Practice areas

The New York State No-Fault Law

The New York State No-Fault Law provides for the payment of benefits to victims of motor vehicle accidents. These expenses include: all necessary doctor and hospital bills and other health services expenses; 80% of lost earnings, with a maximum of $2,000.00 a month, for up to three years following the date of accident; up to $25.00 per day for a period of one year from the date of accident for other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred because of a resulting injury, i.e. transportation to and from medical providers, the hiring of a housekeeper, etc.; and a $2,000 death benefit, payable to the estate of a covered person. These are the minimum benefits required in every motor vehicle insurance policy in the State of New York. Your benefits may be greater if there is extended coverage on your policy or on the policy of the liable party. Victims of motor vehicle accidents must provide written notice of claim for motor vehicle no-fault benefits to the appropriate insurance company within 30 days from the day of the accident. Further, any and all bills for health care services must be submitted to the insurer within 45 days of the treatment. Claims for lost earnings and other reasonable and necessary expenses must be submitted to the insurer within 90 days. Failure to make these timely submissions will result in no-fault benefits being denied.

Filing Deadlines for Bringing a Claim against Municipalities and Public Authorities

If you are injured in a situation involving a municipality (i.e. City of New York, The New York City Transit Authority and other municipal transit systems, The New York City Housing Authority, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and The New York City Board of Education) a notice of claim must be served in writing, within 90 days of the event which causes your injury on the appropriate municipality or public authority. These written notices of claim have to contain certain specific information to be valid and in most cases must be notarized. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a legal bar to bringing an action in court for legal relief or damages. Even after the notice of claim requirements have been met, there are further statutory deadlines for the filing of a lawsuit which often differ from the deadlines for filing an action against a private entity. An example of this is the statute of limitations for filing an action alleging negligence against the City of New York. The law requires that not only must the 90 day notice of claim requirements be met, but any lawsuit based on that claim must be filed within one year and 90 days of the event which forms the basis of the action. These deadlines may vary depending on who is bringing the claim. An example would be a situation where the claimant/plaintiff is an infant or a person under legal disability.

Work Place Accident

When a person is injured at work or in the course of employment, New York State law allows them to claim Worker’s Compensation benefits. In particular cases, in addition to a worker’s compensation claim, a person may also be able to bring a “third-party” claim against someone other than their employer if he or she is injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. An example of a responsible third party would be a landowner whose property or facilities are being used for employment. If a landowner maintains an unsafe workplace which contributes to or causes an accident, that landowner may be held liable for injuries suffered as a result. In some situations usually involving a ladder or scaffold, landowners may be liable for an accident even if they were not directly involved. A further example of a responsible third party is the manufacturer of a machine or tool which is used in the course of the job. If that machine or tool were defective in some way, and that defect caused an injury, the injured party may be able to pursue a “products liability” claim. Other examples of possible responsible third parties include general contractors and subcontractors working at a job site, construction managers and construction engineers.

Uninsured / Underinsured Automobile Insurance Coverage

Most people are aware that if they are involved in an automobile accident with another vehicle they can bring a lawsuit against the driver and owner of the other vehicle for monetary damages. But what if the other vehicle has minimal insurance coverage that is inadequate to compensate you for your injuries? Or worse, what if the other vehicle had no insurance at all? Under these circumstances, you may be able to look to your own automobile insurance policy for coverage. New York State Law requires that all automobile insurance policies include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. You may be involved in an automobile accident (whether you are a driver, passenger or pedestrian) with a motor vehicle that does not have insurance or a vehicle that has fled the accident scene. However, if you own an automobile or reside in a household with someone who owns an automobile — you can still recover money to compensate you for your injuries from your own automobile insurance company. By law, every automobile insurance policy issued in New York State must have a provision for uninsured motorist benefits of at least twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per person and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per accident for two or more people. You may increase the limits of your uninsured benefits to match the policy limits of your overall general liability coverage. For example, if you have automobile liability coverage of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident you may obtain uninsured motorist benefits to match that amount. Additionally, if you are involved in an automobile accident (whether you are a driver, passenger or pedestrian) with a motor vehicle that does not have adequate insurance, you may still be able to recover money from your own automobile insurance company. Whether or not you can bring a claim against your own policy and for how much depends on the limits of your underinsured motorist coverage. As with uninsured coverage, New York State requires that all automobile insurance policies must contain underinsured motorist coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for two or more people. Underinsured motorist benefits allow you to recover money from your own automobile insurance coverage if the offending vehicle had inadequate insurance coverage. One requirement for this type of claim is that your underinsured motorist benefits exceed the amount of the offending vehicle’s automobile coverage. It is important to notify your insurance company in writing, immediately, of your intention to make a claim for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits. Any delay in reporting your accident, in writing, to your insurance company may severely hinder or defeat your ability to obtain benefits. Failure to notify your own insurance carrier within the time limits required by a policy is the mistake we see most often made by people who are involved in this type of situation and have not spoken to a qualified attorney.