Question 1

What is the NY Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims?

Accepted Answer

If you are involved in an auto collision with a privately owned and operated vehicle in New York, the statute of limitations is three (3) years from the date of the accident. In other words, if your accident occurred on January 1, 2020, you would have until January 1, 2023 to file your lawsuit.

Question 2

What are the Exceptions to the NY Personal Injury Statute of Limitations?

Accepted Answer

There are certain exceptions to the typical three-year NY personal injury statute of limitations. These exceptions may delay, pause, or shorten the time limitation imposed for personal injury cases.

Legal Disabilities

If the injured person looking to file a personal injury lawsuit is a minor under the age of 18 or of unsound mind, they are under a legal disability. In these cases, the three-year time clock will not begin to run until all disabilities are lifted. The clock will then start to run when a minor turns 18 or a person of unsound mind is declared sane.

The Discovery Rule

Under this rule, the statute of limitations will not begin to run until the injured person has discovered or should have discovered the injury. This can extend the statute of limitations when the injury or harm is not open and obvious.

Municipalities

This time frame is different when bringing a case against a municipality. A municipality is any local government entity. So, for example, if you are involved in a crash with a City of New York Department of Sanitation truck, a New York City Parks Department pick-up truck, or a New York City Transit Authority bus the statute is different – and shorter.

All of these municipal entities are protected by stronger laws that shorten that statute of limitations. In most of these scenarios, you have ninety (90) days from the date of the accident to file a Notice of Claim. Certain Public Authorities, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Long Island Railroad, have different and shorter statutes.

After filing a Notice of Claim, you must appear for a hearing and a medical exam, if requested. Only after you pass those hurdles, called “conditions precedent” to bringing a lawsuit, will you be allowed to sue the municipality.

These rules hold true not only for the City of New York and New York City Transit Authority, but for all municipal entities inside and outside of the City of New York, as well as Towns and Villages in the surrounding counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester.

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Topic: New York Laws