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Common Legal Questions in New York
169 attorney-reviewed questions from people in New York. Select one to read the guidance, or start a free chat.
Auto Accident (88)
- A bus hit my parked car, and the shop they chose gave it back with a cracked windshield — who answers for what?
- A camera caught the car that hit mine, but the plate was only readable after she moved — is that still proof?
- A car drifts into your lane with no signal and you sideswipe it: how New York sorts out fault
- A car pulled out and turned across the street while I passed a double-parked vehicle: how a New York claim like this is proved
- A car turned left across my path and totaled my car into another one — where does New York put the duty?
- A close call with a motorcyclist during a lane change, with no contact: what New York requires, and when it becomes more than a near miss
- A dealership employee hit me with my own car on the lot — who is responsible?
- A door dent in a parking lot, and what New York requires next
- A driver cut me off crossing a solid white line in New York — do I have a claim?
- A friend damaged my car twice while borrowing it: what I owe as the owner in New York, and what the friend owes me
- A hit-and-run driver fled and it was caught on camera: can a lawyer help me in New York?
- A hit-and-run pushed my car through a red light: will I be ticketed in New York?
- A hospital blood test showed alcohol after a crash
- A police officer caused my crash in New York and then ticketed me — what can I do?
- A sanitation truck hit my parked car in New York: the ninety-day clock that applies if the truck is a city truck
- A speeding car swerved to miss me while I crossed and hit another car: am I responsible in New York?
- A truck hit my car and I had minor injuries — can I still bring a claim in New York?
- An SUV rear-ended one car and then hit my driver's side — how is fault sorted out in a chain collision?
- An axle failure, a parked car hit, and leaving the scene
- Another driver hit my driver's side door in New York: what a side-impact claim turns on
- Can You Be Sued Over a Shopping Cart Incident With No Injury?
- Driving on a suspended license when the steering failed
- Going back to the scene after driving away from a collision
- He Sped Into the Next Space and Crushed My Door — Both He and His Insurer Deny It
- Her car insurance paid the pedestrian I hit: can he still sue us both in New York?
- Hit From the Left on a Green Light in New York — With No Collision Coverage
- Hit While Riding in an Uber in New York — Who Pays, and What Must I Prove?
- Hit a tree, totaled the car and charged with DWI in New York: what the charge means for your insurance, and the first call to make
- Hit by a car fleeing a police pursuit in New York: who can be sued, and the ninety-day clock that runs against a police agency
- Hit by something thrown at your car in New York: two defendants, two very different deadlines
- Hit-and-run in New York and the driver was never found: what your own policy pays, and what it does not
- Hitting a parked car and driving away without leaving a note
- I Rear-Ended Her, She Skipped the Police, and Now It Is $3,000
- I Settled With Their Insurer and Now They Are Suing Me in New York
- I Sideswiped a Car That Was Already Damaged — Do I Pay for All of It?
- I Was the Passenger in My Own Car When We Were T-Boned — Can I Sue Both Drivers?
- I got a subrogation letter after rear-ending a car that stopped short in New York
- I passed a stopped vehicle that then turned left into me and rolled my truck — is that my fault for passing or theirs for not signaling?
- I rear-ended someone in New York and they keep asking for more money — what now?
- I switched seats with the driver after a crash in New York: the exposure that creates, and why a defense lawyer comes first
- I turned left into two riders and they have broken bones: what happens to me in New York?
- I used my own insurance after a six-car crash, lost the car and ended up in debt — what can I still do about the at-fault driver?
- I was badly hurt in a rollover in New York — is it too late?
- I was hit by a speeding car while on foot in New York — what has to be proved before I can recover for pain and suffering?
- I was hit in a hit-and-run in New York but I left the scene too — what should I do?
- I was rear-ended in New York and don't know what to do next
- I'm being sued over a crash my mother had in my car — why am I the defendant?
- If we agree there is no damage in the dark and I find it later — can I still make a claim for a rear-end hit?
- Injured on a Standing Bus Rear-Ended by a Truck — Who Is Liable in New York?
- My Firm Says They Are Waiting for an Offer — What That Means in New York
- My car was hit in a hit-and-run: shouldn't the driver be charged in New York?
- My dashcam was gone when my wrecked car reached the tow yard: could the police have taken it, and how do I find out?
- My daughter was rear-ended, knocked unconscious, and woke up holding two tickets — do the tickets destroy her claim?
- My friend was hit from behind by a car while riding his bike: what should he do in New York?
- My lawyer's office keeps telling me to be patient — what am I entitled to ask for?
