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Your Canandaigua Personal Injury Attorney
A personal injury claim in Canandaigua runs on fixed reference points: a three-year limit for most lawsuits, fault that is shared rather than all-or-nothing, and special notice rules for claims against government bodies. Each is explained below with the statute behind it. You will find the deadlines first, then fault and insurance, then claims against government bodies, the courts, and the most common claim types, citing the statute each time. Deadlines in injury cases run on fixed dates, so learning them early usually helps more than trying to catch up later.
New York Injury Claim Rules at a Glance
- Personal injury lawsuits must generally be filed within 3 years (CPLR 214(5)), unless a specific rule such as infancy (CPLR 208) changes the count.
- If a local government is involved, notice is due in 90 days (General Municipal Law 50-e), far shorter than the three-year lawsuit deadline.
- Fault is shared, not all-or-nothing, outside crash cases: a person 30% at fault can still recover 70% of the damages found (CPLR 1411(a)). Motor vehicle cases have a stricter bar in CPLR 1411(b).
- New York is a no-fault state for crash injuries. Basic economic loss is covered up to $50,000 per person (Insurance Law 5102(a)), and non-economic loss requires a serious injury (Insurance Law 5104(a)).
- If a loved one died: a wrongful death action has a two-year limit (EPTL 5-4.1), and the injured person’s own claim is not lost because of the death (EPTL 11-3.2(b)).
How New York Counts the Time to Sue
The main deadline is set by CPLR 214(5): an action to recover damages for a personal injury must be commenced within three years. The exceptions listed in that subdivision, in CPLR 214-b, 214-c, 214-i and 215, carry their own periods.
The three-year clock can be extended for a child: under CPLR 208(a), where the person was under a disability because of infancy when the cause of action accrued, the time runs to three years after the disability ceases, without the ten-year cap except in malpractice cases.
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)).
A government defendant changes the calendar. General Municipal Law 50-e(1)(a) requires a notice of claim within ninety days after the claim arises, and General Municipal Law 50-i(1) requires suit within one year and ninety days after the event, with two years for wrongful death.
A court has discretion to extend the time to serve a notice of claim, but the extension cannot exceed the time limited for starting the action (General Municipal Law 50-e(5)), so waiting is risky. Suit also cannot start until thirty days after notice was served (General Municipal Law 50-i(1)).
Where the State of New York is the defendant, ninety days is again the first number to know (Court of Claims Act 10(3)): file and serve the claim, or serve a notice of intention and file within two years after accrual.
A claimant who misses those dates may ask the court for permission to file late, at any time before an action against a private person for the same claim would be barred under CPLR article 2 (Court of Claims Act 10(6)).
The general three-year rule does not govern a malpractice claim. CPLR 214-a provides two years and six months, adjusted by continuous treatment for the same illness, injury, or condition, and one year from discovery of a foreign object.
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Comparative Fault Under CPLR 1411
New York applies comparative fault to injury claims. Under CPLR 1411(a), damages are diminished in the proportion which the claimant’s culpable conduct bears to the culpable conduct which caused the damages, so a shared-fault claimant recovers a reduced amount, subject to the motor vehicle rule described below.
Put in numbers, for an ordinary injury claim a claimant 40% at fault receives 60% of the damages found, and a claimant 75% at fault receives 25%. Evidence about speed, lighting, warnings, and conduct after the incident often decides where the percentage lands.
Insurance Law article 51 cases have a threshold that other injury cases do not: under CPLR 1411(b), a claimant more at fault than the defendant, or than the defendants combined, cannot recover. The rule took effect May 26, 2026 for actions and proceedings commenced on or after that date (Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026).
Where several parties share the blame, CPLR 1601(1) limits a defendant found 50 percent or less liable to its equitable share of non-economic loss, with the exceptions in CPLR 1602.
Car Accidents and New York's No-Fault Rules
No-fault benefits are available without proving fault, up to the limit of fifty thousand dollars per person in Insurance Law 5102(a). The definition includes medical and related expenses, 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.
A lawsuit for pain and suffering after a crash is limited. There is no right of recovery for non-economic loss except in the case of a serious injury, or for basic economic loss (Insurance Law 5104(a)). The statute defines a serious injury as one 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, or significant limitation of use of a body function or system (Insurance Law 5102(d)).
The regulation on mandatory no-fault coverage (11 NYCRR 65-1.1) calls for written notice of the accident within 30 days at most and written proof of claim within 45 days after services, so paperwork should start early.
Recent amendments matter for any lawsuit commenced on or after May 26, 2026. The 90 out of 180 days category was deleted from Insurance Law 5102(d), and Insurance Law 5104(a) now requires the trier of fact to decide fault first and then whether there is a serious injury, before liability for non-economic loss is fixed (Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026, Department of Financial Services Circular Letter No. 3 (2026)).
Suing a Government Body in New York
General Municipal Law 50-i(1) applies to claims against cities, counties, towns, villages, fire districts, and school districts. It requires a notice of claim served under section 50-e, an allegation that thirty days have passed without adjustment or payment, and a lawsuit commenced within one year and ninety days after the event (two years for wrongful death).
