New York personal injury,
handled by partners who try cases.

New York personal injury law is the body of civil law that compensates people physically or psychologically harmed by another’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional conduct. Most claims are governed by:

• CPLR §214 — 3-year statute of limitations
• CPLR §1411 — pure comparative negligence
• Insurance Law §5102(d) — serious-injury threshold for car cases
• GML §50-e — 90-day Notice of Claim against municipal entities
• EPTL §5-4.1 & §11-3.2 — wrongful death and survival action

Recoverable damages typically include medical expenses, lost earnings, future earning capacity, and pain and suffering.

Under CPLR §214, the general statute of limitations is 3 years from the date of injury. Important exceptions:

• Medical malpractice — 2 years and 6 months (CPLR §214-a)
• Wrongful death — 2 years from date of death (EPTL §5-4.1)
• Municipal entity (NYC, MTA, NYCHA, NY State, school district, public hospital) — Notice of Claim within 90 days, lawsuit within 1 year and 90 days (GML §50-e)
• Infant plaintiffs — statute tolled until age 18 (CPLR §208)

Under CPLR §1411, New York follows pure comparative negligence — one of the country’s most plaintiff-favorable rules. An injured person can recover damages even if they were 99% at fault, with the award reduced only by their percentage of fault. The defendant cannot escape liability by arguing the plaintiff was “mostly at fault” or that the danger was “open and obvious.” This applies across virtually every personal injury case.

Typical recoverable damages:

• Past and future medical expenses (hospital, surgical, rehab, ongoing care)
• Past and future lost earnings and loss of earning capacity
• Past and future pain and suffering, physical and mental
• Loss of consortium for a spouse
• Property damage
• In fatal cases — pecuniary loss to distributees (EPTL §5-4.1) and pre-death pain & suffering (EPTL §11-3.2)

Punitive damages may be available where the defendant’s conduct was grossly negligent, reckless, or intentional.

A contingency fee means the lawyer is paid only if the client wins. In New York personal injury cases, the typical contingency fee is one-third (33-1/3%) of the recovery, subject to a sliding scale in medical malpractice cases under Judiciary Law §474-a. The client pays:

• No upfront fee
• No hourly billing
• No fee at all if the case is lost

Case expenses (filing fees, expert witnesses, court reporters) are typically advanced by the firm and reimbursed from the recovery.

Most personal injury cases settle before trial — but settlement value is driven by the credible threat the case will be tried. Insurance carriers calibrate offers to the perceived trial risk. Thorough preparation — depositions, expert witnesses, motion practice, jury research — is the practice approach at this firm. The client makes the final call on any settlement.

Timelines vary widely:

• Clear-liability soft-tissue case — 6 to 12 months
• Complex case (disputed liability, multiple defendants, catastrophic injury) — 2 to 4 years through discovery, motion practice, and trial

The single most important factor is medical stability — settling before the full extent of injuries is known typically leaves money on the table. We do not rush settlements before the client has reached maximum medical improvement.

Workers’ Compensation is a no-fault statutory system covering most on-the-job injuries — pays medical bills and a portion of lost wages but not pain and suffering, and is generally the exclusive remedy against the employer.

A personal injury case targets third-party defendants (negligent contractors, property owners, equipment manufacturers, drivers) and recovers full tort damages including pain and suffering. New York’s Labor Law §§240, 241, and 200 give construction workers especially powerful third-party claims. Workers’ Comp does not bar the third-party suit — both run in parallel, with Workers’ Comp typically asserting a lien on any third-party recovery that is negotiated as part of settlement.