After a car accident, you may have extensive repair bills and medical bills. If your injury caused you to miss work, you may have even more financial trouble.
Let our lawyers walk you through the process of filing an insurance claim and, when available, a lawsuit to recover damages in your case. There are many areas of damages you might not even know you can claim, but New York’s no-fault system might make it difficult for victims.
Call BKS Injury Law’s car accident lawyers at (845) 303-2748 to discuss your case in a free case review.
Filing a Car Accident Claim in Newburgh, NY
New York uses a no-fault system, which can be confusing. In many cases, fault is still very important, but getting to the point where fault is considered requires some additional proof.
Filing a No-Fault Insurance Claim
You usually start an insurance claim with a claim through your own insurance. Every driver is required to carry no-fault PIP insurance (personal injury protection) to cover a portion of lost wages and medical bills.
This does not cover damages in full, nor does it pay any pain and suffering. That means that, even after this claim, you will always have damages left to claim. Plus, this claim requires paying a deductible you will want to recover later.
Property Damage is Separate
Property damage claims are not covered under your insurance unless you have additional collision coverage. Instead, these are claimed against the defendant’s insurance.
Serious Injury Threshold
You can only file a claim against the at-fault driver for injuries if you meet the “serious injury threshold.” This prevents lawsuits unless your injury is serious or permanent or involves a broken bone.
These rules changed in May 2026, so even if you think you know what usually qualifies, check with a lawyer as to whether your injuries qualify for a lawsuit under the new rules.
Filing a Third-Party Insurance Claim
If you have serious injuries, you can file a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Otherwise, you would only be able to get property damage from them.
Filing a Lawsuit
If their insurance refuses to settle for a fair value, we can take them to court instead.
Elements of Fault in a Car Accident Case
Although we call these crashes car “accidents,” they are rarely random accidents. Instead, someone is usually at fault, which we prove by showing these four elements:
Duty
The defendant needs to have owed you a legal duty in the first place. This is often based on explicit traffic laws, such as rules saying no speeding or no drunk driving.
This can also be based on general safe-driving principles that all reasonable drivers are expected to follow, even if there is no specific traffic law on point.
Breach
If they breach those rules, they have done something wrong that we can hold them responsible for. This often happens through traffic violations like
- Speeding
- Drunk driving
- Texting while driving
- Tailgating
- Running a red light/stop sign
- Failing to yield
Causation
That breach must also be what actually caused the crash for them to be responsible. For example, if they changed lanes without a signal 2 miles back, that does not make them responsible for a crash later down the road.
You have to show that what they did wrong was closely linked to your crash, even if it was a “chain reaction” sort of situation. Otherwise, there may be other at-fault parties to look into.
If the accident was unavoidable, it may be that no one was responsible.
Damages
Lastly, you need damages and injuries to sue for them. You cannot sue for a “close call” that did not actually harm you.
Damages Available in a Car Accident Claim
Most injury cases, especially car accident cases, focus on these areas of damages:
Medical Bills
Your care can be expensive after a crash. The cost of hospitalizations, surgeries, and long-term rehabilitation can cost thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the defendant and their insurance should pay for it.
Lost Wages
If you cannot work because of the injury, they should also compensate you for your lost wages.
This can include past wages while you were hospitalized before a full recovery, as well as ongoing lost earning capacity. If the injury left you disabled and you now make reduced wages or cannot work at all, we can claim that ongoing/future loss.
Property Damage
The cost of repairing your car – or replacing it if it was totaled – is a significant expense. Although we focus on your personal injuries, this is still an important expense to claim in your case.
Pain and Suffering
Lastly, the damages you have no bills or receipts for are still incredibly important – and may be the most expensive part of your case. Your insurance does not pay for pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, etc., but we can claim these “non-economic” damages against the defendant if you have serious injuries.
FAQs for Car Accident Cases in Newburgh
What is the Statue of Limitations on a Car Accident Lawsuit?
Most car accident cases need to be filed within 3 years of the crash.
What if You’re Partially at Fault?
If you are partially at fault for the crash, the court can assign you a percentage of fault. You lose that percentage of the total damages, but the defendant(s) still pay their fair share.
If your fault is over 50% in a car accident, you cannot sue at all. However, your no-fault insurance still covers at the full value it always does.
What if a Settlement Isn’t Enough for Your Case?
If the defendant’s settlement was too low, we can negotiate with them and their insurance. If we cannot bring the payout up to a level that actually compensates your needs, we can fight the case in court instead.
Call Our Car Accident Injury Lawyers in Newburgh, NY Today
Call (845) 303-2748 to get started with a free case review with the car accident lawyers at Basch, Keegan & Spada.