Negligence Claims in New York
Reviewed by John F. Harwick, Managing Partner, Hacker Murphy LLP. Admitted in New York and in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Western, and Southern Districts of New York. Last reviewed September 2026.
Negligence is the legal theory behind most personal injury cases. To win, you prove four things: the other party owed you a duty of care, they breached it, the breach caused your injury, and you suffered real damages. New York changed the rules around negligence in May 2026, and the change matters most if you share any of the blame.
Hacker Murphy handles negligence claims across New York State from offices in Albany, Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs. Call 518-274-5820 for a free consultation.
The Four Elements of a Negligence Claim
Every negligence case in New York rests on the same four elements. A claim that fails on any one of them fails entirely, which is why a defense lawyer’s first move is usually to attack the weakest one rather than dispute the whole story.
1. Duty of care. The defendant owed you a legal obligation to act with reasonable care. A driver owes it to everyone on the road. A property owner owes it to people lawfully on the premises. A doctor owes it to a patient. Duty is usually the easiest element, though it is contested in cases involving trespassers, social hosts, and third parties.
2. Breach. The defendant failed to meet that standard. The test is what a reasonably prudent person would have done in the same situation, not what a perfect person would have done. Running a red light breaches the duty. Driving the speed limit in heavy rain might also breach it.
3. Causation. The breach actually caused your injury, in two senses. Cause in fact means the injury would not have happened but for the breach. Proximate cause means the injury was a foreseeable result rather than a freak consequence. Causation is where most contested cases are actually won and lost.
4. Damages. You suffered a real, provable loss. New York does not award damages for a near miss. Medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and permanent impairment all count, but they have to be documented.
How New York’s Negligence Rules Changed in 2026
New York used to be one of roughly a dozen pure comparative negligence states, meaning an injured person could recover something no matter how much of the blame they carried. That is no longer true across the board.
Tort reform that took effect on May 26, 2026 added a subsection (b) to CPLR § 1411:
“In any action to recover damages for personal injury subject to article fifty-one of the insurance law, the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant shall bar recovery if the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant is greater than the culpable conduct of the person against whom recovery is sought or is greater than the combined culpable conduct of the persons against whom recovery is sought.”
Article 51 of the Insurance Law is New York’s no-fault article, which covers motor vehicle claims. So the new rule splits New York negligence law in two.
Two different rules now apply, depending on your case
| Type of claim | Rule since May 26, 2026 | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Car accident and other Article 51 claims | Modified comparative negligence | More than 50 percent at fault means no recovery at all |
| Everything else: premises, dog bite, construction, medical malpractice, product cases | Pure comparative negligence, CPLR § 1411(a) | Damages reduced by your share of fault, with no cutoff |
A pedestrian hurt by a badly maintained sidewalk and found 60 percent at fault still recovers 40 percent of their damages. A driver found 60 percent at fault in a car crash now recovers nothing. Same percentage, opposite outcome, because of which article the claim falls under.
Why the split matters more than it sounds
Comparative fault used to be an argument about how much. Now, in a car accident case, it is an argument about whether. Insurers understand this, and the first offers in disputed-liability car claims since May 2026 reflect it.
Motorcycles are a notable case. Insurance Law § 5102(f) excludes motorcycles from Article 51, so on the face of the statutes a rider’s claim sits outside the new bar and keeps pure comparative treatment. That reading is only months old and has not been tested, so treat it as the plain language rather than as settled law.
Who Can Be Sued for Negligence in New York
Almost any person or entity that owed a duty and breached it. In practice, negligence claims in New York most often run against:
- Drivers, and sometimes the companies that employ them or own the vehicle
- Property owners and managers, including landlords and commercial tenants
- Municipalities and public authorities responsible for roads, sidewalks, and public buildings
- Contractors and construction site owners
- Doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers
- Businesses that serve alcohol, under dram shop liability
- Product manufacturers and distributors
- Dog owners and property owners who harbor a dangerous animal
Identifying every responsible party early matters because each one carries separate insurance, and a claim against only the most obvious defendant often leaves the actual coverage untouched.
Negligence Deadlines in New York
| Type of claim | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Most personal injury negligence claims | 3 years from the injury | CPLR § 214(5) |
| Medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice | 2 years and 6 months | CPLR § 214-a |
| Wrongful death | 2 years from the date of death | EPTL § 5-4.1 |
| Claims against a municipality or public entity | Notice of claim generally within 90 days | General Municipal Law § 50-e |
| Latent exposure to a substance | 3 years from discovery of the injury | CPLR § 214-c |
The three-year default in CPLR § 214(5) is the one most people know, and the one that causes the most trouble, because the shorter deadlines are the ones that actually bite. A claim against a city or county requires a notice of claim months before the lawsuit deadline ever approaches.
Deadlines can also be extended. CPLR § 208 tolls the period for a person under eighteen, so a child injured at seven may still have a claim years later.
Negligence Versus Criminal Charges
Civil negligence and criminal negligence are separate systems with separate standards, and one does not decide the other.
