Short summary: For 50 years, New York let injured people recover something even if they were mostly at fault. That changed for car crash cases. Under an amendment to CPLR 1411 signed May 26, 2026, a person who is found more at fault than the other side in a motor vehicle injury case generally recovers nothing. The same package dropped one of the ways to prove a serious injury. How fault gets told in the first days after a crash generally matters more now.
What changed
Governor Hochul signed amendments to the Civil Practice Law and Rules and the Insurance Law in late May, as explained in a JD Supra analysis by Bond, Schoeneck and King. The changes took effect May 26, 2026, and apply to actions commenced on or after that date. They cover motor vehicle cases only.
- The fault bar. In a personal injury case covered by New York's no-fault law, an injured person's own fault now bars recovery if it is greater than the fault of the defendant, or of all defendants combined. In plain terms: 51 percent at fault generally means zero.
- The 90/180-day category is gone. One route to proving a serious injury, based on being unable to do most daily activities for 90 of the first 180 days, was eliminated.
- Liability needs both pieces. Liability is now fixed only when a court finds both negligence and a serious injury, which affects when interest starts to run.
How it was before
Since 1975, New York used pure comparative fault. A person found 70 percent at fault could still collect the other 30 percent. That is still the rule for wrongful death cases and for cases outside motor vehicles, according to the same analysis. For car crash injury cases filed now, it is not.
What this means in real life
Fault fights used to be about how much. Now they can be about everything. Insurers have a reason to push your share past the line, and small details become big ones: a rolling stop, a phone in hand, a few miles over the limit.
- Photos of the scene, the cars and the signals matter more.
- Witness names and nearby video matter more, and video gets overwritten fast.
- What you say to the other driver's adjuster matters more. Read should I talk to the insurance adjuster first.
- Medical records need to show a serious injury under the categories that remain. Our serious injury threshold guide explains them.
What did not change
No-fault still pays medical bills and a share of lost wages regardless of who caused the crash, and the application is still generally due within 30 days. The fault bar is about the lawsuit for pain and suffering, not your no-fault benefits.
Questions New Yorkers ask us
If I was partly at fault, can I still get anything?
Generally yes, as long as your share of fault is not greater than the other side's. Your recovery is then generally reduced by your share. No-fault benefits generally do not depend on fault at all.
Does the new rule apply to my crash from last year?
Generally it depends on when the lawsuit is commenced, not when the crash happened. Cases commenced on or after May 26, 2026 generally fall under the new rule.
Not sure where you stand after a crash? Get your free case review or call (888) 208-0529. A real person answers, 24/7.
Reporting: JD Supra (Bond, Schoeneck and King), Clyde and Co.
