How Long Do You Have to Sue After an Accident in New York? A Plain-Language Guide to CPLR § 214
- Reza Yassi
- Mar 22
- 8 min read
You're injured. Maybe it happened on the BQE, on an icy Queens sidewalk, or at a construction site in the Bronx. You're dealing with doctors, insurance adjusters, and mounting bills. At some point — weeks or months after the accident — you start wondering whether you can still sue.
The answer depends almost entirely on timing. New York has strict legal deadlines called statutes of limitations. Miss the deadline, and your right to sue is gone forever — no matter how strong your case is or how badly you were hurt.
This article breaks down exactly how long you have, what the exceptions are, and what can extend — or shorten — your window to file a claim in New York.
What Is a Statute of Limitations?
A statute of limitations is a law that sets a hard deadline for filing a lawsuit. Think of it like an expiration date on your right to seek compensation. Once the deadline passes, courts will dismiss your case — no matter how clear-cut the liability is.
In New York, the main rule for personal injury lawsuits is found in CPLR § 214. CPLR stands for Civil Practice Law and Rules — the rulebook governing all civil lawsuits in New York State courts.
These deadlines exist for practical reasons: evidence fades, witnesses forget, and defendants deserve protection from indefinite exposure to old claims. But they also mean the clock starts running immediately after your accident — often on the very day you were hurt.
The General Rule: Three Years for Most Personal Injury Claims
Under CPLR § 214(5), you have three years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in New York. That is the baseline rule for most common accidents.
The three-year clock starts on the date of the accident or injury — not when you discover your injuries are serious, not when you finish treatment, and not when you hire an attorney. If you were hurt in a car accident on March 22, 2023, your deadline to file is March 22, 2026.
This three-year rule covers most personal injury cases, including:
Car and truck accidents
Slip and fall accidents on private property
Premises liability (unsafe property conditions)
Construction accidents (with some exceptions noted below)
Dog bites
Defective product injuries
Assault and intentional harm
While three years sounds like a long time, it disappears quickly when you're focused on recovering, negotiating with insurance adjusters, and managing your daily life. The sooner you take legal steps, the better. We've outlined the essential steps to take immediately after a personal injury that protect both your health and your legal rights.
Important Exceptions: When the Deadline Is Different
Three years is the default — but depending on who you're suing and how you were hurt, the deadline can be shorter or in some cases longer. Here are the most important exceptions New Yorkers need to know.
Medical Malpractice: Two and a Half Years
If a doctor, hospital, surgeon, or other healthcare provider hurt you through negligence, the deadline is shorter: two years and six months from the date of the negligent act, under CPLR § 214-a.
There is an important exception called the continuous treatment doctrine. If your doctor kept treating you for the same condition, the 2.5-year clock doesn't start until your last treatment date. This protects patients who are still under a provider's care and don't yet realize the harm was caused by malpractice.
There is also a one-year discovery window if a surgeon left a foreign object inside your body — such as a surgical sponge or instrument. In that case, you have one year from the date you discovered (or should have discovered) the object, regardless of when the surgery occurred.
Wrongful Death: Two Years
If a family member died because of someone else's negligence, New York gives the estate two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit, under EPTL § 5-4.1.
That is one year less than the standard personal injury deadline. The lawsuit must be brought by the executor or administrator of the decedent's estate — not just any family member acting on their own. If you haven't already opened an estate in Surrogate's Court, you need to do so promptly. We covered what families can recover in a New York wrongful death lawsuit, including lost income, medical bills, and funeral costs.
Suing a City, County, or Government Agency: The Strictest Deadlines
This is where injured New Yorkers get tripped up most often. If you were hurt because of a government entity — the City of New York, NYC Transit (MTA), a school district, a county, or a public hospital — the rules are completely different and far more demanding.
Under General Municipal Law § 50-e, you must serve a written Notice of Claim within 90 days of your injury. This is not your lawsuit — it is a formal written document notifying the government that you were hurt and intend to seek compensation.
If you miss the 90-day notice deadline, you may be permanently barred from suing. Courts can sometimes grant permission to file a late notice, but only if you can show the government entity had actual knowledge of your injury and was not prejudiced by the delay. That is a high bar to clear.
After serving the Notice of Claim, you must wait 30 days before filing suit. You then have one year and 90 days from the date of the accident to commence the lawsuit itself.
The practical takeaway: if you were hurt on a city sidewalk, on the subway, at a public school, in a city-owned park, or anywhere maintained by a government entity — contact an attorney immediately. Not in a few weeks. Immediately.
Latent Toxic Injuries: Three Years From Discovery
New York does not have a general discovery rule for personal injury — meaning the clock normally starts on the day of the accident, not the day you find out you were hurt. But there is one major exception for toxic substance exposure.
Under CPLR § 214-c, if your injury was caused by the latent effects of exposure to a toxic substance — asbestos, lead paint, pesticides, industrial chemicals — the three-year deadline runs from the date you discovered the injury (or when you reasonably should have discovered it).