A civil negligence case asks whether the defendant failed to act reasonably, and it is proved by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. A criminal case asks whether the defendant’s conduct was a gross deviation from the standard of care, and it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
The practical consequence is that a driver acquitted of a criminal charge can still be held liable in a civil negligence case arising from the same crash. The civil standard is lower, and the civil case is about compensation rather than punishment. If you are facing charges rather than bringing a claim, our criminal defense practice handles that side.
Types of Negligence Claims We Handle
Negligence is the theory. These are the case types it runs through:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck and tractor-trailer crashes
- Slip, trip and fall injuries
- Premises liability
- Construction site accidents
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Medical malpractice
- Wrongful death
Each carries its own proof problems, its own deadlines, and now, after 2026, its own comparative fault rule.
What Negligence Cases Are Worth
Value comes from the damages you can prove and the insurance available to pay them, reduced by your share of fault. There is no formula and no meaningful average, because a negligence claim can be a sprained ankle or a catastrophic brain injury.
What consistently drives value:
- Severity and permanence of the injury, supported by treating physician opinion
- Available insurance, which is usually the practical ceiling
- Documented economic loss, including medical costs and lost earning capacity
- Your percentage of fault, which in a car accident case can now eliminate the claim rather than reduce it
- Liens from health insurers, which reduce what you actually take home
Any lawyer quoting a number before reviewing the records and the policy limits is guessing.
Where Negligence Cases Are Filed in New York
A negligence lawsuit is typically filed in the Supreme Court of the county where the injury happened or where the plaintiff resides. Supreme Court is New York’s trial court of general jurisdiction, not its highest court. The state’s highest court is the Court of Appeals, which is where decisions like the 2025 dog bite ruling in Flanders v. Goodfellow come from.
Our four offices sit in Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga counties, and we handle negligence claims from across the state. See our areas we serve page for the full list.
Frequently Asked Questions About New York Negligence Claims
What are the four elements of negligence?
Duty, breach, causation, and damages. The defendant must have owed you a duty of care, failed to meet it, caused your injury through that failure, and left you with a provable loss. Missing any one element defeats the claim, which is why defense lawyers attack the weakest element rather than the whole case.
Is New York a pure or modified comparative negligence state?
Both, since May 26, 2026. Car accident claims and others subject to Article 51 of the Insurance Law now follow modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar under CPLR § 1411(b). Every other negligence claim, including premises, dog bite, construction and malpractice, stays pure comparative under § 1411(a).
Can I recover if I was mostly at fault?
It depends on the case type. In a car accident, no: more than 50 percent fault bars recovery entirely under the 2026 rule. In a premises, dog bite, construction or malpractice claim, yes: your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault with no cutoff.
What is the difference between civil and criminal negligence?
Civil negligence means failing to act as a reasonably prudent person would, proved by a preponderance of the evidence. Criminal negligence requires a gross deviation from that standard, proved beyond a reasonable doubt. A person acquitted criminally can still be held civilly liable for the same conduct.
How long do I have to file a negligence claim in New York?
Three years from the injury for most claims under CPLR § 214(5). Medical malpractice runs two years and six months, wrongful death two years from the date of death, and claims against a municipality generally require a notice of claim within 90 days.
Do I have to prove the defendant intended to hurt me?
No. Negligence is about carelessness, not intent. You prove the defendant failed to use reasonable care, not that they meant to cause harm. Intentional conduct is a separate category of claim with different rules and often different insurance consequences.
What does “duty of care” actually mean?
A legal obligation to act with the caution a reasonably prudent person would use in the same circumstances. Drivers owe it to others on the road, property owners to lawful visitors, doctors to patients. Whether a duty exists at all is a question for the judge, not the jury.
Can I sue a city or county for negligence in New York?
Yes, but the rules are stricter. A notice of claim is generally required within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e, the lawsuit deadline is shorter, and municipalities often have defenses private defendants do not. These claims need attention in weeks.
What if more than one person was responsible?
New York allows claims against multiple defendants, and their shares of fault are apportioned by the jury. This matters for recovery because each defendant carries separate insurance, and identifying every responsible party is usually what determines whether adequate coverage exists.
What does a negligence lawyer cost?
Hacker Murphy handles negligence cases on a contingency fee. There is no fee unless there is a recovery, and the consultation is free. Fee terms are set out in a written retainer agreement before any work begins.
Talk to a New York Negligence Lawyer
The 2026 changes made fault percentage decisive in a way it never was before, and fault is proved with evidence that degrades fast. Scene conditions change, witnesses move, and records get harder to obtain with every month that passes.
Call 518-274-5820 or use our contact form. Consultations are free and we handle negligence cases on a contingency fee basis.
Hacker Murphy LLP
- Troy: 64 2nd Street, Suite 101, Troy, NY 12180
- Albany: 22 Corporate Woods Blvd., Suite 404, Albany, NY 12211
- Schenectady: 670 Franklin Street, Suite 200, Schenectady, NY 12305
- Saratoga Springs: 511 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Phone: 518-274-5820
See our personal injury practice and case results.
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