Defective sidewalks and streets have a further requirement in many places. Under Town Law 65-a(2), no action can be maintained against a town for injury from a defect in its sidewalks, or from snow or ice on them, unless written notice specifying the particular place was actually given to the town clerk or the town superintendent of highways and the defect was not remedied within a reasonable time. Village Law 6-628 sets a similar written notice rule for villages.
State-level defendants are sued in the Court of Claims. Court of Claims Act 10(3) requires filing and service on the Attorney General within ninety days of accrual, or a notice of intention within that time and a claim within two years.
Combined with the ninety-day notice of claim, these rules make speed important whenever public property or a public vehicle may be involved.
Where an Injury Case From Canandaigua Is Filed
Most serious injury lawsuits are filed in the Supreme Court, the state’s court of general jurisdiction. Local courts hear smaller claims within their limits, the Civil Court of the City of New York is limited to $50,000 (New York City Civil Court Act 202), and the Court of Claims hears actions for money damages against the State of New York.
By statute the state has thirteen judicial districts (Judiciary Law 140), and a lawsuit from Canandaigua that reaches the Supreme Court is filed in the Supreme Court in Ontario County, which sits in the Seventh Judicial District. The county seat of Ontario County is Canandaigua.
What Kinds of Injury Cases Do We See in Canandaigua?
Collisions and Crash Injuries
Crash claims combine several rules at once: the three-year deadline (CPLR 214(5)), the fault rules in CPLR 1411, and the serious injury threshold (Insurance Law 5104(a)). Each can matter, and a police report and prompt medical records help on all three.
Non-economic loss, such as pain and suffering, is recoverable only for a serious injury or as basic economic loss (Insurance Law 5104(a)).
Falls and Unsafe Property Conditions
Fall cases depend on evidence gathered early: photographs of the hazard, incident reports, witness names, and maintenance records. The fault rule in CPLR 1411 means every detail about the injured person’s conduct can matter.
Claims involving government-owned property carry a ninety-day notice requirement (General Municipal Law 50-e(1)(a)), and snow and ice on a town sidewalk brings in Town Law 65-a(2).
Fatal Accident Claims
Two claims can come from a fatal accident: the wrongful death action under EPTL 5-4.1 and the survival of the decedent’s own personal injury claim, which the personal representative may bring or continue (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.
Work Injuries and Who Can Be Sued
For injuries at work, an employer’s liability under the Workers’ Compensation Law is exclusive and in place of any other liability to the employee (Workers’ Compensation Law 11). An injured employee can still pursue a claim against a third party who was not in the same employ, while taking compensation benefits (Workers’ Compensation Law 29(1)).
The three-year deadline in CPLR 214(5) applies to the third-party lawsuit, and the workers’ compensation claim has its own separate filing requirements.
Injured in Canandaigua? Talk to an attorney about your deadlines.
A Note on Canandaigua and the Local Courts
The rules on this page are statewide, but the practical details are local. For a Canandaigua 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.
Protecting an invention, brand, or creative work rather than recovering for an injury? Read our Canandaigua intellectual property page. Nearby communities we serve include Geneva, Rochester, and Auburn. Looking beyond Canandaigua? Our statewide New York personal injury page lists every city we cover.
Hospitals Serving Canandaigua
F.F. Thompson Hospital, at 350 Parrish Street, is a hospital in Canandaigua.
Treatment records from any hospital involved are part of an injury claim, and the dates in them help show when an injury happened and what care followed. Mentioning a hospital here is only a factual reference to its location.
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.
Do I have to give notice before suing a city, county, or town in New York?
Yes. Before suing a city, county, town, village, fire district, or school district, a notice of claim must be made and served under General Municipal Law 50-e, and thirty days must pass without adjustment or payment before suit (General Municipal Law 50-i(1)).
Can I recover if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Yes in most injury cases. Under CPLR 1411(a), damages are diminished in proportion to the culpable conduct attributable to you. In a motor vehicle case governed by Insurance Law article 51 that was commenced on or after May 26, 2026, a claimant more at fault than the defendant is barred (CPLR 1411(b)).
What changed in New York car accident law in 2026?
Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 added CPLR 1411(b), removed the 90/180-day category from the serious injury definition, and changed the order of proof in Insurance Law 5104(a). The changes took effect May 26, 2026 and apply to actions and proceedings commenced on or after that date.
What does New York no-fault insurance cover after a crash?
No-fault pays basic economic loss up to $50,000 per person, meaning necessary medical and related expenses, lost earnings, and other reasonable and necessary expenses (Insurance Law 5102(a)).
What counts as a serious injury under New York law?
The statute lists 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, and significant limitation of use of a body function or system (Insurance Law 5102(d)).
What is a wrongful death claim in New York?
It is an action for a death caused by another’s wrongful act, brought by the personal representative of the person who died and commenced within two years after the death (EPTL 5-4.1).
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)).
How do workers’ compensation and a personal injury claim fit together?
The employer’s liability is exclusive (Workers’ Compensation Law 11), but the employee’s claim against another party who was not in the same employ is preserved (Workers’ Compensation Law 29(1)). The three-year deadline in CPLR 214(5) still applies to the lawsuit.
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.
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Questions about deadlines, fault, no-fault benefits, or a government notice are exactly what an initial conversation is for. Use the form to get matched with an attorney who can answer them for your case.
