Car Accident Passenger Injury Settlements in New York: What You're Owed

If you were a passenger in a car crash, your legal position is usually stronger than anyone else’s in the case. You were not driving and had no control over what happened. Unless something you did contributed to the crash, no share of the fault belongs to you. That matters in practice: your claim is usually about how badly you were hurt, not about who caused the collision.

This post explains how passenger claims work in New York, who you can sue, what no-fault pays, what drives the value of a case, and the deadlines that can end a claim.

Passengers and Comparative Fault Under New York Law

CPLR 1411(a) provides that the culpable conduct of a claimant “shall not bar recovery,” but damages are “diminished in the proportion which the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant or decedent bears to the culpable conduct which caused the damages.” The rule applies to any claimant, passengers included. A passenger who did nothing to cause the crash has nothing to reduce.

For actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, a second rule applies in motor-vehicle cases. CPLR 1411(b) provides that in an action subject to article 51 of the Insurance Law, “the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant shall bar recovery if the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant is greater than the culpable conduct of the person against whom recovery is sought or is greater than the combined culpable conduct of the persons against whom recovery is sought.” A passenger with no fault is not affected by it.

Seat belts are a separate question. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1229-c(8) provides that not wearing one “shall not be admissible as evidence in any civil action in a court of law in regard to the issue of liability but may be introduced into evidence in mitigation of damages provided the party introducing said evidence has pleaded such non-compliance as an affirmative defense.” It does not make a passenger at fault for the crash, but a defendant who pleads it can argue it reduced the damages.

Who Can a Passenger Sue?

A passenger may have claims against more than one party.

The driver of the car you were in

If that driver caused or contributed to the crash by speeding, distraction, running a stop sign or driving impaired, you have a claim against that driver.

The driver of another vehicle

If another driver hit the car you were in and caused or contributed to the crash, you have a claim against that driver too.

Both drivers

When both drivers share fault, you can sue both and recover from both policies. Article 16 of the CPLR limits a low-fault defendant’s share of non-economic loss in some cases, but CPLR 1602(6) provides that the limit does “not apply to any person held liable by reason of his use, operation, or ownership of a motor vehicle.” Each negligent driver and owner can be held responsible for the whole judgment, which matters when one driver has little coverage.

The vehicle owner

Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1) makes every owner liable for injuries “resulting from negligence in the use or operation of such vehicle … by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner.” If the driver did not own the car, the owner can be a defendant too.

Suing a Friend or Family Member

Many passengers hesitate because the driver was a friend, a parent, a sibling or a spouse. Suing someone you know can feel like a betrayal.

In most cases the claim is paid by the driver’s auto liability insurer, which defends the case and pays a settlement or judgment up to the policy limits. Your friend or relative is not paying out of pocket unless the damages exceed the coverage. That is what liability insurance is for.

Spouses are the exception to check. Insurance Law § 3420(g)(1) provides that a policy does not insure “against any liability of an insured because of death of or injuries to the insured’s spouse … unless express provision relating specifically thereto is included in the policy.” That provision is “supplemental spousal liability insurance.” For many policies issued to someone who lists a spouse on the application, it is included unless the first named insured declined it in writing (§ 3420(g)(2)(A)(i)); on other policies it is available on written request (§ 3420(g)(2)(A)(ii)). If your spouse was driving, find out whether the policy has it.

For a full overview of how these claims work, visit our passenger injury lawyer page.

No-Fault Benefits for Passengers

New York’s no-fault law requires every owner’s policy to pay first-party benefits, regardless of fault, for injuries arising out of the use of the insured vehicle (Insurance Law § 5103(a)). Benefits cover “basic economic loss” up to $50,000 per person (§ 5102(a)), including:

• Necessary medical, hospital, surgical and rehabilitation expenses (§ 5102(a)(1))
• Lost earnings up to $2,000 per month for not more than three years (§ 5102(a)(2)), reduced by 20 percent (§ 5102(b)(1))
• Other reasonable and necessary expenses up to $25 per day for one year (§ 5102(a)(3))

A passenger claims against the insurer of the vehicle the passenger was in (11 NYCRR 65-3.12(a)(1)). If that vehicle was uninsured, a passenger who is a named insured or a relative of one claims against that insurer, and if there is none, a qualified person claims against the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (11 NYCRR 65-3.12(a)(4)). Written notice is due within 30 days of the crash (11 NYCRR 65-1.1).

No-fault pays medical bills and part of lost earnings. It does not pay for pain and suffering, and it stops at $50,000. Economic loss above that amount is recoverable from the at-fault driver without proving a serious injury (Insurance Law § 5104(a)); pain and suffering requires one.

