Her car insurance paid the pedestrian I hit: can he still sue us both in New York?

Attorney Answer

It depends on what he signed. If he signed a release when her insurer paid him, a lawsuit on the claim it covers is generally over — but a release reaches only the people its terms name, so read who it lists. If he took a payment without a release, or the release does not cover you, he can still sue within three years of the accident, and her policy may cover you as a driver using the car with her permission. The criminal case being finished does not end the civil one. Disability benefits such as SSI and Social Security disability are largely protected from collection.

The release. General Obligations Law § 15-108(a):

(a) Effect of release of or covenant not to sue tortfeasors. When a release or a covenant not to sue or not to enforce a judgment is given to one of two or more persons liable or claimed to be liable in tort for the same injury, or the same wrongful death, it does not discharge any of the other tortfeasors from liability for the injury or wrongful death unless its terms expressly so provide, but it reduces the claim of the releasor against the other tortfeasors to the extent of any amount stipulated by the release or the covenant, or in the amount of the consideration paid for it, or in the amount of the released tortfeasor's equitable share of the damages under article fourteen of the civil practice law and rules, whichever is the greatest.

The document's terms decide. In Morales v. Rotino, 27 A.D.3d 433 (2d Dep't 2006), a release given to the driver did not release the car's owner, because it did not expressly say so. The same rule runs the other way: a release given to your fiancée does not cover you unless it says it does. Ask her insurer for a copy.

If he can still sue: who is answerable. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1):

1. Every owner of a vehicle used or operated in this state shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the use or operation of such vehicle, in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner.

Driving without a license is not, by itself, evidence that the car was driven carelessly: the Appellate Division held that failing to obtain a license is not negligence in itself in Dance v. Town of Southampton, 95 A.D.2d 442 (2d Dep't 1983). But it can matter to the owner. An owner who lends a car to someone she knows is unlicensed may face a claim of negligent entrustment, whose elements the Court of Appeals set out in Hamilton v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp., 96 N.Y.2d 222 (2001); whether a car owner knew is a question of fact, as a divided court held in Graham v. Jones, 147 A.D.3d 1369 (4th Dep't 2017). And if your conviction was for a traffic infraction, Vehicle and Traffic Law § 155 provides:

A traffic infraction is not a crime and the punishment imposed therefor shall not be deemed for any purpose a penal or criminal punishment and shall not affect or impair the credibility as a witness or otherwise of any person convicted thereof.

What he must prove. A pedestrian struck by a car generally needs a “serious injury” to recover for pain and suffering under Insurance Law § 5104(a). For a lawsuit commenced on or after May 26, 2026 — which is the rule if he has not yet filed — Insurance Law § 5102(d) lists eight categories of serious injury; for one commenced before that date, it listed nine. His own fault counts too: he was crossing outside a crosswalk, and Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1152(a) required him to yield. In a lawsuit commenced on or after May 26, 2026, CPLR 1411(b) bars his recovery if his share of the fault is greater than that of the person he sues, or greater than the combined share of the people he sues; in one commenced before that date, CPLR 1411(a) only reduces his recovery by his share.

Collection. CPLR 5205(l)(2):

2. For purposes of this article, "statutorily exempt payments" means any personal property exempt from application to the satisfaction of a money judgment under any provision of state or federal law.

The same paragraph lists Social Security disability benefits and supplemental security income among those exempt payments, and exempt money deposited directly into a bank account is protected too.

What you can do

1. Ask your fiancée's insurer for a copy of any release he signed, and read whose names it lists.

2. Send any letter or court paper about this to her insurer at once, and ask whether her policy covers you as a driver using the car with her permission.

3. If either of you is served with court papers, respond by the date on them, through the insurer's lawyer if it defends you.

4. Keep records showing your income is SSI and Social Security disability, and how it is deposited.

⏱ Time limits apply. He has three years from the accident to sue under CPLR 214. If either of you is served, the papers carry their own deadline to respond.

A New York attorney can look at the specifics quickly, and most offer a short first conversation at no cost. A few minutes on your actual facts is worth more than any general guidance, this page included.