- My mother was hit by another driver in New York and is in pain: whose claim it is, and what "serious injury" has to do with it
- My passengers were paid and I wasn't, because I was driving — is that really how New York works?
- My van was totaled by a hit-and-run driver in New York while I was not in it — what are my options?
- Not at fault for the crash, but you drove away too
- Rear-Ended at a Red Light in a Chain Collision — Who Is Responsible in New York?
- Rear-ended at low speed in New York: does a soft tissue neck injury clear the serious-injury threshold?
- Rear-ended by a cement truck: the company name on the report, and the vehicle the shop wants to sell
- Rear-ended while switching car insurance in New York: who pays your first-party benefits, and how fast
- Rental Car Company Suing After Your Rental Was Robbed
- Repairs cost $16,000 and the at-fault driver's policy stops at $10,000: who owes the difference in New York
- She Promised to Fix My Truck and Stopped Answering — No Police, No Insurance
- Should I fire my lawyer in the middle of my New York injury case?
- Someone backed into my parked car: does their insurer have to pay everything, and cover a rental?
- Steering failed three weeks after you bought the car: the New York claim is about the vehicle, not just the crash
- Sued over a collision you believe was staged: what a New York defendant does first
- Suing the State of New York over a tire in the road runs through the Court of Claims — and a ninety-day clock
- Taken to the Hospital After an Accident in New York — Which Deadline Is Mine?
- The Other Driver Said He Would Fix It Himself — Can He Still Come After Me?
- The defendant in my New York injury case has vanished: what happens to a lawsuit when the person who caused the crash disappears
- The insurer totaled my car and offered $16,000: how a New York total-loss figure is challenged when liability is already accepted
- The insurer wants to total my parked car for $4,400: how is that number supposed to be set?
- The insurer will not provide a rental after a New York crash: where a loaner comes from, and how lost work is recovered
- The other driver told the insurer a false story about a lane change — how New York sorts out a disputed liability call
- The other driver's insurer says it is waiting on a second claimant: what that means for your parked-car damage in New York
- The other side's lawyer is sending me to a doctor: does that mean he accepts fault?
- The police report lists the other driver as vehicle 1 at fault in New York: what that is worth, and what it does not settle
- We Settled at the Scene, Then the E-Bike Rider Filed on My Insurance
- What Am I Liable For If a Valet Hit Another Car With Mine and Filed a Claim in My Name?
- Worried a car accident lawsuit could reach what you own in New York: what protects you, and why moving property backfires
- You hit a parked car and left your information: the real issues are the report's damage description, not leaving the scene
- You hit a pole and totaled your car in New York: which coverage pays, and who owns the pole
- Your lawyer says you must accept both settlements or neither: who actually decides in New York
- Your own insurer refuses to pay the other driver's damage in New York: the two fights that opens
Personal Injury (18)
- A Vape Pen Sent Me to the Hospital and Left Leg Tremors: What New York Law Says
- A parking garage damaged your car in NYC: pursuing the garage while your own insurer handles the repair
- A staircase that broke under you at a residential facility
- A television fell on you in a furnished rented room: who is responsible for furniture that came with the room
- Broken Sidewalk Concrete, a Fall With My Child, and Two Different Clocks
- Burned During a Wax at a Salon: What a New York Claim Requires
- Changing attorneys years into a New York injury case: what it costs you and what it does not
- Fell down metal stairs from the second floor in New York: who is responsible, and how long do you have?
- Fell on a Snow-Covered Sidewalk: Who Owns It Decides Your Deadline
- Hand crushed by a grocery store's sliding door in New York: who answers for it, and what the store's missing incident report means
- How Long a New York Personal Injury Case Takes to Settle
- I slipped on algae on a New York sidewalk and hurt my knee — who is responsible?
- I slipped on black ice cleaning off my car and broke my ankle: is there a claim in New York?
- I slipped on snow at a football game and chipped my tooth: who pays, and how long do I have?
- I tripped on a broken sidewalk in New York: who is responsible, and how long do I have?
- Medicaid wants part of your injury case — can it take that?
- Negligent Security Claim After an Assault in a NYC Shelter
- Someone says they fell on my sidewalk in New York — who is responsible?
Workers Compensation (10)
- A new accident made my comp injury worse: can workers' comp take back what it paid, or stop paying, in New York?
- A work injury, then a fall from a porch with no railing: the comp claim and a separate claim against the landlord in New York
- Do I Have a Personal Injury Case After Slipping at My Bartending Job in New York?