The Serious Injury Threshold

Insurance Law § 5104(a) provides that, between covered persons, “there shall be no right of recovery for non-economic loss, except in the case of a serious injury, or for basic economic loss.” It applies to passengers as it does to drivers.

For actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, Insurance Law § 5102(d), as amended by Part EE of chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026, defines serious injury as a personal injury that results in:

• Death
• Dismemberment
• Significant disfigurement
• A fracture
• Loss of a fetus
• Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system
• Permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member
• Significant limitation of use of a body function or system

The former ninth category, a medically determined non-permanent injury that prevented substantially all customary daily activities for 90 of the 180 days after the accident, applies only to actions commenced before May 26, 2026.

The limitation categories are the ones most often contested. Defendants argue that soft tissue injuries and disc herniations without surgery do not qualify. Consistent treatment, objective findings and a medical expert who addresses cause are what defeat a threshold motion. For actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, § 5104(a) provides that the trier of fact “shall not determine the question of whether an injury is a serious injury until the trier of fact has determined the party or parties at fault.”

If you were seriously injured as a passenger, our Long Island car accident lawyer team can evaluate whether your injuries meet the threshold and what your case is worth.

What Drives the Value of a Passenger Injury Case?

This article does not publish settlement ranges; numbers detached from a case’s records mislead more than they help. These are the facts that move a passenger’s claim:

• The injury and its proof: which serious injury category it fits, imaging and operative reports, how long treatment lasted, and what limits remain.
• Lost earnings and future care: documented with pay records, tax returns and medical opinions.
• Available coverage: every driver’s and owner’s liability policy, umbrella policies, and your own supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
• Fault: usually nothing to reduce for a passenger, unless a seat belt defense is pleaded and proved under § 1229-c(8).

The Multiple Defendant Strategy

When the driver of your car and the driver of another car both contributed to the crash, the case has two defendants and two policies. If one carried the $25,000/$50,000 minimum and the other carried $100,000, the recovery is not limited to the lower policy.

Because CPLR 1602(6) keeps drivers and owners fully jointly and severally liable, each one can be made to pay the whole judgment. Identifying every liable party and every policy early is one of the most important things a Long Island car accident lawyer does in a passenger case.

Rideshare Passengers: Additional Coverage Layers

If you were in an Uber or Lyft, more coverage may apply. Our page on Uber and Lyft passenger injury claims walks through each tier.

Outside New York City, Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1693(3)(a) requires coverage of at least $1,250,000 per occurrence while the driver is on a trip, plus $1,250,000 of supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for bodily injury. A trip runs from the driver’s acceptance of the request until “the last requesting passenger departs from the TNC vehicle” (§ 1691(6)(a)). In New York City, Uber and Lyft cars are for-hire vehicles, and Taxi and Limousine Commission Rules § 59A-12(c)(1) require at least $100,000/$300,000 of bodily injury coverage at all times.

A rideshare passenger is subject to the same fault rules as any other claimant; a passenger who did nothing to cause the crash has no fault to assign. You may have claims against the rideshare driver, any other at-fault driver, or both.

Deadlines You Cannot Afford to Miss

Lawsuit against a private driver: 3 years

An action for personal injury must be commenced within three years (CPLR 214(5)). Miss it and the claim is gone, however serious the injury.

City, county, town, village or other public corporation: 90 days

If a municipal vehicle was involved, General Municipal Law § 50-e(1)(a) requires a notice of claim “within ninety days after the claim arises,” and § 50-i(1)(c) requires the lawsuit “within one year and ninety days.” A court “in its discretion, may extend the time to serve a notice of claim” (§ 50-e(5)), but do not count on it.

The State of New York: 90 days

A claim against the State goes to the Court of Claims. Court of Claims Act § 10(3) requires the claim to be filed and served “within ninety days after the accrual of such claim,” unless within that time the claimant serves “a written notice of intention to file a claim,” in which case the claim is due “within two years after the accrual.”

No-fault notice: 30 days

Written notice of the claim for no-fault benefits is due within 30 days of the crash (11 NYCRR 65-1.1). This is separate from the deadline to sue.

What to Do After a Passenger Injury

Document everything from the start. Get medical care right away and follow through with treatment. Keep a record of every appointment, prescription and out-of-pocket expense. If you missed work, document that too.

Cooperate with the no-fault insurer as the policy requires, but be careful about recorded statements to the other side’s insurer before you speak with a lawyer. Adjusters work for the insurance company, not for you.

Contact a lawyer early. Witnesses forget, evidence is lost and video is recorded over. The sooner a legal team is involved, the more of the evidence can be preserved.

If you or a family member was hurt as a passenger in a car crash in New York, visit our Long Island car accident lawyer page to learn how we handle these cases and what we can do to help you pursue the compensation you are owed.