Car accident insurance
No-Fault vs. Bodily Injury Claims After a New York Crash
Most people hurt in a New York car accident deal with two separate claims. No-fault pays certain economic losses quickly, whoever caused the crash. A bodily injury claim against the at-fault driver can pay for pain and suffering, but usually only after a serious injury.
By Michael A. Licatesi · Published · Updated
The short answer
- No-fault is a first-party claim. Personal injury protection (PIP) pays medical expenses, part of lost earnings and certain other expenses, up to $50,000 per person, without deciding who caused the crash.
- A bodily injury claim is a third-party claim. It is brought against the driver or owner who caused the crash. It is the route to pain and suffering, which generally requires a “serious injury.”
- You can usually pursue both. Written notice of the no-fault claim is due within 30 days of the accident. A personal injury lawsuit generally must be started within three years.
- The rules changed in 2026. For lawsuits commenced on or after May 26, 2026, the former 90/180-day injury category is gone, and an injured person who is more at fault than the defendants cannot recover.
This is general information about New York law as of October 2026, not legal advice about your situation. Policy terms, exceptions and the facts of the crash can change the answer.
No-fault and bodily injury claims side by side
The two claims come from the same crash and often use the same records, but they answer different questions. No-fault asks what your covered economic losses are. A bodily injury claim asks who caused the crash and what the injuries are worth.
Who you claim against
No-fault (PIP) claim Usually the insurer of the vehicle you were in, or of the vehicle that struck you if you were a pedestrian
Bodily injury claim The at-fault driver and vehicle owner, usually defended and paid by their liability insurer
Does fault matter?
No-fault (PIP) claim No. Benefits are paid regardless of who caused the crash
Bodily injury claim Yes. You must prove the other driver was negligent, and your own share of fault can reduce or bar recovery
What it pays
No-fault (PIP) claim Necessary medical expenses, lost earnings, other reasonable expenses and a $2,000 death benefit, within fixed limits
Bodily injury claim Pain and suffering when there is a serious injury, plus economic loss beyond what no-fault covers
Pain and suffering
No-fault (PIP) claim Never
Bodily injury claim Yes, if the injury meets the serious injury definition
Limits
No-fault (PIP) claim $50,000 per person in basic coverage; optional coverage can add $25,000
Bodily injury claim No general cap, though collection often depends on the defendant's insurance. The minimum liability policy covers $25,000 for injury to one person
First deadlines
No-fault (PIP) claim Written notice within 30 days of the accident; medical bills within 45 days of treatment; lost earnings within 90 days of the loss
Bodily injury claim Lawsuit generally within three years of the accident
If there is a dispute
No-fault (PIP) claim Optional arbitration under Insurance Law 5106, or a court action
Bodily injury claim Negotiation with the liability insurer, or a lawsuit in court
| Question | No-fault (PIP) claim | Bodily injury claim |
|---|---|---|
| Who you claim against | Usually the insurer of the vehicle you were in, or of the vehicle that struck you if you were a pedestrian | The at-fault driver and vehicle owner, usually defended and paid by their liability insurer |
| Does fault matter? | No. Benefits are paid regardless of who caused the crash | Yes. You must prove the other driver was negligent, and your own share of fault can reduce or bar recovery |
| What it pays | Necessary medical expenses, lost earnings, other reasonable expenses and a $2,000 death benefit, within fixed limits | Pain and suffering when there is a serious injury, plus economic loss beyond what no-fault covers |
| Pain and suffering | Never | Yes, if the injury meets the serious injury definition |
| Limits | $50,000 per person in basic coverage; optional coverage can add $25,000 | No general cap, though collection often depends on the defendant's insurance. The minimum liability policy covers $25,000 for injury to one person |
| First deadlines | Written notice within 30 days of the accident; medical bills within 45 days of treatment; lost earnings within 90 days of the loss | Lawsuit generally within three years of the accident |
| If there is a dispute | Optional arbitration under Insurance Law 5106, or a court action | Negotiation with the liability insurer, or a lawsuit in court |
What no-fault pays, and what it does not
Insurance Law 5102(a) defines “basic economic loss” as up to $50,000 per person for a combined set of items. It is one $50,000 limit shared by every category, not $50,000 for each (Insurance Law 5102).