- Driving for work on a conditional license when a crash happens in New York: what the license allows, and what the accident can cost you
- Falling off a conveyor at work in New York: the compensation claim, and the third-party claim it can hide
- Hurt Lifting at Work in New York, and the Herniated Discs Showed Up Later
- Hurt My Back at Work and the Two Days Off Were Not Enough
- I passed out and hit my head at work in New York: the two deadlines that start the day it happens
- Two broken legs from a fall down stairs at work: the comp claim and the claim comp does not cover
- Your supervisor never reported the injury: what New York's workers' compensation notice statute actually says
Criminal Defense (8)
- Can I Still Report a Sexual Assault to the County in New York?
- Does a Detective's Calling Card Mean I'm a Suspect in a New York Larceny Case?
- Facing a Felony Theft Accusation Involving a Large Sum
- What Are My Rights If I Was Wrongly Arrested as a Domestic Violence Victim in New York?
- What Can I Do as a Robbery Victim When My Court Case Keeps Getting Delayed in New York?
- What Should I Do About a Grand Larceny Charge for 2020 Unemployment Fraud in New York?
- What Should I Expect at My First Court Date for a Petit Larceny Charge in the Bronx?
- Why Was My Strangulation Case Charged as a Misdemeanor in New York?
Medical Malpractice (8)
- A botched neck surgery that left permanent nerve pain
- A loved one died in a New York hospital and you suspect malpractice: who can bring the claim, and the deadlines that start at the death
- Left with a colostomy after a medical error
- My dentist burned my lip and I don't know yet whether it will scar — what should I be doing now?
- Root canals done badly, and $7,000 to have them redone
- Sent home too exhausted to walk, then a fall and head injury
- Veterinary Malpractice Claims in New York: What Applies
- Woke up from surgery with a tooth missing
DUI & Traffic (7)
- A Partner's DWI and Marijuana Use in a New York Custody Case
- Can We Fight My Son's School Zone Speeding Ticket in New York Over a Vehicle Color Mistake?
- Confirming Whether a Past Case Is Actually Closed or Still an Open Prosecution
- First-Offense DWI at .15 in New York: What the Law Allows
- Fixing a Criminal Record That Wrongly Shows a Pending Case
- Re-Entry Risk for a Permanent Resident With an Old DUI Arrest
- Renewing a Passport While an Arrest Warrant Is Outstanding
Housing & Tenant (6)
- Can I Be Sued for Back Rent in New York After a Court Already Ruled My Household Owes None?
- Can My Landlord Raise the Rent in New York While Ignoring a Mice Infestation?
- Displaced by a Condemned Rental After Landlord Neglect
- Do I Have to Return My Roommate's Security Deposit in New York After He Broke Our No-Sublet Agreement?
- Tenant Rights Over Rent Hikes, Repairs, and Landlord Entry
- What Are My Rights If I Never Received an Eviction Notice in New York?
Family & Child Custody (5)
- Can I Get a Court-Appointed Attorney for a Visitation Case in New York Family Court?
- Can My Grandmother Get Custody of Me Instead of My Father in New York?
- Could CPS Take My Newborn After a Family Altercation Involving Alcohol in New York?
- Immigration Options When Leaving an Abusive Marriage
- Signing a Stipulation of Discontinuance Without a Death Certificate
Consumer Protection (4)
Animal Law (3)
Civil Disputes (2)
Education (2)
Employment (2)
Protective Orders & Harassment (2)
Business & Contract (1)
Financial & Debt (1)
Privacy & Data (1)
New York Courts & Legal Aid
- Look up a case or find court forms at the New York State Unified Court System.
- Get free civil legal help from LawHelpNY.
- Use the LSC — Find Legal Aid to find a local legal-aid office by ZIP code.
- Use the LawHelp.org to browse free legal information and self-help resources.
- Use the ABA Lawyer Referral Directory to get matched with a local attorney through your state bar.
Case Law Cited in New York
26 court decisions cited across these pages. These are provided as legal background, not as advice about any particular case.
Automobile Ins. Co. of Hartford v. Cook, 7 N.Y.3d 131 (2006)
A liability insurer must defend a suit within the policy's coverage even if it may later owe no indemnity.
Bastein v. Sotto, 299 A.D.2d 432 (2d Dep't 2002)
States the elements of battery.
Bovsun v. Sanperi, 61 N.Y.2d 219 (1984)
Emotional-harm recovery for a person in the zone of danger who saw serious injury to an immediate family member.
Cited on: A speeding car swerved to miss me while I crossed and hit another car: am I responsible in New York?
