The statute of limitations for a car accident in New York is three years from the date of the crash under CPLR Section 214. File before that deadline and your lawsuit can proceed. Miss it and a court will almost certainly dismiss your case, regardless of how strong your evidence is or how serious your injuries are. Several exceptions can shorten that window dramatically, and the no-fault insurance system runs on entirely separate, faster deadlines that also cannot be missed.
At Porter Law Group, attorney Michael S. Porter and his team represent people injured in car accidents throughout New York State. Call (833) 767-8379 or email info@porterlawteam.com for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.
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New York Car Accident Statute of Limitations: The Core Deadlines
| Claim Type | Deadline | Governing Law |
| Personal injury (car accident) | 3 years from accident date | CPLR Section 214 |
| Property damage (car accident) | 3 years from accident date | CPLR Section 214 |
| Wrongful death from car accident | 2 years from date of death | EPTL Section 5-4.1 |
| Government entity (Notice of Claim) | 90 days from accident date | General Municipal Law Section 50-e |
| Government entity (lawsuit) | 1 year and 90 days from accident | General Municipal Law Section 50-i |
| Minor plaintiff | Tolled until age 18, then 3 years | CPLR Section 208 |
| No-fault PIP application | 30 days from accident date | 11 NYCRR Section 65-1.1 |
The Three-Year Rule: CPLR Section 214
Under CPLR Section 214, most personal injury claims arising from car accidents must be filed within three years of the accident date. This applies to injured drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Three years sounds like a long runway, but it disappears faster than most people expect. Medical treatment, insurance negotiations, and recovery all consume time. The most important thing to understand is that an ongoing insurance negotiation does not pause the deadline. If settlement talks are still active on the day the three-year window closes and no lawsuit has been filed, you permanently lose the right to sue the at-fault driver.
Wrongful Death: Two Years from the Date of Death
When a car accident causes a fatality, the deadline changes. Under Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Section 5-4.1, a wrongful death claim must be filed within two years of the date of death, not the date of the crash.
This distinction matters when a victim survives the crash but dies from their injuries days, weeks, or months later. The two-year clock begins on the day they die. Families dealing with grief often do not realize this shorter deadline applies until it is close.
Our wrongful death lawyers represent families throughout New York State and can confirm which deadline applies to your situation.
Government Entity Claims: The 90-Day Notice of Claim
If your accident involved a government-owned vehicle, such as a city bus, MTA vehicle, municipal sanitation truck, or NYPD car, or if a defective road, broken traffic signal, or other government-maintained condition contributed to the crash, the standard three-year window does not apply. Two separate deadlines govern instead.
Step 1: Notice of Claim within 90 days. Under General Municipal Law Section 50-e, you must serve a written Notice of Claim on the relevant government entity within 90 days of the accident. The notice must identify the nature of the claim, the time and location, and the injuries or damages sustained.
Step 2: File the lawsuit within 1 year and 90 days. After serving the Notice of Claim, you have one year and 90 days from the date of the accident to file the actual lawsuit under General Municipal Law Section 50-i.
Missing the 90-day Notice of Claim deadline is typically fatal to the case against that government entity. Courts rarely grant extensions. If your accident involved any government vehicle, a city-maintained intersection, an MTA bus, or a road defect on public property, contact an attorney immediately. The 90-day clock starts from the date of the accident, not the date you hire a lawyer.
Minor Plaintiffs: Tolling Until Age 18
When the injured person is under 18 at the time of the accident, New York’s infancy toll under CPLR Section 208 generally pauses the three-year statute of limitations until the child turns 18. The three-year window then begins on their 18th birthday.
A parent or guardian can file on the child’s behalf before that point, and doing so is almost always the right approach. Evidence fades, surveillance footage is overwritten, and witnesses become harder to locate over time.
One important exception: the government entity exception applies regardless of the child’s age. If the accident involved a municipal vehicle or a government road defect, the 90-day Notice of Claim requirement must still be met even for a minor plaintiff.
No-Fault Deadlines: A Separate, Faster Clock
New York’s no-fault insurance system runs on its own deadlines, entirely separate from the lawsuit filing deadline.
30 days from the accident: You must provide written notice to your own insurer and submit a completed no-fault application (Form NF-2) within 30 days. Missing this deadline can result in denial of your PIP benefits for medical expenses and lost wages.
45 days from each date of service: Medical bills must be submitted to the insurer within 45 days of the service date.
90 days from the period of work loss: Lost wage claims must be submitted within 90 days.
Filing your no-fault application on time does not start or stop the three-year lawsuit deadline. Both clocks run independently. Many people mistakenly assume that filing a no-fault claim satisfies all their legal obligations. It does not. The right to pursue a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering and full economic losses beyond PIP limits is preserved only by filing the lawsuit before the applicable statute of limitations expires.
For more detail on how the no-fault system works, read our article on how to file a no-fault insurance claim in New York.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?
The consequences are severe and generally irreversible. When a lawsuit is filed after the applicable statute of limitations has expired, the defendant raises the expired deadline as a defense. New York courts enforce this defense strictly. In the vast majority of cases, a late-filed lawsuit is dismissed entirely and permanently.
No amount of evidence, no severity of injury, and no sympathy from a judge can override a missed statutory deadline in most circumstances. The narrow exceptions, such as the infancy toll, the discovery rule for latent injuries, and the absence-from-state provision, must be established with specific facts. They are not a general safety net.
