New York City
What New York City Pays for Injuries
Every year the City of New York pays injury claims and lawsuits involving agencies such as the NYPD, the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation and NYC Health + Hospitals. Here is where the money goes.
Updated October 8, 2026
Key findings
- The City of New York paid $11.46 billion across 91,095 personal injury claims and lawsuits in the records we hold, with a typical payment of $25,000.
- Three agencies account for the largest totals: the Police Department (NYPD) ($3.40 billion), the Department of Education ($1.12 billion) and the Department of Transportation ($1.06 billion).
- The highest typical payment came from NYC Health + Hospitals: $175,000 per payment across 1,013 payments.
- Claims settled before a lawsuit were typically paid $17,500 (48,105 payments); cases that became lawsuits were typically paid $35,000 (42,990 payments).
- Police and civil-rights claims were 35% of all payments but 16% of the dollars, with a typical payment of $15,000.
- Among the full calendar years covered by both kinds of City records (2016–2022), the largest total was in 2022: $1.20 billion.
The data
$11.46 billion
paid by the City for injury claims and lawsuits
91,095
payments
$25,000
typical payment
2013–2026
years in the records (the two sources cover different periods)
Before a lawsuit vs. after one
| Stage | Payments | Typical payment | Total paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claims settled before a lawsuit (City Comptroller) | 48,105 | $17,500 | $4.86 billion |
| Lawsuit payments (City Law Department) | 42,990 | $35,000 | $6.59 billion |
By City agency
| Agency | Payments | Typical payment | Total paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police Department (NYPD) | 35,535 | $20,000 | $3.40 billion |
| Other or not stated | 18,973 | $30,000 | $2.66 billion |
| Department of Education | 6,004 | $45,000 | $1.12 billion |
| Department of Transportation | 8,915 | $35,000 | $1.06 billion |
| Department of Sanitation | 3,234 | $60,000 | $998 million |
| Department of Correction | 11,435 | $7,500 | $519 million |
| Fire Department (FDNY) | 2,537 | $45,000 | $510 million |
| NYC Health + Hospitals | 1,013 | $175,000 | $506 million |
| Parks & Recreation | 2,497 | $50,000 | $448 million |
| Environmental Protection | 616 | $40,000 | $155 million |
| Housing Preservation & Development | 136 | $86,250 | $38.73 million |
| Homeless Services | 120 | $30,000 | $17.97 million |
| Administration for Children's Services | 80 | $50,000 | $14.02 million |
By kind of claim
| Claim | Payments | Typical payment | Total paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type not stated in the City's records | 43,801 | $35,000 | $6.50 billion |
| Police and civil-rights claims | 31,483 | $15,000 | $1.84 billion |
| Vehicle accidents | 4,689 | $40,000 | $1.08 billion |
| Falls and property conditions | 6,997 | $30,000 | $778 million |
| Medical malpractice | 1,058 | $225,000 | $581 million |
| School injuries | 2,067 | $30,000 | $327 million |
| Workplace injuries | 779 | $60,000 | $267 million |
| Construction accidents | 10 | $3.9 million | $46.83 million |
| Other injuries | 210 | $35,000 | $38.2 million |
By year
The two kinds of City records cover different years, so compare each column on its own. Pre-lawsuit claims in our records run from 2015-07 to 2023-06; lawsuit payments from 2013-01 to 2026-08.
| Year | Claims settled before a lawsuit | Lawsuit payments |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | — | $330 million (3,378) |
| 2014 | — | $375 million (3,518) |
| 2015 | $219 million (3,405) | $303 million (3,238) |
| 2016 | $655 million (6,669) | $383 million (3,292) |
| 2017 | $685 million (6,666) | $504 million (3,517) |
| 2018 | $532 million (6,177) | $501 million (3,292) |
| 2019 | $636 million (6,826) | $476 million (3,388) |
| 2020 | $421 million (5,104) | $417 million (2,910) |
| 2021 | $691 million (5,170) | $482 million (2,746) |
| 2022 | $654 million (5,278) | $546 million (2,997) |
| 2023 | $369 million (2,810) | $625 million (3,317) |
| 2024 | — | $609 million (3,100) |
| 2025 | — | $679 million (3,091) |
| 2026 | — | $363 million (1,206) |
What these figures can and can't tell you
- Personal injury payments by the City of New York: Comptroller claim settlements (before a lawsuit) and Law Department case payments, from the City's published records.
- Civil-rights claims against the police are a large share of the City's payments; the claim_type breakdown separates them.
- Years are payment or resolution years. Agencies are as named in the City's records.
- The two kinds of City records cover different periods (pre-lawsuit claims from mid-2015 to mid-2023 in the records we hold), so yearly totals rise and fall with what each covers. Compare years using the two columns separately.
Every figure on this page comes from the records; nothing is estimated. Groups with fewer than 10 records show no figures. How we collect records