How Long Does a NYC Car Accident Case Take?

The useful answer is a range with reasons attached. A straightforward case that settles without a lawsuit can finish in six to twelve months. A case that gets filed, litigated and tried takes two to four years, sometimes longer in the busiest courts.

Most of that time is structural. Very little of it is anyone being lazy.

The timeline, stage by stage

Stage	What is happening	Typical time
Treatment	You heal, or reach the point where doctors expect no further improvement	3–12 months
Demand and negotiation	Records are gathered, a demand goes to the insurer, offers move back and forth	2–6 months
Filing and service	The lawsuit is filed and the defendant is served	Service is due within 120 days of filing
Discovery	Paperwork exchanges, depositions, a defense medical exam	9–18 months
Note of issue	Your lawyer certifies discovery is done and the case joins the trial calendar	—
Motions	Either side has 120 days after that filing to move for summary judgment	3–6 months
Mediation	Many cases are routed to a mediator before trial	1–3 months
Trial	Waiting behind every case filed before yours	Varies by county

Why nobody rushes the first stage

Nobody can put a price on an injury that is still developing. A demand sent while you are mid-treatment values the injuries you have today, not the ones a surgeon may identify in March. Once that number is on paper, walking it back is difficult.

Clients find this stage the hardest, because it looks like nothing is happening. Something is. Your treatment records are the evidence, and they are being built one appointment at a time.

The second track running at the same time

In a car case, No-Fault insurance handles your medical bills and part of your lost wages regardless of fault, and it moves on its own tight schedule:

• 30 days from the accident to give the insurer written notice
• 45 days from treatment for medical bills to be submitted
• 90 days for proof of lost earnings

These deadlines have nothing to do with your lawsuit, and missing them costs you coverage you were entitled to no matter who caused the crash.

If the City, a bus or the subway is involved

Everything compresses at the front and stretches in the middle.

• A notice of claim is due within 90 days.
• The agency can require a sworn examination before any lawsuit.
• The lawsuit itself must be filed within 1 year and 90 days.
• Public agencies resolve enormous volumes of claims, which is its own source of delay.

Five things that genuinely slow a case down

• Gaps in treatment. Every unexplained gap invites an argument instead of an offer.
• Slow records. Hospitals and clinics take weeks, sometimes months, and nobody can make them hurry.
• Multiple defendants. Each one has counsel, a schedule and a turn at your deposition.
• Thin insurance. When coverage is small, the case turns into a hunt for other responsible parties, and that takes time.
• Unresolved medical paybacks. Settling is one thing; getting Medicare, Medicaid or a health plan to finalize its number is another, and it can hold up your check after everything else is done.

What you can do to keep it moving

• Keep treating, and tell your lawyer the real reason if you have to stop.
• Return authorization and record-release forms the day they arrive.
• Tell the firm immediately when your phone number or address changes.
• Save every bill, receipt and out-of-pocket cost.
• Stay off social media about the case.
• Ask, at each stage, what the firm is waiting for. A good answer is specific.

Filing early does not mean finishing early, but waiting costs you

Most New York injury cases must be filed within three years of the accident. That is a deadline for starting, not for finishing, and the two get confused constantly. A case filed on the last available day still has every stage above ahead of it.

Different claims run on different clocks:

• Most injury claims: three years
• Medical malpractice: generally two years and six months
• Wrongful death: two years from the date of death
• Anything against a public agency: a notice of claim in 90 days, suit within one year and 90 days

One more piece of context from the City's own numbers. Among police action claims in fiscal 2023, those resolved before a lawsuit settled for an average of $17,609, while those resolved in litigation averaged $68,702. That gap is not proof that suing pays better, since the larger cases are the ones that end up litigated in the first place. It does show that the slow track and the cheap track are not the same track.

A fair expectation to hold

• Settling before a lawsuit: often 6 to 12 months after treatment ends.
• Filed and litigated to settlement: commonly 18 months to 3 years.
• All the way through trial: 3 years or more in a busy county.

Silence is not the same as delay, but it is not acceptable either. A firm should be able to tell you which stage you are in, what it is waiting for, and roughly when that ends. If nobody can answer that in one sentence, the problem is communication rather than the calendar, and that is worth knowing before you hire anyone.

If a public vehicle was involved, read the bus and subway notice-of-claim guide before relying on the ordinary filing timeline.

This article is general information about New York law, not legal advice for your situation.

Sources: CPLR 214 · CPLR 214-a · EPTL 5-4.1 · CPLR 306-b · CPLR 3402 · CPLR 3212 · General Municipal Law 50-e · General Municipal Law 50-i · NYS DFS, No-Fault FAQs