- Medical expenses. Necessary medical, hospital, surgical, nursing, dental, ambulance, x-ray, prescription drug and prosthetic expenses, plus physical therapy and rehabilitation given on referral. There is no fixed time limit, as long as within one year of the accident it is ascertainable that further expenses may be incurred.
- Lost earnings. Earnings you would have made, and reasonable expenses for substitute services you would have performed for income, for up to three years from the accident. The benefit is reduced by 20% of lost earnings, and the regulation caps work-loss payments at $2,000 a month. In practice that means about 80% of lost pay, up to the cap.
- Other expenses. Other reasonable and necessary expenses, up to $25 a day for one year from the accident.
- Death benefit. $2,000 to the estate, in addition to the $50,000 limit.
Benefits are also reduced by Social Security disability, workers' compensation and New York disability benefits recovered or recoverable for the same injury, and by any deductible in the policy. Optional basic economic loss (OBEL) coverage, if purchased, adds $25,000 that the policyholder can direct to lost earnings and/or psychiatric, physical or occupational therapy and rehabilitation after the first $50,000 is used.
What no-fault never pays. Pain and suffering, which the statute calls non-economic loss, is not a no-fault benefit. Damage to your car is a property claim, handled outside no-fault.
For the claim file, insurer requests and denials, see our New York no-fault and PIP guide.
Which insurer handles the no-fault claim
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) gives this general order in its consumer no-fault FAQ:
- Driver or passenger: the insurer of the vehicle you were in.
- Pedestrian: the insurer of the vehicle that struck you.
- Unknown or uninsured vehicle: the insurer of a relative in your household who had an auto policy; if there is none, the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC).
If insurers disagree about who owes benefits and do not agree among themselves, the law generally makes the first insurer to receive notice responsible for payment while they arbitrate the dispute (Insurance Law 5106(d)). Motorcycles are a major exception: DFS says motorcycle operators and passengers are excluded from no-fault benefits and may sue from the first dollar of loss. See motorcycle accidents and pedestrian accidents for those situations.
Step 1
Send written notice of the no-fault claim within 30 days
The mandatory personal injury protection endorsement that New York auto policies must carry requires written notice with details sufficient to identify the injured person, plus reasonably obtainable information about the time, place and circumstances of the accident. Notice must be given as soon as reasonably practicable and “in no event more than 30 days after the date of the accident” (11 NYCRR 65-1.1).
Late notice is not automatically fatal. The time limit does not apply if the injured person submits written proof providing “clear and reasonable justification” for missing it. That is something you have to prove, so treat 30 days as a firm deadline.
Most claims are made on the NF-2 application form, but the regulation's requirement is written notice to the insurer. Keep a copy of whatever you send and proof of when it was delivered.
Step 2
Keep medical bills and lost-wage claims moving
Under the same endorsement, proof of claim for health services is due no later than 45 days after the services are rendered. Proof of lost earnings and other expenses is due no later than 90 days after the loss is incurred. The “clear and reasonable justification” exception applies to these limits too.
Many providers bill the insurer directly as your assignee, so ask each one to confirm that bills were submitted. The insurer may require medical examinations by doctors it selects, as often as it may reasonably require, and examinations under oath. Missing them can lead to a denial, so do not ignore a scheduling letter.
Benefits are overdue if not paid within 30 days after the insurer receives proof of the fact and amount of the loss. Overdue payments carry interest at 2% a month, and the claimant may take a dispute to arbitration (Insurance Law 5106).
Step 3
Protect the injury claim at the same time
No-fault paperwork does not preserve a lawsuit. The bodily injury claim depends on evidence about fault and about how serious the injury is, and that evidence is easiest to gather early.
