Injured on a Standing Bus Rear-Ended by a Truck — Who Is Liable in New York?

Attorney Answer

The truck that ran into the stopped bus is the obvious defendant — but if that bus belonged to a transit authority or another public body, a ninety-day clock started the day you were hurt, and it is far shorter than the three years most people have in mind.

The statutory duty is Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1129(a): "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 apply a presumption of negligence against a driver who strikes a stopped vehicle from behind, putting on that driver the burden of a non-negligent explanation. That presumption is judge-made rather than statutory.

Whose bus it was decides your calendar. If the operator is a public corporation — a city, a county, a transit authority — General Municipal Law § 50-e(1)(a) requires that "the notice of claim shall comply with and be served in accordance with the provisions of this section within ninety days after the claim arises; except that in wrongful death actions, the ninety days shall run from the appointment of a representative of the decedent", and § 50-i(1)(c) adds a second, shorter suit clock: "the action or special proceeding shall be commenced within one year and ninety days after the happening of the event upon which the claim is based; except that wrongful death actions shall be commenced within two years after the happening of the death." Both run at once, and a claimant who serves the notice and then waits the ordinary three years is out of time. If ninety days have already passed, that is not the end of it: § 50-e(5) lets a court extend the time to serve, weighing among other things whether the public corporation already had actual knowledge of the essential facts of the claim. If the bus was privately operated, none of that applies.

Your injuries are separately gated by the no-fault article. Insurance Law § 5104(a): "Notwithstanding any other law, in any action by or on behalf of a covered person against another covered person for personal injuries arising out of negligence in the use or operation of a motor vehicle in this state, there shall be no right of recovery for non-economic loss, except in the case of a serious injury, or for basic economic loss." Which version of "serious injury" applies turns on when a lawsuit is commenced, not on when the crash happened: Part EE of chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 reaches actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026. So: have you already filed a lawsuit? If not, a case filed now runs under the current § 5102(d): "(d) "Serious injury" means a personal injury which 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; or significant limitation of use of a body function or system." For such an action CPLR 1411(b) also bars a claimant whose culpable conduct is greater than that of those sued, and Insurance Law § 5104(d) caps non-economic recovery at $100,000 for certain at-fault injured persons — neither ordinarily reaching a seated passenger. An action commenced before that date instead runs on the former nine-category § 5102(d), quoted below, and the former CPLR 1411 pure comparative rule.

What you can do

1. Establish who operated the bus — the name is on the vehicle, on the fare receipt and in a transit app's trip history.

2. Report the injury to that operator and get an incident or occurrence number in writing.

3. Get the police accident report identifying the truck, its driver and its carrier.

4. Get treatment and keep every record; serious injury is decided on medical proof.

5. Take that identity to a New York attorney immediately if there is any chance it is public — that clock is ninety days, not three years.

6. Ask whether an action has been commenced on your behalf; § 5102(d) changed in 2026.

⏱ Time limits apply. A personal injury action runs on the three-year period in CPLR 214(5). Against a public corporation, 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 suit within one year and ninety days, both keyed to the day you were injured on that bus — subject to the court's power to extend the notice under § 50-e(5). Which governs depends on who operated the bus; have a New York attorney fix your dates rather than estimating them.