Other Exceptions That Can Affect the Deadline
The discovery rule. In limited circumstances, New York courts allow the statute of limitations to begin running from the date you discovered or reasonably should have discovered your injury, rather than the accident date. This rule is applied narrowly in car accident cases. If you developed symptoms weeks or months after a crash and a doctor has connected them to that accident, consult an attorney promptly.
Defendant’s absence from New York. The statute of limitations is tolled for any period during which the defendant is physically outside New York and cannot be served with legal process. This prevents at-fault drivers from defeating claims simply by relocating after the accident.
Why Acting Early Protects Your Claim
Even when the three-year deadline appears distant, waiting creates real risks independent of the legal deadline.
Evidence disappears quickly. Surveillance footage is overwritten within days. Skid marks fade. Vehicles are repaired or scrapped. Witnesses’ memories deteriorate. The strongest evidence window is the days and weeks immediately after the crash.
Medical documentation weakens. Gaps in treatment give insurers grounds to argue your injuries were not serious or were caused by something other than the crash.
Insurance negotiations are not a substitute for filing. An ongoing negotiation does not toll the statute of limitations. If a settlement is not reached before the deadline, your only protection is having already filed a lawsuit.
Deadlines for Specific Accident Types
Each accident type page in our car accident practice area applies these same deadlines to the specific legal context of that crash. A few important notes:
Pedestrian accidents involving MVAIC claims for unidentified drivers also carry a 90-day Notice of Intention requirement. See our pedestrian accident lawyers page.
Hit-and-run accidents involving MVAIC claims require a Notice of Intention within 90 days. See our hit-and-run accident lawyers page.
Uber and Lyft accidents involving government vehicles or government road conditions trigger the 90-day Notice of Claim requirement. See our Uber accident lawyers and Lyft accident lawyers pages.
Talk to a New York car accident lawyer to confirm your deadlines and protect your right to recover. Free, no-obligation consultation, available 24/7.
Why Choose Porter Law Group
Michael S. Porter founded Porter Law Group to represent injured New Yorkers and their families in serious accident cases. He is a graduate of Harvard University and Syracuse University College of Law. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps before entering private practice. He has been selected to Super Lawyers for 14 consecutive years, from 2012 through 2025, and holds a 10.0 Superb rating on Avvo and a Distinguished rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
No fee unless we win. All car accident cases are handled on a contingency basis.
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Serving Car Accident Victims Across New York State
Porter Law Group represents people injured in car accidents throughout New York. We serve clients in New York City across all five boroughs, Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), Westchester and the Hudson Valley, Central New York and Syracuse, Western New York and Buffalo, and communities throughout upstate New York including Albany, Rochester, Utica, Binghamton, Saratoga Springs, and Ithaca. Government entity crashes in any region trigger the 90-day Notice of Claim requirement immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the statute of limitations for a car accident in New York?
Under CPLR Section 214, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This applies to claims against the at-fault driver and any other private party responsible for the crash. There are important exceptions: wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death under EPTL Section 5-4.1; claims against government entities require a Notice of Claim within 90 days and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days; and minor plaintiffs have their deadline tolled until age 18. The no-fault PIP application must be filed within 30 days and runs on a completely separate track from the lawsuit deadline.
Does filing a no-fault claim pause the three-year deadline?
No. Filing a no-fault claim with your own insurer does not toll, extend, or pause the statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit. Both deadlines run independently. Insurance negotiations can continue for months or years, but if no lawsuit is filed before the three-year window closes, you permanently lose the right to sue the at-fault driver. If settlement talks are ongoing as the deadline approaches, an attorney can file a protective lawsuit to preserve your legal rights while negotiations continue.
What happens if a government vehicle was involved in my crash?
If a government-owned vehicle, a government employee driving in their official capacity, or a government-maintained road defect contributed to your crash, the standard three-year deadline does not apply. Under General Municipal Law Section 50-e, you must serve a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident. You then have one year and 90 days from the date of the accident to file the lawsuit under General Municipal Law Section 50-i. Missing the 90-day Notice of Claim requirement typically bars the claim against that entity permanently, regardless of how strong the underlying case is.
Can I still sue if I did not feel injured right after the accident?
Possibly, depending on when the injury became apparent. New York recognizes a discovery rule that, in limited circumstances, allows the statute of limitations to begin running from the date you discovered or should have discovered the injury rather than the accident date. This rule is applied narrowly in car accident cases. If you developed symptoms weeks or months after a crash and a doctor has connected them to that accident, contact an attorney promptly to evaluate whether the discovery rule applies and how much time remains.
What is the deadline for a child injured in a car accident?
When the injured person is under 18 at the time of the accident, CPLR Section 208 tolls the statute of limitations until the child’s 18th birthday, after which the standard three-year window begins. A parent or guardian can file on the child’s behalf before that point, and doing so earlier preserves evidence and witness accounts. The government entity exception applies regardless of age: if the crash involved a municipal vehicle or government road condition, the 90-day Notice of Claim requirement must be met even for a minor.
What Clients Say About Porter Law Group
Meet the Attorney
Michael S. Porter, J.D.
Founder and managing partner of Porter Law Group. Harvard University (B.A., 1994), Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., 1997). Former U.S. Army JAG Corps Captain, Airborne Training School graduate. Super Lawyers 14 consecutive years, 10.0 Superb on Avvo, Distinguished rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Over 20 years of trial experience and $500 million in recoveries.
Reviewed by Michael S. Porter, J.D. | Last updated: [April, 2026]
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