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Your Herkimer Personal Injury Attorney
A personal injury claim in Herkimer 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. This page walks through the deadlines, shared fault, no-fault insurance, government defendants, the courts, and what to know about the most common claims. Deadlines in injury cases run on fixed dates, so learning them early usually helps more than trying to catch up later.
Your Key New York Rules in One Place
- How long do I have to sue? Usually 3 years (CPLR 214(5)). A wrongful death action has its own two-year clock (EPTL 5-4.1).
- Claims against the State of New York must be filed and served on the Attorney General within 90 days, unless a notice of intention is served in that time (Court of Claims Act 10(3)).
- Two fault rules exist: proportional reduction in most injury cases (CPLR 1411(a)), and a bar for a claimant found more at fault than the defendant in motor vehicle cases commenced on or after May 26, 2026 (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.
- Families have rights after a fatal accident: a wrongful death action under EPTL 5-4.1, generally within two years, and a surviving injury claim under EPTL 11-3.2(b).
Filing Deadlines for Injury and Wrongful Death Claims in New York
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.
A claim by a child is counted from the end of the disability: for a person under a disability because of infancy, the time is extended to three years after the disability ceases (CPLR 208(a)), and the ten-year cap on extensions does not reach 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)).
When the defendant is a city, county, town, village, fire district, or school district, the first deadline is the ninety-day notice of claim (General Municipal Law 50-e(1)(a)), and the lawsuit deadline is one year and ninety days after the event, with two years in a wrongful death case (General Municipal Law 50-i(1)).
There is some room for late notice: on application, a court may extend the time to serve a notice of claim, but not beyond the time limited for the injured person to commence an action against the public body (General Municipal Law 50-e(5)). The complaint must also allege the thirty-day wait (General Municipal Law 50-i(1)).
If a state agency or state employee may be responsible, the Court of Claims Act sets the timing: file and serve the claim on the Attorney General within ninety days after accrual, or serve a notice of intention within that time and then file within two years (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.
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Fault Percentages and Your Recovery
New York does not require the injured person to be blameless. Under CPLR 1411(a), the amount of damages otherwise recoverable is diminished in the proportion which the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant bears to the culpable conduct which caused the damages. In most injury cases culpable conduct on the injured person’s part reduces the award; it does not bar it.
That means the reduction rises one percentage point at a time in an ordinary injury case. Someone found 10% responsible loses 10% of the award, someone found 50% responsible loses half, and someone found 80% responsible still recovers 20%, which is why insurers push to raise the injured person’s share.
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.
Multiple defendants change the math. Under CPLR 1601(1), a defendant whose liability is 50 percent or less of the total is responsible for non-economic loss only for its equitable share, subject to the exceptions in CPLR 1602.
Basic Economic Loss, Serious Injury, and Crash Lawsuits
Insurance Law 5102(a) defines basic economic loss as up to fifty thousand dollars per person of medical and related expenses, lost earnings, and other reasonable and necessary expenses, subject to the limits in the article. It applies whoever was at fault for the collision.
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.
Under Insurance Law 5104(a), non-economic loss such as pain and suffering can be recovered only for a serious injury. The definition in Insurance Law 5102(d) includes 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.
Do not overlook the no-fault paperwork. The regulation at 11 NYCRR 65-1.1 requires written notice of the accident within 30 days at the latest, and written proof of claim no later than 45 days after services are rendered.
Older articles about New York no-fault may be out of date. Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 deleted the 90/180-day category from Insurance Law 5102(d) and changed the order of proof in Insurance Law 5104(a) for actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, as the Department of Financial Services explained in Circular Letter No. 3 (2026).
When a Government Body Is Responsible for the Injury
A claim against a local government depends on following the notice statute. The 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 (General Municipal Law 50-i(1)).
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.
For state defendants the timing is in Court of Claims Act 10(3): a claim filed and served on the Attorney General within ninety days after accrual, or a written notice of intention within that time followed by a claim within two years.
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.
Court Structure for Injury Claims in Herkimer County
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.
By statute the state has thirteen judicial districts (Judiciary Law 140), and a lawsuit from Herkimer that reaches the Supreme Court is filed in the Supreme Court in Herkimer County, which sits in the Fifth Judicial District. The county seat of Herkimer County is Herkimer.
Common Injury Claims in Herkimer
Crashes Involving Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles
In a car, truck, or motorcycle case, three things usually decide the outcome: who was at fault under CPLR 1411(b), whether the injury meets the serious injury definition in Insurance Law 5102(d), and how the no-fault benefits under Insurance Law 5102(a) were used.
A fracture is one of the categories the serious injury definition lists (Insurance Law 5102(d)).
Slip, Trip, and Fall Claims
When someone is hurt on another’s property, the case centers on what the owner knew or should have known and what was done about it, and on how much of the fault the injured person shares under CPLR 1411.
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).
Death Caused by Another’s Negligence
A wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative of the person who died, and it must be commenced within two years after the death (EPTL 5-4.1). If a criminal action is pending for the death, the statute allows at least one year from the termination of the criminal action.
A criminal action for the death can extend the deadline to at least one year after that action ends (EPTL 5-4.1).
Injuries at Work and on Construction Sites
Employees generally cannot sue their own employer for a work injury because of the exclusivity provision (Workers’ Compensation Law 11), but they may pursue a third party whose negligence caused the injury (Workers’ Compensation Law 29(1)).
A fall from a ladder or scaffold at a job site can raise Labor Law 240(1), which covers furnishing scaffolding, hoists, stays, and ladders for the work.
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A Note on Herkimer and the Local Courts
The rules on this page are statewide, but the practical details are local. For a Herkimer claim that means Herkimer County and the Supreme Court in Herkimer County. Asking a local attorney how long cases usually take there helps put the deadlines in context.
For the full list of New York communities we serve, see our New York personal injury page. Nearby communities we serve include Utica, Cooperstown, and Oneonta. Intellectual property questions follow different rules, covered on our Herkimer intellectual property attorney page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time do I have to sue for an injury in New York?
Generally three years (CPLR 214(5)). Different rules apply to minors, whose time is extended to three years after the disability of infancy ceases (CPLR 208(a)), and to government defendants (General Municipal Law 50-e, 50-i).
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)).
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)).
Why do insurers dispute the serious injury threshold?
Because the definition in Insurance Law 5102(d) controls whether pain and suffering can be recovered (Insurance Law 5104(a)), a lot can turn on it, and medical records and expert opinions carry most of the weight.
How long do I have to bring a wrongful death claim in New York?
Two years after the decedent’s death (EPTL 5-4.1). If a criminal action is pending, the statute allows at least one year from the termination of the criminal action.
Which court hears a personal injury case from Herkimer?
A lawsuit is typically filed in the Supreme Court, here the Supreme Court in Herkimer County, which is New York’s trial court of general jurisdiction. A claim against the State goes to the Court of Claims.
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)).
How long does a child have to bring an injury claim in New York?
Where the person was under a disability because of infancy when the claim accrued, the time is extended to three years after the disability ceases (CPLR 208(a)).
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