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Car Accident Lawyers

Whether it is an accident involving two cars or ten, a pedestrian or a bicyclist, a motorcycle or a motor home — all are motor vehicle accidents, and all run on New York's no-fault system. We have handled them since 1957.

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The two things that decide a New York car case

Most people assume a car case is about who ran the light. In New York it is really about two other things, and both of them are decided in the first weeks.

01

No-fault comes first. Your own insurer pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages regardless of who caused the crash — up to the policy's basic $50,000 of coverage. But no-fault is a paperwork system with hard deadlines: the application (form NF-2) generally has to reach the insurer within 30 days of the accident, and medical bills within 45 days of treatment. Miss those and the carrier denies, and the denial follows you into the case. We file it for you.
02

Then comes the serious-injury threshold. Under Insurance Law § 5102(d), you cannot sue for pain and suffering after a car accident unless your injury fits one of the statutory categories — a fracture, significant limitation of use of a body function or system, permanent consequential limitation, significant disfigurement, or a 90/180-day disability. Insurers litigate this threshold hard, and they win cases on it that should have been won on liability. It is why the medical documentation from the first month matters as much as the police report.
03

Beyond those two, a New York car case turns on evidence that has a short life:

intersection and business camera footage that gets overwritten in days, vehicle damage that gets repaired, the position of the cars before anyone moves them. That is the work we start on the day you call.

Situations we handle constantly

Rear-end collisions

A rear-end impact usually creates a presumption against the following driver — but "low impact" is the defense insurers reach for first, even where discs are herniated. Two of the firm's published verdicts are exactly this case.

Intersection and left-turn crashes

Who had the right of way is often resolved by camera footage nobody preserved. We send preservation letters immediately.

Hit-and-run

If the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage — or MVAIC, if you have no policy — can still pay. Both have short notice deadlines of their own.

Uninsured and underinsured drivers

When the at-fault policy is too small for the injury, the supplementary underinsured motorist claim on your own policy is often the real source of recovery.

Drunk and distracted drivers

A criminal case runs alongside your civil claim. What happens in the criminal court can help or complicate the civil one; the timing matters.

Passengers

As a passenger you are almost never at fault, and you may have claims against more than one driver. This is the most straightforward liability position there is.

Verdicts and settlements

Car accident recoveries obtained by this firm

$7,500,000

Verdict for wrongful death, against landlord, caused by fire that spread through apartment that was without smoke detectors.
$4,400,000

Verdict for motor vehicle accident causing spinal injuries requiring surgery.
$4,000,000

For a truck driver struck in the rear by a bus sustaining a brain injury.
$3,090,000

For a construction worker that fell from a mobile crane platform and sustained a pilon fracture.
$1,000,000

For the driver of car struck in the rear who sustained cervical herniated discs which required surgery.
$1,000,000

For a man injured in a low impact rear end collision causing injuries to his lumbar and cervical spine requiring surgery.

All results

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different, and the result in any case depends on its own facts.

How it works

What happens once we take the case

01

No-fault filed on time

The NF-2 goes in within 30 days and your providers get billed correctly, so your treatment is not interrupted and the carrier has no paperwork defense.
02

Evidence preserved

Preservation letters to businesses and municipalities for camera footage, the police report and any 911 audio, photographs of both vehicles before repair, witness statements while memories are fresh.
03

Injury documented to the threshold

We make sure the imaging, the specialist referrals and the treating physician's findings actually address the statutory categories — because that is what the defense will attack.
04

Every layer of coverage found

The at-fault policy, any commercial or employer policy behind it, your own UM/SUM coverage, and MVAIC where it applies.
05

Negotiated, and tried if necessary

Most cases settle. The ones that do not are tried by attorneys who have obtained verdicts in the millions in exactly these cases.

Car accident questions

Not answered here? A lawyer will answer it, free and at any hour.

Ask us directly

How long do I have to sue after a car accident in New York?

Three years from the date of the accident for personal injury, and two years for wrongful death. But if a city, county, state or transit vehicle was involved, a Notice of Claim is normally due within 90 days. The 30-day no-fault deadline runs even sooner.

The insurance company already offered me money. Should I take it?

Not before someone reads the medical file. Early offers arrive before anyone knows whether a disc needs surgery or whether you can go back to your job. A release you sign now ends the claim for good.

My car was barely damaged. Do I still have a case?

Possibly. The firm has obtained a $1,000,000 recovery for a man injured in a low-impact rear-end collision that caused lumbar and cervical injuries requiring surgery. Vehicle damage and bodily injury do not track each other as neatly as insurers argue.

What if I was partly at fault?

New York uses pure comparative fault. Your recovery is reduced by your share, not eliminated. Insurers routinely overstate that share at the start.

Do I have to use my own insurance?

For medical bills and lost wages, yes — that is what no-fault is. It does not raise your rates for a crash you did not cause, and it does not stop you from suing the at-fault driver for pain and suffering if you meet the threshold.

In their words

Clients who came to us after a crash

5.0 from 90 Google reviews

★★★★★ Apr 2026

No complaints at all. Everything went according to what they said and I’m thankful for their representation.

M M

★★★★★ Feb 2026

If there was more than 5 stars Seth Fields and his associates would get them all. Mr. FIelds went to trial with a jury in Suffolk Cty Riverhead Supreme Ct & won w/ a verdict in minutes for 100% Liability. The defense worked with Mr. FIelds in a settlement before the damages trial began. I would stop here searching any further & contact Seth Fields if you want a Smart, Attainable for your questions, concerns, Empathetic to your needs but a Bull Dog with your case, then you found your attorney.I can’t thank you enough for all your long hours, weekends, holidays that you put into 7 yrs of all my medical, motions, hearings & trial etc. WE WON! You did it and obtained a large settlement that I couldn’t be more happy after this long tough journey. I would refer everyone to you that has a case that needs fighting for. 🙏

Kristen Parker

★★★★★ Feb 2026

The most amazing, professional and knowledgeable with great communicators with injury law, and I highly recommend that there is no reason for second and third opinions on procuring a law firm with their experience and know how. They are second to none. My time was precious, and they respected every minute of it. Thank you!

Robert Hendy

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