Personal Injury
Insurance companies settle cases based on what they think you will actually do.
The firm litigates. That is the difference that shows up in the number.
Most injury cases settle. They settle for more when the other side has reason to believe the case will be tried if it is not resolved fairly — when the pleadings are right, the discovery is done, and the witnesses have been examined.
Deadlines are short, and some are much shorter than people expect.
| Type of claim | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Most injury claims in New York | 3 years(CPLR 214[5]) |
| Medical, dental, podiatric malpractice | 2 years, 6 months(CPLR 214-a) |
| Wrongful death | 2 years(EPTL 5-4.1) |
| Claims against New York City, the MTA, or NYC Transit | Notice of claim in 90 days — then generally 1 year 90 days to sue |
| False arrest / false imprisonment | 1 year against a private party — and 90 days' notice if against the City |
The 90-day rule catches people. If you were hurt on a bus, on the subway, on a City sidewalk, or by a City employee, you generally have 90 days to serve a notice of claim — not three years. Miss it and the claim can be lost regardless of how strong it is.
Deadlines vary, exceptions apply, and some claims accrue at a different moment than you would expect. If you think a deadline may be running, do not wait for a call back — call.
What the firm handles
- Trip, slip, and fall — sidewalks, stairways, stores, building common areas
- Falls from ladders, scaffolds, and staircases — including construction cases under Labor Law § 240(1)
- Dog bites — New York law changed in 2025
- Pedestrian knockdowns
- Motor vehicle collisions — including the no-fault "serious injury" threshold
- MTA, NYC Transit, and City of New York accidents — subject to the 90-day notice of claim
- Wrongful arrest and civil rights claims
- Denial of medical treatment
- Medical and dental malpractice
Some law that actually matters to your case
Dog bites: New York law changed in April 2025
For nearly twenty years, New York allowed only one theory in a dog bite case — strict liability, and only if the owner knew the dog had "vicious propensities." An ordinary negligence claim was barred.
That is no longer the law. In Flanders v. Goodfellow (2025), the New York Court of Appeals unanimously overruled that rule. An injured person may now proceed on strict liability or on ordinary negligence — or both. If you were told you had no dog bite case under New York's old rule, the answer may now be different. Read more →
Falls from height on a construction site: Labor Law § 240(1)
The "scaffold law" imposes absolute liability on owners and contractors for injuries caused by elevation-related risks — falls from ladders and scaffolds, and objects falling from height — where proper protection was not provided. Critically, your own comparative negligence is not a defense to a § 240(1) claim. This is one of the strongest provisions in New York injury law, and it is routinely missed.
Motor vehicle cases: the "serious injury" threshold
Under Insurance Law § 5102(d), a person injured in a car accident generally cannot sue for pain and suffering unless the injury meets one of nine statutory categories — including fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation of use, and the "90/180" category (an injury that prevents you from performing substantially all of your usual activities for 90 of the 180 days after the accident). Whether an injury clears the threshold is frequently the whole fight.
NYC sidewalk falls: who is actually liable
Under Administrative Code § 7-210, the abutting property owner — not the City — is generally liable for a defective sidewalk, including failure to clear snow and ice. There is a narrow exception for owner-occupied one-, two-, or three-family homes used exclusively for residential purposes, where liability reverts to the City. Which side of that line your fall lands on changes everything about the case.
How the firm works an injury case
Investigation before the evidence disappears. Surveillance video is overwritten in days. Defect conditions get repaired. Witnesses move. The work that decides an injury case usually happens in the first month.
The claim is built for trial, whether or not it is tried. Pleadings, discovery, depositions, expert disclosure. A case that has been worked is worth more than a case that has been filed.
Adjusters price the file on the lawyer. A demand from a firm that has examined witnesses at contested hearings and taken cases through motion practice is read differently than a demand from a firm that has never done either.
What to do now
- Get medical care and follow the treatment. Gaps in treatment are the first thing a defense adjuster looks for.
- Photograph everything — the condition, the scene, the injury — before it changes.
- Report the incident in writing where there is a report to make.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other side's insurer.
- Do not accept an early offer. The first offer is almost never the case's value, and it usually arrives before anyone knows what your injury actually is.
- Watch the deadline. Especially the 90-day one.
Frequently asked questions
How much is my case worth?
No honest lawyer can answer that at the first call. It depends on the injury, the treatment, the liability picture, the available insurance, and how the case is worked. Anyone who quotes you a number before seeing your records is selling something.
Do I have to pay anything up front?
Personal injury matters are generally handled on a contingency fee — the firm is paid a percentage of the recovery, and there is no fee if there is no recovery. The specific terms are set out in a written retainer.
Will my case go to trial?
Most do not. But the ones that settle well are the ones that were prepared as if they would.
I was partly at fault. Do I still have a case?
Probably yes. New York is a pure comparative negligence state — your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, not eliminated. And in a Labor Law § 240(1) case, your comparative fault is not a defense at all.
The insurance company already offered me money. Should I take it?
Not before someone independent has looked at your case. Early offers are priced on incomplete information — usually before the full extent of the injury is known.
Talk to a litigator about your injury
Vorontsov Law Firm PLLC · 1599 E. 15th St., Ste. 4, Brooklyn, NY 11230