- The police report number, and the other driver's name, plate, insurer and policy number
- Photographs of the vehicles, the scene, traffic signals and visible injuries
- Names and contact details of witnesses
- Treatment records showing the diagnosis, imaging, any surgery and measured limits on movement
- Pay records and notes from doctors about work restrictions
- Every insurer letter, denial and examination notice, kept in date order
If a lawsuit is started, the endorsement requires that a copy of the summons and complaint be forwarded to the no-fault insurer as soon as practicable.
When you can sue the at-fault driver
Insurance Law 5104(a) limits lawsuits between “covered persons,” a group that includes owners, drivers and occupants of insured vehicles and pedestrians injured by them. In those cases there is no right to recover non-economic loss except in the case of a serious injury, and no right to recover basic economic loss, because no-fault pays it (Insurance Law 5104).
Two things follow. A serious injury opens the door to pain and suffering damages. And economic loss beyond basic economic loss, such as lost earnings above the no-fault cap or medical bills after the $50,000 is used up, can generally be claimed against the at-fault driver even without a serious injury.
Under the current text of Insurance Law 5102(d), a serious injury is a personal injury that results in:
- death
- dismemberment
- significant disfigurement
- a fracture
- loss of a fetus
- permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system
- permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member
- significant limitation of use of a body function or system
Whether an injury fits a category is decided on the medical evidence, and liability insurers often dispute it. Under 5104(a), the jury or judge decides who was at fault before deciding whether the injury is serious, and no liability for non-economic loss can be fixed until a serious injury is found. Our serious injury threshold guide goes deeper into the categories.
The 2026 change depends on when the lawsuit is commenced
Part EE of Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 took effect on May 26, 2026. The Department of Financial Services says the changes “apply to all actions and proceedings commenced on or after May 26” (Circular Letter No. 3 (2026)).
- 90/180 removed. The category for a non-permanent injury that kept a person from substantially all usual daily activities for 90 of the 180 days after the accident was deleted from 5102(d).
- More-at-fault bar. New CPLR 1411(b) says that in a personal injury action subject to Insurance Law Article 51, a claimant whose culpable conduct is greater than that of the defendant, or of all defendants combined, cannot recover. Outside that rule, CPLR 1411(a) still reduces damages by the claimant's share of fault rather than barring them.
- $100,000 cap for some at-fault drivers. New Insurance Law 5104(d) caps non-economic damages at $100,000 in a serious injury case brought by an at-fault injured person who is not barred by CPLR 1411 and who was (1) operating an uninsured vehicle they were responsible for insuring, unless the lapse in coverage was under 30 days; (2) operating while impaired and convicted of that offense; or (3) operating in the commission of a felony, or immediate flight from it, and convicted of that felony. It does not apply to actions for injuries resulting in death.
Under CPLR 304, an action is commenced by filing the summons and complaint or a summons with notice. So the trigger is the filing date, not the accident date. On the DFS reading, a 2025 crash sued on in June 2026 falls under the new rules. Ask a lawyer how this applies to your timeline.
Read more about shared fault in comparative negligence in New York.
How the two claims affect each other
You do not have to choose one claim over the other. Many injured people collect no-fault benefits while the bodily injury claim is investigated. The claims are linked in a few important ways.
- No double recovery. In a lawsuit between covered persons, basic economic loss is not recoverable, because no-fault pays it. Those losses may still be shown to the extent they help prove non-economic loss (Insurance Law 5104(c)).
- Insurer lien in some cases. When the person sued is not a covered person, Insurance Law 5104(b) gives the no-fault insurer a lien on the recovery for benefits paid or payable. That case cannot be settled without the insurer's written consent, court approval, or a settlement above $50,000.
- Policy limits. New York's minimum liability policy covers $25,000 for injury to one person and $50,000 for injury to two or more people in one accident (Vehicle and Traffic Law 311). A serious injury can be worth more than that, so other coverage, including any supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, may matter.
- Fatal crashes. The $2,000 no-fault death benefit is separate from a wrongful death claim against the person responsible.
Before signing a release for either claim, have someone check how it affects the other.
Lawsuit deadlines to keep in mind
- Personal injury lawsuit: generally three years from the accident (CPLR 214).