Bumpus v. New York City Tr. Auth., 66 A.D.3d 26 (2d Dep't 2009)
The unknown-party procedure requires diligent efforts to identify the defendant before the time to sue runs out; pre-action disclosure is one recognized way.
Caristo v. Sanzone, 96 N.Y.2d 172 (2001)
The emergency doctrine requires a sudden and unforeseen emergency not of the actor's own making.
Cited on: A speeding car swerved to miss me while I crossed and hit another car: am I responsible in New York?
Dance v. Town of Southampton, 95 A.D.2d 442 (2d Dep't 1983)
Failing to obtain a license is not negligence per se.
Cited on: Her car insurance paid the pedestrian I hit: can he still sue us both in New York?
Graham v. Jones, 147 A.D.3d 1369 (4th Dep't 2017)
Whether an owner knew a car would be driven by an unlicensed driver is a question of fact on negligent entrustment.
Cited on: Her car insurance paid the pedestrian I hit: can he still sue us both in New York?
Guzman v. Haven Plaza Housing Dev. Fund Co., 69 N.Y.2d 559 (1987)
An out-of-possession owner with a duty to repair may be liable on constructive notice.
Hamilton v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp., 96 N.Y.2d 222 (2001)
States the elements of negligent entrustment.
Cited on: Her car insurance paid the pedestrian I hit: can he still sue us both in New York?
I.C.C. Metals v. Municipal Warehouse Co., 50 N.Y.2d 657 (1980)
A bailee that fails to return property must come forward with an explanation for the loss.
Jefferson Ins. Co. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 92 N.Y.2d 363 (1998)
An insurer may not recover, as subrogee, against its own insured for the very risk it covered.
Matter of Bland v. Gellman, Brydges & Schroff, 151 A.D.3d 1484 (3d Dep't 2017)
A consequential injury must be proved by competent medical evidence.
Matter of Cool v. TP Brake & Muffler, Inc., 305 A.D.2d 886 (3d Dep't 2003)
The Board may apportion a disability between a work accident and a later non-work incident on the medical evidence.
Matter of Kirkview Assoc. LP v. Amrock, 2018 NY Slip Op 2389 (2018) — Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
County Court correctly observed that these defenses cannot forestall an eviction in a holdover proceeding, but overlooked that they are viable "defense[s] to the recovery of rent" in such proceeding
Cited on: Displaced by a Condemned Rental After Landlord Neglect
Matter of Konig v. CSC Holdings, LLC, 112 A.D.3d 934 (2d Dep't 2013)
Pre-action disclosure of an unknown wrongdoer's identity requires facts fairly indicating a cause of action.
Moore v. Ortolano, 78 A.D.3d 1652 (4th Dep't 2010)
No liability for a porch railing collapse without actual or constructive notice; the tenants lost.
Morales v. Rotino, 27 A.D.3d 433 (2d Dep't 2006)
A release given to the driver did not release the owner because it did not expressly provide for it.
Cited on: Her car insurance paid the pedestrian I hit: can he still sue us both in New York?
Motors Ins. Corp. v. Africk, 55 A.D.3d 571 (2d Dep't 2008)
A collision insurer that paid for a permitted driver's one-car crash could not recover from that driver.
Pavesi v. Carollo, 105 A.D.2d 832 (2d Dep't 1984)
A repair shop met that burden by proving a burglary; the owner lost.
Pavia v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 82 N.Y.2d 445 (1993)
An insurer is liable beyond its limits for refusing to settle only on gross disregard of its insured's interests; ordinary negligence is not enough.
People v. Barto, 144 A.D.3d 1641 (4th Dep't 2016)
A report is gratuitous where the defendant initiated contact with the police, even if the false account came in answers to their questions.
People v. Johnson, 1 N.Y.3d 252 (2003)
An inventory search must follow a standardized procedure and produce a record; its purposes include protecting the owner's property.
Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014)
Police generally need a warrant to search the digital contents of a seized device.
Rivera v. New York City Tr. Auth., 77 N.Y.2d 322 (1991)
An actor is not ordinarily excused for an emergency created by their own negligence, such as excessive speed.
Cited on: A speeding car swerved to miss me while I crossed and hit another car: am I responsible in New York?
Sauer v. Mannino, 309 A.D.2d 1053 (3d Dep't 2003)
No liability without proof that the missing handrails caused the fall.
Westchester Med. Ctr. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 44 A.D.3d 750 (2d Dep't 2007)
The insurer must prove intoxication and that it caused the crash; a police report of the crash and arrest can raise a fact issue.