Personal Injury

In New York, comparative negligence means your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault — even if you’re 99% at fault, you can still recover 1% of damages.

In New York, property owners owe different duties of care depending on whether the visitor is an invitee, licensee, or trespasser — with the highest duty owed to invitees and virtually no duty to undiscovered trespassers.

Yes, certain family members and representatives can recover damages for wrongful death in New York if the death was caused by someone else’s wrongful act, neglect, or default.

Only the decedent’s personal representative (executor or administrator) can file a wrongful death lawsuit in New York — no family members may sue directly.

Yes, in New York, you may recover for loss of consortium if your spouse suffers a serious injury caused by someone else’s negligence.

New York does not impose statutory caps on medical malpractice damages—neither on economic nor non-economic damages.

A Certificate of Merit is a sworn affidavit from a qualified physician stating that the medical malpractice claim has merit and that the defendant deviated from accepted standards of care.

In New York, the discovery rule does not apply to medical malpractice claims — the statute of limitations starts running from the date of the alleged malpractice, not when the injury is discovered.

No, New York does not impose a statutory cap on pain and suffering damages in personal injury cases.

General Obligations Law § 15-108 limits a plaintiff’s ability to recover damages from non-settling defendants after settling with one defendant, by reducing the verdict by the settlement amount or the settling defendant’s equitable share—whichever is greater.

Yes, Labor Law § 240(1) imposes absolute liability on owners and contractors for gravity-related injuries when safety devices are not provided or fail — no proof of negligence or fault is required.

Yes, you can sue a dog owner in New York if their dog bites you — the owner is strictly liable if they knew or should have known the dog was dangerous.

No, the collateral source rule in New York prevents reduction of your damages even if you received compensation from other sources like insurance.

Yes, settling with one defendant in New York generally reduces your claim against other defendants — but only by the settlement amount or the settling party’s equitable share, whichever is greater, under the 'non-party fault' rule.

Yes, a product manufacturer can be held strictly liable in New York for injuries caused by defective products under common law, even without proof of negligence.

In New York, the 'zone of danger' rule requires a plaintiff to have been in immediate physical danger from the defendant’s negligent conduct to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED).

Yes, you can recover future lost earnings in a New York personal injury case if you prove they are reasonably certain to occur and can be calculated with reasonable certainty.

Yes, indemnification clauses in construction contracts are void in New York if they attempt to indemnify a party for its own negligence — except for certain limited exceptions like design professionals’ liability under specific conditions.

Yes, you can sue a municipality for negligence in maintaining roads or sidewalks in New York, but strict notice requirements and immunities apply.

In New York, assumption of risk is a complete defense that bars recovery if the plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly accepted a known danger related to the activity or condition causing injury.

In New York, you can sue for pain and suffering after a car accident only if your injury meets the 'serious injury' threshold defined by Insurance Law § 5102(d) — such as death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, or a fracture.