When injured in a car accident in New York, lots of questions may arise. These often involve topics such as:

“Will I miss work due to my accident?”

“How will I pay for all of the medical bills?”

“Will I ever completely recover?”

In addition to these issues, you also have to deal with pre-determined timelines that dictate how long you have to file a claim. The clock starts ticking as soon as the car accident occurs, so you want to be sure to file all claims before any deadlines prevent you from doing so. One such deadline is associated with how long you have to file a claim injury lawsuit in New York.

While the time allotted, 3 years, certainly should seem ample in most scenarios, there are specific deadlines for filing an injury claim against another party in New York State. This is because New York is a NO FAULT insurance state, which ordinarily means that each person’s insurance policy will take care of the owner of that policy, regardless of who is at fault. Injuries, however, allow for one to seek financial compensation from the at fault party as long as the claim meets certain threshold requirements. These include:

• Death of someone involved- This means that if the driver or someone else in the vehicle was killed due to the negligence of the other driver
• Loss of limb- Often known as dismemberment, if one of the occupants of the victim vehicle lost a limb as a result of the accident
• Bone breakage- Bone fractures of any kind resulting from the car accident
• Disfigurement- This refers to the need for reconstructive surgery as a result of the accident that leaves on altered in appearance due to the accident
• Miscarriage- If the accident caused an occupant to lose a fetus as a result, this would meet the threshold for an injury lawsuit as well
• Loss of use of or limited functioning of certain part of the body- This threshold is broad and can include loss of use or limited function of any part of the body…fingers, hand, arm, leg etc.
• Temporary disability- In order to meet this threshold, the victim would have to experience partial or complete disability for at least a 90-day period within the immediate 180-day period following the car accident.

If you have been injured in a car accident in New York and you are looking to file an injury lawsuit against the negligent party, it is recommended that you retain the services of a law firm who has experience handling such cases. They can help navigate your through the process, make sure you meet the minimum threshold requirements, and help you gather any information necessary to pursue legal action.