Instantly Connect For Your Personal Injury Consultation When Filling Out Form
Ready to talk to someone about an injury in Geneva? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Your Geneva Personal Injury Attorney
If you or someone in your family was injured in Geneva, you are probably looking for plain answers about time limits, fault, and what a claim involves. New York sets several of those by statute, so many answers can be checked. The sections that follow cover the filing deadlines, the fault rule, the no-fault threshold for car accidents, claims against government bodies, the courts, and the kinds of injuries most often behind a claim. These rules apply across New York, but where a case is filed depends on the county, and an attorney familiar with the Supreme Court in Ontario County can explain what to expect there.
The Short Answers: Deadlines, Fault, and Insurance
- The three-year rule: most personal injury actions must be started within three years (CPLR 214(5)), while a wrongful death action must be started within two years after the death (EPTL 5-4.1).
- Government defendants have their own clock: a notice of claim within 90 days and a lawsuit within one year and 90 days (General Municipal Law 50-e and 50-i).
- Shared fault reduces recovery in most injury cases (CPLR 1411(a)). In a car accident case subject to no-fault that was filed on or after May 26, 2026, a claimant more at fault than the defendant is barred (CPLR 1411(b)).
- The serious injury threshold in Insurance Law 5102(d) decides whether a crash victim can seek non-economic damages, and it is often disputed.
- Fatal accidents have two kinds of claims: wrongful death for the family (EPTL 5-4.1) and the survival of the decedent’s own injury claim (EPTL 11-3.2(b)).
How Long Do You Have to File an Injury Lawsuit?
For most injury claims the clock is three years. CPLR 214(5) applies it to actions to recover damages for a personal injury, subject to the exceptions in sections 214-b, 214-c, 214-i and 215.
Minors are treated differently. If the person entitled to sue is under a disability because of infancy when the claim accrues, the time to sue is extended to three years after the disability ceases (CPLR 208(a)). The ten-year outer limit in that section does not apply to infancy outside medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice.
Fatal accidents can support a wrongful death action, with a two-year limit measured from the death (EPTL 5-4.1). If a criminal action is pending, the statute allows at least one year from its termination to file. The decedent’s own injury claim also survives (EPTL 11-3.2(b)).
Claims against local government start sooner. Before suing a city, county, town, village, fire district, or school district, a notice of claim must be served within ninety days after the claim arises (General Municipal Law 50-e(1)(a)), and the action must be commenced within one year and ninety days after the event, or two years in a wrongful death case (General Municipal Law 50-i(1)).
Two more points from General Municipal Law 50-i(1): the notice of claim is a condition of suing, and the complaint must allege that thirty days have passed since it was served without adjustment or payment. A late notice can be sought from a court, but the extension may not exceed the time limited for commencing the action (General Municipal Law 50-e(5)).
Claims against the State of New York run through the Court of Claims. A claim for personal injuries caused by the negligence of a state officer or employee must be filed and served on the Attorney General within ninety days after it accrues, unless a written notice of intention is served in that time, in which case the claim is due within two years after it accrues (Court of Claims Act 10(3)).
A late claim against the State depends on the court’s discretion and on the ordinary CPLR article 2 limit not yet having run (Court of Claims Act 10(6)).
One caution: claims that a doctor, dentist, or podiatrist caused the injury fall under CPLR 214-a, which sets two years and six months, with the continuous treatment and foreign object provisions described in that section.
Injured in Geneva? Get matched with an attorney now.
Comparative Fault Under CPLR 1411
Under CPLR 1411(a), a claim survives even if you share the blame, and the damages are reduced in proportion to your share of the culpable conduct. Motor vehicle cases now have an added rule, described below.
The practical result outside crash cases is a sliding reduction rather than a cutoff: the larger your share of the fault, the smaller the award, and the claim does not end at any percentage under CPLR 1411(a). Evidence about what each party did is what moves the percentages.
