The Other Driver Said He Would Fix It Himself — Can He Still Come After Me?

Attorney Answer

A driver who waves off your insurance information at the scene has not given up his claim, and nothing he said in that lot shortened the time he has to bring one. You are not overthinking. What you describe leaves an open matter rather than a closed one: contact, some damage, an offer of information the other driver declined, and no paperwork. Matters like this usually end quietly. What ends them legally is a signed release or a claim that has been paid and closed, not a friendly conversation.

The period is set by CPLR 214, which lists the actions that "must be commenced within three years". Subdivision (4) is "an action to recover damages for an injury to property except as provided in section 214-c". Three years runs from the day of the contact, not from the day the other driver changes his mind, and he is free to change it — or to have the car repaired through his own insurer, which may then look to you for what it paid.

New York also puts a duty on the driver who caused the damage. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 600(1)(a) requires a person operating a motor vehicle who knows, or has cause to know, that damage has been caused to another's property in an incident involving that vehicle to stop before leaving the place where the damage occurred, exhibit his license and insurance identification card, and give his name, residence, insurance carrier and insurance identification information and license number to the party sustaining the damage; where that party is not present, the paragraph directs a report as soon as physically able to the nearest police station or judicial officer. A violation of that paragraph is a traffic infraction under the section. You describe stopping and offering all of it and being refused. Whether that satisfied the duty in your circumstances is a question for a New York attorney who can hear the full account — it is not something to assume in either direction, and a stranger's reassurance at the scene is not a ruling on it.

Your own policy is the third live piece. Liability policies issued or delivered in New York are governed by Insurance Law § 3420, which prescribes the provisions such a policy must contain, how notice is handled, and the written notice an insurer must give if it disclaims coverage or denies a claim. Section 3420 also puts the burden on the insurer to prove that it was prejudiced where notice came within two years of the time the policy required. Reporting an incident to your own insurer is not the same as making a claim against yourself; it is the step that keeps the coverage you already pay for available if a demand arrives later.

What you can do

1. Write down today everything you remember — where each car was, the speed, the damage you saw, and what each of you said — while it is fresh.

2. Photograph your own vehicle now, including the part that made contact; the condition of your car is evidence about the force involved.

3. Ask the lot's management or campus office, in writing, to preserve the camera footage for that date and time before the system overwrites it.

4. Report the incident to your own insurer and answer its questions accurately.

5. If the other driver or an insurer contacts you later, do not agree to a repair figure, sign a release, or put a version of fault in writing before a New York attorney has reviewed it.

⏱ Time limits apply. The three-year period in CPLR 214(4) runs from the date of the contact in that parking lot. Other periods can apply to other pieces — a claim by an insurer that paid, a dispute with your own carrier, or an injury claim that nobody has made — and the period that governs your situation depends on facts a page cannot see. Do not count from the calendar yourself. Bring the date, your photographs and your policy to a New York attorney for review.