If you’re ever in a car wreck in Buffalo, you must file a claim with your own insurance for damages, regardless of who was at fault, due to New York’s no-fault insurance laws. However, depending on the severity of the accident and the scale of damages, you may need to sue the at-fault party to obtain compensation for losses not covered by your insurer or exceeding your policy limits. If legal action becomes necessary to recover fair compensation, here’s what to remember.
New York Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Cases
Every state provides accident victims a limited amount of time—known as the statute of limitations—to sue the liable party for damages. In New York, the law generally gives you three years from the date of a car accident to file an auto accident lawsuit. If you don’t start your lawsuit within this timeframe, you will usually lose the opportunity to hold the at-fault party financially accountable through the court.
Note that this deadline is separate from the claim you file with your insurance company, which generally must be filed within 30 days from when the wreck occurred.
Some situations can slightly modify the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit. These include:
- Victim is a minor. If the person injured in the car accident is under the age of 18, the three-year statute of limitations begins when they turn 18.
- Defendant is out-of-state. You may receive an extension if the at-fault party leaves New York or resides out of state for four consecutive months or more within the statute of limitations period.
- Against municipalities. If you want to file a claim against a municipality in New York because the accident happened due to factors such as missing guardrails, untended potholes or missing road signs, you must file a notice of claim within 90 days of the incident. You then have one year and 90 days from the incident date to file a lawsuit against the municipality.
- Wrongful death lawsuit. If the person who sustained injuries in the car accident dies from their injuries, you have two years from the date of death to initiate a wrongful death claim against the responsible party.
New York Laws for Car Drivers
Here are some important laws for car drivers you must be aware of if you decide to operate a vehicle in Buffalo:
Insurance
You need auto liability insurance coverage to drive in New York. This coverage pays for bodily injury and property damage to affected persons in accidents where you are at fault. Note that liability coverage does not pay for your own injuries or property damages.
Here’s a breakdown of the minimum liability coverage required:
- $10,000 for property damage per accident
- $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for the death of one person in one accident
- $50,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for the death of two or more people in an accident
You must also carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage in New York. This covers medical costs you and your passengers incur in an accident, regardless of fault. The minimum PIP coverage required to drive in New York is $50,000 per person.
Additionally, you must carry uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. This pays for injuries and lost wages that you or your passengers suffer if an uninsured driver hits you. The required uninsured or underinsured coverage is $25,000 for bodily injury per person and $50,000 for bodily injury per accident if more than one person is hurt.
Damage caps
New York does not limit what you can collect for economic or noneconomic damages in accident cases, including punitive damages. However, if you are awarded compensation for future damages exceeding $250,000, you will receive the excess in periodic payments instead of a lump sum.
Reporting an accident
If you are in a car accident that results in injury to a person (including yourself) or property damage of more than $1,000, you must file an accident report within 10 days.
Identifying Fault for Car Accidents in New York
New York follows the no-fault law, meaning that you must file a claim with your own insurance to collect damages, even if you were not responsible for the crash. You don’t have to prove negligence to receive no-fault benefits or compensation. However, lawsuits can be brought against liable parties for economic losses exceeding the no-fault benefits and noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering.
No-fault insurance covers medical expenses like ambulance costs, x-rays, surgical procedures, prescription drugs, physical and occupational therapy and any necessary rehabilitation. It may also cover lost wages and funeral and burial expenses if someone died as a result of the accident. However, it does not provide coverage for vehicle repairs; it only covers personal losses due to your injuries.
If you want to collect damages for pain and suffering or compensation beyond your policy limits, you must file a lawsuit against the liable parties. In such lawsuits, New York follows a pure comparative negligence model. This means you can recover damages from a negligent party even if you were partially at fault for the accident. The damages you receive will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you. For example, if you are 20% at fault for the accident because you didn’t signal while changing lanes and the total damages are $100,000, you can recover $80,000.