- Wrongful death: generally two years from the date of death (EPTL 5-4.1).
- A public entity: the procedure depends on who you are suing. A city, county, town, village or school district generally requires a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-e and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days. A claim against New York State goes to the Court of Claims, where the claim must be filed and served on the Attorney General, or a notice of intention served, within 90 days of accrual (Court of Claims Act 10). Some public authorities have their own statutes. See how to sue a city or public agency in New York.
- No-fault: 30 days for notice, 45 days for medical bills and 90 days for lost earnings and other expenses, each with the justification exception described above.
Published results in serious auto injury cases
These bodily injury cases involved fractures or spine surgery, the kinds of injuries examined in a serious injury analysis.
$800,000
$800,000 Award at Arbitration Hearing
66 year old female passenger in a motor vehicle sustained a right distal tibial pilon fracture and a right lateral malleolus fracture both requiring open reduction internal fixation as well as a left knee medial meniscus tear with a left knee subchondral fracture requiring arthroscopic assisted open reduction internal fixation.
$899,940
$899,940.10 Settlement
69 year old female with underlying osteoporosis and preexisting spinal degeneration awarded as a result of a motor vehicle accident causing an acute T12 fracture of her spine.
$650,000
$650,000 Verdict — Auto Accident with Injuries
The Licatesi Law Group obtained a $650,000 verdict for a 55 year-old woman who underwent discectomy after being rear-ended at a red light. The Defendant argued the accident was of minimal impact, and that the plaintiff had pre-existing conditions due to a previous spinal surgery. The last offer prior to trial was $12,500.
Exact descriptions from the firm's verdicts and settlements archive. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Questions about no-fault and bodily injury claims
No-fault (PIP) is a first-party claim, usually against the insurer of the vehicle you were in. It pays medical expenses, part of lost earnings and certain other expenses up to $50,000 per person, regardless of fault. A bodily injury claim is made against the driver or owner who caused the crash and requires proof of fault, and for pain and suffering, generally a serious injury.
No. No-fault pays economic loss only. Pain and suffering can be recovered only in a bodily injury claim, and between insured motorists generally only if the injury meets the serious injury definition in Insurance Law 5102(d).
Not for pain and suffering, in a case between covered persons. Insurance Law 5104(a) still allows a claim for economic loss beyond basic economic loss, such as lost earnings above the no-fault cap or medical costs after the $50,000 is used.
Not for lawsuits commenced on or after May 26, 2026. Part EE of Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 deleted that category from Insurance Law 5102(d). Because an action is commenced by filing, the filing date controls, not the accident date.
The 30-day limit does not apply if you submit written proof providing clear and reasonable justification for the delay. Send notice as soon as you can, explain the reason in writing, and get advice promptly if benefits are denied.
A personal injury lawsuit generally must be commenced within three years under CPLR 214. Wrongful death claims generally have two years from death. Claims against public entities follow different procedures: municipalities generally require a notice of claim within 90 days, and claims against the State go to the Court of Claims under Court of Claims Act 10.
Related guides
Sources
- Insurance Law 5102 (basic economic loss; serious injury)
- Insurance Law 5104 (limits on lawsuits; lien; 2026 cap)
- Insurance Law 5106 (payment, interest and arbitration)
- 11 NYCRR 65-1.1, mandatory personal injury protection endorsement (Cornell LII text)
- DFS: Consumer Questions About No-Fault Insurance
- DFS Insurance Circular Letter No. 3 (2026): Motor Vehicle Insurance Reforms
- CPLR 1411 (comparative fault; 2026 bar)
- CPLR 214 (three-year limitation period)
- CPLR 304 (how an action is commenced)
- Vehicle and Traffic Law 311 (minimum liability limits)
- EPTL 5-4.1 (wrongful death)
- N.Y. Court of Claims Act 10 (claims against the State)
Not sure which claim you have?
Tell us what happened, what no-fault has paid and what it has denied. We will explain which claims may be open to you and the deadlines that apply. The consultation is free, or call (516) 227-2662.