NYC and Personal Injury / Car Accident Law
NYC has its own personal injury law that also covers car accidents. Each state has its own specific regulations while the broader contexts remain the same. The personal injury law in NYC is not identical to other states and there are some consequential differences. You should be aware of all the statutes of this state law to make sure you take the right steps in case you have been injured or your property has been damaged or both.
- The first fact you should know is the statute of limitations. This is basically a provision in the law that requires every victim to file a lawsuit within a stipulated period. If you have suffered any injury, be it a car accident or at any place where you are not at fault, then you can file a lawsuit within three years. This is from the date of the accident. It is not from the date when you get treated or when you find out about your injury. There is no exception to this statute of limitations in case of car accidents or the damage directly caused by such incidents. However, there is an exception to this rule in case of medical malpractice. It is not uncommon for people to suffer injuries or some health complications resulting out of medical malpractice and the consequences may not become apparent in a year or two. Such cases will be prosecutable in a court under the personal injury law, regardless of the original cause of the accident.
- The personal injury and car accident law in NYC clearly distinguishes between at fault, no fault and shared fault cases. If you are a victim of a car accident and have suffered personal injury or damage to property or both and you are partly to blame, or you must share some fault then your claims will be proportionately reduced by the court. If you are claiming total damages, including compensation for property and medical expenses for your personal injury among others, worth fifty thousand dollars and you are to share twenty percent of the blame or fault for the accident, then your claim will be effectively reduced by the same share. You would be able to claim forty thousand dollars. While you can claim more, the court would not entertain such an amount and the other party is not legally compelled or even asked to pay fifty thousand. This is only in case of shared fault cases. When the other party is at fault, there is no such proportionate reduction of the claimed amount.
- NYC has no fault insurances. Anyone who has this type of policy would not have to deal with any other party or even insurer. One can simply contact their own insurer and claim coverage for personal injury and resulting medical expenses. Even damage to property is covered under such policies. However, if your at fault insurance coverage falls short of paying for all medical expenses, which is not unusual in case of serious injuries, then you can file a lawsuit or liability claim against the party at fault of the car accident.