Is New York an At-Fault or No-Fault State?
Who pays after a crash depends on the fault system your state uses.
- Fault system
- No-fault
Your own insurer pays your economic losses up to $50,000 regardless of fault. You may sue the other driver for pain and suffering only if the injury meets the statutory "serious injury" threshold.
- Comparative negligence rule
- Pure comparative, except motor vehicle cases — 51% bar
New York remains pure comparative generally: damages are simply reduced by the claimant's share of fault. But since May 26, 2026, CPLR 1411(b) bars recovery entirely in personal injury actions subject to Insurance Law article 51 — that is, motor vehicle cases — when the claimant's culpable conduct is greater than the defendant's. Separately, non-economic damages require a "serious injury" under Ins. Law § 5102(d), and the fact-finder must now determine fault before deciding whether the injury is serious.
- PIP minimum limit
- $50,000
What changed
May 26, 2026
Pure comparative negligence no longer applies to car crash claims
Part EE of the FY2027 budget bill (S.9008-C, signed as chapter 58 of 2026) added CPLR 1411(b): in a personal injury action subject to Insurance Law article 51 — New York's no-fault motor vehicle framework — a claimant whose culpable conduct is greater than the defendant's now recovers nothing. Pure comparative fault under CPLR 1411(a) survives for everything else. Guides that still describe New York as a flat pure comparative state are describing the law as it stood before May 26, 2026.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1411 (NYS Open Legislation)May 26, 2026
The 90/180-day category was removed from the serious injury threshold
The same Part EE narrowed the definition of "serious injury" in Insurance Law § 5102(d). The category covering a medically determined non-permanent injury that prevented usual daily activities for 90 of the 180 days after the crash is gone. What remains is death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, and significant limitation of use.
N.Y. Ins. Law § 5102(d) (NYS Open Legislation)May 26, 2026
Fault is decided first, and a $100,000 cap on pain and suffering was added
Insurance Law § 5104(a) now directs that the trier of fact shall not decide whether an injury is a serious injury until it has determined who was at fault. New § 5104(d) caps recovery for non-economic loss at $100,000 where the injured person was operating an uninsured vehicle, was driving while impaired and convicted, or was operating the vehicle in the commission of a felony and convicted.
N.Y. Ins. Law § 5104 (NYS Open Legislation)