New York Personal Injury Intake: Deadlines and Fault Rules

This guide is for law firms. If you were injured, contact a licensed New York attorney.

Does New York use comparative or contributory negligence?

New York applies pure comparative fault in most injury cases, but motor vehicle claims filed on or after May 26, 2026 follow a new modified rule. CPLR § 1411(a) says a claimant’s culpable conduct does not bar recovery and diminishes damages in proportion to it. New subsection (b), added in the state’s FY 2027 budget, applies to personal injury actions subject to Insurance Law article 51, the no-fault article. In those cases, the claimant’s culpable conduct bars recovery if it is greater than the culpable conduct of the defendant, or of all defendants combined.

According to Barclay Damon (2026), the act was signed May 26, 2026, took effect immediately, and applies to suits filed on or after that date, not to pending actions. For intake, a New York auto caller’s own account of the crash now carries more weight. The intake specialist should record it carefully and leave the fault question to the attorney.

Sources: N.Y. CPLR § 1411, NewYork.Public.Law (updated May 29, 2026) (2026); NYS Enacts Sweeping Auto Insurance Reforms Impacting Motor Vehicle Accident Claims, Barclay Damon (2026)

Is New York a no-fault state?

Yes. New York is a no-fault state, and first-party benefits cover up to $50,000 per person in basic economic loss. N.Y. Insurance Law § 5102 defines basic economic loss as up to $50,000 per person of medical expenses, lost earnings and other listed items. To sue for pain and suffering in a car case, the injured person must have a serious injury as defined in § 5102(d): death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, or significant limitation of use of a body function or system.

The 2026 reforms removed the 90/180-day category of serious injury, according to Barclay Damon (2026). Intake should therefore capture fractures, imaging, surgery recommendations and lasting limitations in plain terms, because those facts decide whether the case clears the threshold.

Sources: N.Y. Insurance Law § 5102, NewYork.Public.Law; NYS Enacts Sweeping Auto Insurance Reforms Impacting Motor Vehicle Accident Claims, Barclay Damon (2026); Background on: No-fault auto insurance, Insurance Information Institute

Which New York deadlines can run out before the statute of limitations?

A New York claim against a city, county, town or other public corporation usually needs a notice of claim served within 90 days after the claim arises. General Municipal Law § 50-e sets the 90-day period. In wrongful death actions, the 90 days run from the appointment of a representative of the decedent’s estate. Ninety days is the shortest common deadline in New York injury practice, and it often runs out before the caller thinks of calling a lawyer.

New York intake should ask early whether the incident involved a city bus, a sanitation or police vehicle, a public school, a city sidewalk or a public housing building. The caller may not know which entity owns what, so the dossier should record exactly what they describe and where. Medical malpractice callers raise a different clock: two years and six months under CPLR § 214-a, from the act or the last treatment in a continuous course.

Sources: N.Y. General Municipal Law § 50-e, NewYork.Public.Law; N.Y. CPLR § 214-a, NewYork.Public.Law

Does New York cap personal injury damages?

New York’s constitution bars statutory limits on one category of damages: the amount recoverable for injuries resulting in death. Article I, § 16 of the New York Constitution says the right of action to recover damages for injuries resulting in death shall never be abrogated, and the amount recoverable shall not be subject to any statutory limitation. The provision protects wrongful death recovery specifically. It is not a general ban on caps for every personal injury claim.

The 2026 reforms show the difference. According to Barclay Damon (2026), the act limits non-economic recovery to $100,000 where the claimant bears fault and was driving an uninsured vehicle that had to be insured, or was convicted of impaired driving, or was committing or fleeing a felony. For intake, that makes the caller’s insurance status and any arrest relevant facts, recorded without judgment.

Sources: N.Y. Constitution, Article I, § 16, Ballotpedia; NYS Enacts Sweeping Auto Insurance Reforms Impacting Motor Vehicle Accident Claims, Barclay Damon (2026)

What does New York guidance say about lawyers using AI?

New York has bar association guidance rather than a court rule: the NYSBA Task Force on Artificial Intelligence report, approved on April 6, 2024. According to the New York State Bar Association (2024), the House of Delegates approved the report, which advises lawyers to disclose to clients when AI tools are used in their cases. The report found that New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct already provide helpful guidance on AI, and stressed that lawyers must make sure paralegals and other staff handle AI properly.

For an intake line, the NYSBA themes are privilege and supervision. Callers share injury details and sometimes admissions, so the firm needs to know where recordings live and who can hear them. Supervision means an attorney reviews what the intake specialist produced, which is why each Della dossier includes the recording and transcript. The privilege guide covers the details.

Source: New York State Bar Association Warns That AI Must Not Compromise Attorney-Client Privilege, New York State Bar Association (2024)

Do New York intake calls need recording consent?

New York is a one-party consent state for recording phone calls, under N.Y. Penal Law §§ 250.00, 250.05. New York firms take calls from people in Florida, California and other all-party states, so a notice at the start of every call is the safer default. Every Call Della plan includes a recording disclosure set for the firm’s state, and Della plays it before the caller describes their matter. Our call recording consent by state table covers all 50 states and DC.

Source: Reporter’s Recording Guide: New York, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

What should a New York intake call capture?

A New York intake call should capture the facts that decide the deadline, the fault rule and the coverage, in the caller’s own words. The checklist below is the minimum for a New York auto or premises matter. It is a list of facts to record, not questions to argue with the caller.

1. Accident date, borough or county, and exact location
2. Whether a city, county or public authority vehicle, sidewalk or building was involved
3. For construction falls: the site address, the employer, and the height of the fall
4. Fractures, imaging, surgery recommendations and lasting limitations
5. The caller’s own no-fault carrier and whether an application has been filed
6. Whether the caller was driving an insured vehicle
7. Police report and any arrest or ticket
8. Whether the caller has spoken to another lawyer

How does Della handle New York intake after hours?

Della, Call Della’s intake specialist, answers a New York firm’s line in the firm’s name nights, weekends and holidays. She takes the facts above, never gives legal advice, and tells callers she is an AI if they ask. Each call becomes a dossier with a summary, urgency score, recording and transcript. Urgent calls send an email alert to the attorney on call, on every plan, and the rest are in the 7am morning brief.

Firms lose callers in the gap between the call and the reply. According to Lawyers Mutual NC (2019), reporting an ABA Law Practice Division secret-shopper study, lawyers took three or more days to reply to voicemails and online requests 42 percent of the time. See how Della runs after-hours personal injury intake, or compare New York with other states in our personal injury rules by state table.