Of every deadline in a personal injury case, the statute of limitations is the one that cannot be argued around. Courts enforce it strictly. A claim worth seven figures, supported by clear liability and undisputed medical proof, is dismissed the day after it expires. There is almost never a second chance.
Most New Yorkers believe they have three years. Many of them are wrong, because the shorter deadlines are the ones that apply most often when a government agency, a hospital, or a death is involved.
The General Rule: Three Years
Under CPLR § 214(5), most personal injury actions based on negligence must be commenced within three years of the date of injury. This covers car accidents, truck crashes, slip and falls, construction site injuries, dog bites, and negligent security claims.
The clock starts on the date of the accident, not the date you were diagnosed, not the date you learned the full extent of your injuries, and not the date you decided to pursue a claim. New York follows a strict date-of-injury accrual rule for ordinary negligence.
The Deadlines That Are Shorter
Medical malpractice: two years and six months. Under CPLR § 214-a, the period runs from the act or omission complained of, or from the end of continuous treatment for the same condition. That six-month difference from the general rule has ended countless cases brought by people who assumed they had three years. Two exceptions extend the window. A foreign object left in the body carries a one-year discovery rule. And for a negligent failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor, the statute runs from when the patient knew or reasonably should have known of the error, subject to an outer limit. If you suspect a missed diagnosis, our medical misdiagnosis attorney in New York page explains how these claims are evaluated.
Wrongful death: two years. Under EPTL § 5-4.1, the personal representative of the estate must commence the action within two years of the date of death, not the date of the injury. A personal representative must first be appointed, which takes time, and that alone catches families off guard. See our New York wrongful death page.
Intentional torts: one year. Assault, battery, and similar claims fall under CPLR § 215.
Claims Against Government Entities: 90 Days
This is the deadline that surprises people most, and it applies far more often than you would think. If your claim is against a city, county, town, village, school district, transit authority, public hospital, or their employees, a written notice of claim must be served within 90 days of the accident under General Municipal Law § 50-e. The lawsuit itself must then be filed within one year and 90 days.
Ninety days is not much time when you are still in a hospital bed. And the range of defendants covered is wide: a crash with a municipal bus or sanitation truck, a fall on a poorly maintained public sidewalk or school property, a collision with a police vehicle, or malpractice at a public hospital. Claims against the State of New York itself run through the Court of Claims under a separate and equally short schedule.
In wrongful death cases against a public corporation, the 90 days runs from the appointment of the estate’s representative rather than the date of death.
If a government entity may be involved in your case, speak with a lawyer within days, not months. Our attorneys handle these claims across the state, including as an Albany personal injury lawyer for Capital Region municipal defendants.
Circumstances That Pause the Clock
New York recognizes limited tolling. The most common applies to minors: the period is generally suspended until the child turns 18, subject to statutory caps that vary by claim type, and it does not extend the 90-day notice of claim requirement in the same way. Legal incapacity can also toll the period. Both doctrines are narrower than people expect, and neither should be relied on without a lawyer’s review. Birth injury cases in particular involve overlapping rules, which our birth injury lawyer in New York team can explain.
Why Waiting Costs You Even Before the Deadline
The statute of limitations sets the outer boundary. It is not a schedule to work toward. Surveillance video is routinely overwritten within 30 days. Skid marks disappear. Witnesses relocate and stop returning calls. Vehicles get repaired or scrapped before anyone downloads the event data recorder.
A case filed on day 1,094 of a three-year window is almost always weaker than the same case filed in month two. Our page on what evidence you need for a personal injury claim explains what disappears first, and when should you hire a personal injury lawyer covers the timing decision in more detail. Separately, motor vehicle claims carry their own early deadlines, including a 30-day No-Fault application requirement described in what to do after an accident.
Talk to a New York Personal Injury Attorney
If you are unsure which deadline governs your situation, that uncertainty is itself a reason to call today. Buttafuoco & Associates has been protecting New Yorkers’ filing rights since 1981. Whether you need a Rochester personal injury lawyer or representation elsewhere in the state, contact us for a free case review. You owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.