This provision matters because many toxic injuries take years or even decades to manifest. Without it, many workers and residents exposed to dangerous substances would lose their right to sue before they even knew they were sick.
When Can the Clock Be Paused? Tolling Rules in New York
“Tolling” means legally pausing the statute of limitations clock. New York recognizes several situations where extra time is added to your deadline.
Children and Minors: The Infancy Toll
Under CPLR § 208, if the injured person was under 18 years old at the time of the accident, the three-year clock does not begin until they turn 18. A child injured at age 6 has until age 21 to file — not three years from the date of the accident.
There is a 10-year cap for most claims — meaning the toll cannot extend the deadline by more than 10 years from the date of the injury. Medical malpractice cases are an exception: injured minors get the full three years from age 18, with no cap.
The COVID-19 Toll: 228 Extra Days
During the pandemic, Governor Cuomo's Executive Order 202.8 (March 20, 2020) tolled all CPLR deadlines for 228 days — from March 20 through November 3, 2020. New York courts confirmed this was a true toll, meaning the limitations clock stopped entirely during that window. If your case involves a deadline that was running during those months, you may get those 228 days added back to your deadline.
Why Deadlines Are Strictly Enforced — Even in Sympathetic Cases
You might think a judge could make an exception for a genuinely injured person who filed one day late. In New York, that almost never happens. Courts treat statutes of limitations as hard legal requirements. File even one day late, and the defendant can move to dismiss your entire case — and will likely succeed.
This strictness applies equally to large corporations and individual defendants. New York courts routinely dismiss strong cases on limitations grounds. No amount of compelling facts or sympathetic circumstances overrides a missed deadline.
This is why experienced personal injury attorneys evaluate the deadline question first — before anything else. A case with a missed deadline is not a case at all.
If you are unsure when your deadline is — especially if your injury involved a government agency, a medical provider, or happened more than a year ago — do not guess. Get a legal opinion promptly. The value of your underlying claim is a separate question, one we address in our detailed breakdown of what NYC personal injury cases are worth in 2025 and 2026.
Quick Reference: New York Injury Deadlines at a Glance
General personal injury (car accidents, slip and falls, etc.) — 3 years from the date of injury (CPLR § 214)
Medical malpractice — 2 years and 6 months from the negligent act or last treatment (CPLR § 214-a)
Wrongful death — 2 years from the date of death (EPTL § 5-4.1)
Notice of Claim against a municipality — 90 days from the injury (GML § 50-e)
Lawsuit against a municipality — 1 year and 90 days from the injury (GML § 50-i)
Toxic/latent exposure injury — 3 years from discovery of the injury (CPLR § 214-c)
Minor plaintiff — 3 years from 18th birthday, subject to 10-year cap (CPLR § 208)
Frequently Asked Questions About New York's Statute of Limitations
What if I didn't know I was seriously injured until weeks after the accident?
For most personal injury cases, the three-year clock starts on the date of the accident — not the date you discovered how serious your injuries were. New York does not have a general discovery rule for negligence claims. The narrow exceptions are for toxic exposure injuries (CPLR § 214-c) and foreign objects left inside the body after surgery. For everything else, assume the clock started on the day of the accident and act accordingly.
What happens if I miss the filing deadline?
If you file after the statute of limitations expires, the defendant will almost certainly move to dismiss your case, and the court will likely grant that motion. Your right to recover compensation is permanently lost — no matter how badly you were hurt or how clearly the defendant was at fault. This is why it is critical to consult an attorney as soon as possible after an injury.
Is the deadline the same if I was hurt on the New York City subway?
No. NYC Transit is a public authority governed by the MTA, and suing it requires a Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e. This is on top of the one-year and 90-day deadline to file suit — far shorter than the three-year window for suing a private party. Missing the 90-day notice is typically fatal to your case.
Can the statute of limitations be extended if I was hospitalized or in a coma?
Physical incapacitation alone — such as being hospitalized — generally does not toll the statute of limitations in New York. However, CPLR § 208 can toll the deadline for plaintiffs who are mentally incapacitated and genuinely unable to protect their own legal interests. Whether this applies in a specific case depends on the facts and requires an attorney's evaluation.
Once you do file your claim, understanding what happens with medical liens is just as important as understanding your deadlines. Our guide on medical liens and personal injury settlements explains how outstanding medical bills can affect your final recovery.
Protect Your Rights Before the Clock Runs Out
The law gives you time — but not unlimited time. Every day you wait is a day closer to permanently losing your right to seek compensation. The sooner you consult an attorney, the better your chances of preserving your claim, locking in witness accounts while they're fresh, and securing the evidence you need to win.
If you or someone you know was injured in an accident in New York and you're unsure whether you still have time to file, the team at Yassi Law PC is ready to help. Call us today at 646-992-2138 for a consultation.
Written by Reza Yassi | LinkedIn
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Although I am an attorney, I am not your attorney, and reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws vary by jurisdiction and may have changed since the publication of this article. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified attorney.
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