Personal injury
What to do after a car accident in New York
Most people do the same two things after a crash: they say they are fine, and they talk to an insurance adjuster before they talk to anyone else. Both are understandable. Both make the next six months harder.
1. Get medical care, even if you feel fine
Adrenaline masks injury. Neck, back and head symptoms routinely appear a day or two later, and the gap between the crash and your first medical visit is the single most common argument an insurer will make that you were not really hurt.
- Go the same day if you can, the next day at the latest.
- Describe every symptom, not just the worst one.
- Follow through on referrals, missed appointments become an argument later.
2. Preserve what will disappear
The scene is gone within the hour and the vehicles are usually repaired or scrapped within weeks.
- Photograph both vehicles, their position, the road, and any skid marks.
- Photograph visible injuries over the following days as they develop.
- Get the responding officer's name and the report number.
- Write down what happened while it is fresh.
Hurt in a crash near Syracuse or Cortland?
The first conversation is free, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need a lawyer.
3. The insurance call
The other driver's insurer will contact you quickly and will sound helpful. You are not required to give them a recorded statement. Early statements, given while you are medicated, shaken, or simply being polite, are used later to argue your injuries were minor.
Your own insurer is different: your policy generally requires you to cooperate with them. If you are unsure which is which, ask before you talk.
4. Deadlines are shorter than people think
New York sets a filing deadline for injury claims, and claims against a municipality, a city bus, a county road crew, run on a much shorter clock with a notice requirement long before the lawsuit itself. Most negligence claims run three years from the date of the crash under CPLR § 214(5), and wrongful death runs two years from the date of death. Where a city, county, town, village, fire or school district is involved it is far shorter: a sworn notice of claim within ninety days under General Municipal Law § 50-e, and the action itself within one year and ninety days under § 50-i. Missing the ninety-day notice can end a claim that would otherwise have had years left.
When a lawyer actually helps
Not every fender-bender needs one. It is usually worth a call when there is a real injury, when fault is disputed, when the other driver was uninsured, or when an offer arrives before you have finished treatment.
Related answers
This article is general information about New York law, not legal advice about your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.