Added by Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026, CPLR 1411(b) applies to personal injury actions subject to Insurance Law article 51, the no-fault law. A claimant whose culpable conduct is greater than the defendant’s, or the combined conduct of the defendants, is barred, and the rule applies to actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026.
If a crash or fall involves several responsible parties, a defendant found 50 percent or less at fault pays non-economic damages only in proportion to its own culpability (CPLR 1601(1)). CPLR 1602 lists exceptions, so a lawyer should review who the defendants are.
The New York No-Fault System After a Crash
Section 5102(a) of the Insurance Law sets the core no-fault benefit: up to fifty thousand dollars per person for basic economic loss, which covers necessary medical and rehabilitation services, lost earnings, and other reasonable and necessary expenses.
Inside the fifty-thousand-dollar limit, lost earnings are capped at two thousand dollars per month for up to three years, and other reasonable and necessary expenses at twenty-five dollars a day for up to one year (Insurance Law 5102(a)). Additional optional coverage of twenty-five thousand dollars can be bought for lost earnings, psychiatric, physical therapy, or occupational therapy after the base amount is exhausted.
Insurance Law 5104(a) bars recovery of non-economic loss unless the injury is a serious injury, and Insurance Law 5102(d) sets out categories that include a fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system, and significant limitation of use of a body function or system.
Timing matters at the insurer as well. Under the no-fault regulation, written notice of the accident must be given to the insurance company as soon as reasonably practicable, and in no event more than 30 days after the accident, and written proof of claim for services must follow as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 45 days after the services are rendered (11 NYCRR 65-1.1).
Two changes from Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 apply to actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026: the 90/180-day category no longer appears in the serious injury definition, and the trier of fact must determine fault first and then the existence of a serious injury before liability for non-economic loss is fixed (Insurance Law 5104(a)).
Claims Against Cities, Counties, Towns, Villages, and the State
Whether a city, town, village, or county can be sued turns first on the notice of claim (General Municipal Law 50-e) and then on the deadlines in General Municipal Law 50-i(1): thirty days after notice before suit, and one year and ninety days from the event to commence the action.
For a fall on a sidewalk or a crash caused by a street defect, check whether the municipality received written notice of the defect. Town Law 65-a(2) requires it for towns, with a failure to remedy within a reasonable time, and Village Law 6-628 requires written notice to the village clerk for villages.
The State of New York cannot be sued in the same way as a private party. The Court of Claims Act, section 10(3), sets a ninety-day filing rule (or a notice of intention followed by a two-year filing period), with late claims allowed only by the court’s permission (section 10(6)).
The ninety-day notice periods and the shorter suit deadlines work together, so a fall on a public sidewalk or a crash with a public vehicle is a claim to review early.
From Local Courts to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in New York and hears civil cases for damages above the local courts’ limits. In New York City, the Civil Court has jurisdiction of money actions up to $50,000 (New York City Civil Court Act 202), and the Court of Claims is the forum for actions against the State.
New York is divided into thirteen judicial districts by county (Judiciary Law 140). The Supreme Court in Ontario County is part of the Seventh Judicial District. The county seat of Ontario County is Canandaigua.
Types of Personal Injury Claims
Crashes Involving Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles
A vehicle crash can involve the at-fault driver, the injured person’s own no-fault coverage, and sometimes a government body if the road or a public vehicle was involved (General Municipal Law 50-e). Each layer has its own rules and deadlines.
A fracture is one of the categories the serious injury definition lists (Insurance Law 5102(d)).
Falls and Unsafe Property Conditions
A slip and fall claim is a negligence claim, so the same three-year deadline (CPLR 214(5)) and comparative fault rule (CPLR 1411) apply as in other injury cases.
If the fall happened on a town sidewalk, written notice of the defect to the town clerk or superintendent of highways is required (Town Law 65-a(2)), and a village sidewalk has a similar requirement (Village Law 6-628).
