stiff resistance when the stakes are high. If a complex series of events led to the accident, you also may want to hire a lawyer who can investigate what happened and identify all the parties that may have been at fault.

The cost of hiring a New York lawyer after a car accident generally depends on the amount of compensation that a victim recovers. This is because personal injury lawyers tend to operate on a contingent fee basis. Rather than charging a fee upfront, they collect a percentage of the settlement or verdict that they win for the client. This is usually about one-third of the total.