I was rear-ended in New York and don't know what to do next

Attorney Answer

Two things are true whatever else happened. The driver behind you owed you a statutory duty under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1129(a), and New York gives three years from the date of the collision to commence a personal injury action under CPLR 214(5). What is not settled by your message is whether anyone was hurt, and that single fact decides which body of New York law your claim runs under — so it should be answered before anything else is.

The duty is short and specific. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1129(a) provides: "The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway." New York courts also draw a judge-made inference against the driver of the rear vehicle in a collision of this kind, which that driver can answer with a non-negligent explanation. That inference comes from court decisions rather than from the statute, so it is described here in general terms and not cited to any case.

What the statute does not do is tell you what your claim is worth or which rules apply to it. New York's motor-vehicle insurance system changes what an injured person can claim, from whom, and what has to be shown first — and in 2026 the legislature changed several of those rules for actions commenced on or after May 26 of that year. Whether any of that reaches you depends on facts your message does not state: whether you were injured, whether the damage was to the vehicle alone, who was insured and by whom. Those are questions for a New York attorney with your actual facts, not questions this page can answer from seven words.

The deadlines are the part worth fixing in your mind now. CPLR 214 requires that "an action to recover damages for a personal injury except as provided in sections 214-b, 214-c, 214-i and 215" be commenced within three years, and the same three-year period applies under CPLR 214(4) to "an action to recover damages for an injury to property except as provided in section 214-c". Both run from the date of the collision. One exception matters more than the rest: if the vehicle that hit you belonged to a public corporation — a city, county, school district or transit authority — 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 action within one year and ninety days. A court can extend the time to serve that notice in some circumstances under General Municipal Law § 50-e(5), so a missed ninety days is not automatically the end of a claim. That possibility should be checked immediately, because three years of assumed time can turn out to be ninety days.

What you can do

1. Get checked by a doctor if you have not been, even if you felt fine at the scene, and make sure the records say the symptoms followed a collision.

2. Report the collision to your own insurer as your policy requires, and keep a copy of what you send.

3. Preserve what already exists: photographs of both vehicles and the scene, the police report number, the other driver's insurance information, repair estimates and the names of any witnesses.

4. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer, and do not sign anything described as a release, before you have spoken with a lawyer.

5. Ask a New York attorney which claims exist on your facts and which deadline governs each of them — including whether any defendant is a public entity.

⏱ Time limits apply. In New York a personal injury action must generally be commenced within three years under CPLR 214(5), and a property damage action within three years under CPLR 214(4), each measured from the date of the collision. Where a public corporation is a defendant the periods are far shorter, under General Municipal Law § 50-e(1)(a) and § 50-i(1)(c). Which deadline is yours depends on facts this page does not have, and none of them should be calculated from a general description. Even if you are handling this yourself, a brief consultation with a local New York attorney is worth more than any general guidance, including this page; most offer a short initial call at no cost.