New York State is a “no-fault” insurance law state. With few exceptions, the New York State Insurance Law requires that most automobiles registered and insured within New York State are required to have an insurance policy that provides “no-fault” insurance. No-fault benefits include coverage for payment of medical bills and lost wages. To obtain these benefits, the personally injured party must report the incident and complete an application within a very limited time frame. Failure to complete the “no-fault” application in accordance with the “notice” terms of the policy can result in the denial of the claim and the injured person being responsible for the medical expenses.

New York no-fault insurance does not provide compensation for pain and suffering. In many auto accident cases, an action may exist against those responsible for causing the personal injuries to the victim. In order to sustain an action for pain and suffering compensation, the injured person must have a “serious injury” as defined in the Insurance Law. These definitions or “threshold categories” include the obvious qualifying injuries such as death, dismemberment, fracture and loss of fetus. Other qualifiers include the “permanent loss of use”, “significant limitation” and “90 out of 180” categories. A discussion with an attorney is highly recommended as the clarification of these categories continues to evolve in the Court system.

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