Fatal Accident Claims
The family’s claim is the wrongful death action in EPTL 5-4.1, brought by the personal representative within two years after the death. The injured person’s own claim survives the death under EPTL 11-3.2(b).
If the death resulted from medical care, the medical malpractice period of two years and six months applies to the underlying claim (CPLR 214-a), and an attorney should review how it interacts with the death.
Job-Related Injuries and Third-Party Claims
A worker hurt on the job generally looks to workers’ compensation against the employer (Workers’ Compensation Law 11), while a claim against someone not in the same employ, such as an equipment owner or another contractor, can proceed separately (Workers’ Compensation Law 29(1)).
On construction and repair work, Labor Law 240(1) requires owners and contractors to furnish or erect scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, and similar devices for the performance of the work.
Was someone else at fault? Talk to an attorney in Ontario County.
What to Know About Cases in Geneva
The rules on this page are statewide, but the practical details are local. For a Geneva claim that means Ontario County and the Supreme Court in Ontario County. Asking a local attorney how long cases usually take there helps put the deadlines in context.
See where else we help people across New York in our New York personal injury guide. Injuries in the surrounding area are covered on our pages for Canandaigua, Auburn, and Ithaca. Protecting an invention, brand, or creative work rather than recovering for an injury? Read our Geneva intellectual property page.
Where Injury Care Is Available in Geneva
Geneva General Hospital is located at 196 North Street in Geneva.
Seeing a doctor promptly matters for your health, and the records that result help document an injury for a claim. The facilities named here are listed only as a factual reference to where they are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still file a lawsuit for an injury from a while ago?
It depends on how long ago. Three years is the general limit (CPLR 214(5)), but some situations change the count, such as a claim by a minor (CPLR 208(a)) or a claim against a public body. An attorney can look at the date of the injury.
What is a notice of claim in New York?
It is the written notice required by General Municipal Law 50-e before an action against a local public body. It must be served within ninety days after the claim arises, and it is a condition of bringing the lawsuit (General Municipal Law 50-i(1)).
Does being partly at fault end my injury claim?
Usually not, outside the motor vehicle rule: culpable conduct does not bar recovery under CPLR 1411(a). For crashes covered by Insurance Law article 51 in actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, a claimant more at fault than the defendant is barred (CPLR 1411(b)).
Does the 2026 fault change apply to my car accident?
It applies to personal injury actions subject to Insurance Law article 51, the no-fault law, that are commenced on or after May 26, 2026 (CPLR 1411(b)). What matters is when the lawsuit is commenced, not when the accident happened.
Is my medical bill covered no matter who caused the crash?
Yes. No-fault benefits for basic economic loss are available up to $50,000 per person regardless of fault (Insurance Law 5102(a)), subject to the timing rules in the regulations.
Does a broken bone meet the serious injury threshold?
A fracture is one of the categories listed in the serious injury definition (Insurance Law 5102(d)). Whether a particular injury qualifies depends on the medical proof.
Is the wrongful death deadline shorter than the injury deadline?
Yes. A wrongful death action must be commenced within two years after the death (EPTL 5-4.1), while an ordinary personal injury action has three years (CPLR 214(5)).
Where do I file a claim against the State of New York?
Claims against the State are brought in the Court of Claims, and the claim must be filed and served on the Attorney General within ninety days after accrual unless a notice of intention is served in that time (Court of Claims Act 10(3)).
What if someone other than my employer caused my work injury?
Then you may have a third-party claim against that party, separate from workers’ compensation against the employer (Workers’ Compensation Law 29(1)).
Does the deadline pause for an injured child?
Yes. Under CPLR 208(a), a disability of infancy extends the time to three years after the disability ceases, and the ten-year outer limit does not apply to infancy outside medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice.
Take the Next Step in Your Geneva Claim
You do not have to work out the dates and rules alone. Fill out the form, and you will be connected with an attorney who can review your injury, the deadlines, and what a claim may involve.
