This page was written, edited, reviewed & approved by Ruben Davidoff following our comprehensive editorial guidelines Ruben Davidoff, the Founding Partner, has 30+ years of legal experience as a New York personal injury attorney.
Every deadline in a Brooklyn car accident claim, including no-fault, the MV-104, and claims against the city. Free case evaluation: 718-268-8800.
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The Brooklyn car accident claim process runs in two stages. Your own no-fault coverage pays medical bills and part of your lost earnings first, regardless of who caused the crash. Only after that does a separate claim against the at-fault driver become possible, and only if your injuries meet a standard set by state law. Each stage carries its own deadline, and missing one can end a claim that was otherwise strong.
At Davidoff Law, our attorneys handle every stage for people injured on Brooklyn streets, from the first insurance form through settlement or trial. Call us at 718-268-8800 for a free case evaluation.
How the Brooklyn Car Accident Claim Process Works, Step by Step
Once you have received medical care and reported the crash, the claim itself follows a predictable order. Our Brooklyn car accident lawyer team manages these steps so you are not tracking forms and deadlines while you recover.
- Notify your insurance company: Tell your own carrier about the crash promptly and give the basic facts. This opens the no-fault file that pays your early medical bills.
- File the no-fault application: Complete and return Form NF-2 to your insurer within 30 days of the crash. This single form controls whether your benefits get paid at all.
- File the MV-104 with the DMV: Drivers must send this written report to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles within 10 days when the crash meets the reporting threshold.
- Treat consistently and keep the record complete: Gaps in treatment are the most common reason an insurer questions an injury later.
- Preserve the evidence of what happened: We request the police report, canvass for camera footage, identify witnesses, and photograph the scene and vehicles before conditions change.
- Evaluate the injury against the state threshold: Your medical records and imaging determine whether you can pursue damages beyond no-fault benefits.
- Send a demand to the at-fault driver's insurer: The demand package sets out liability, the medical proof, and the full financial picture.
- Negotiate, then file suit if the response falls short: Filing in Kings County keeps the claim alive and moves it toward a decision.
Deadlines That Control a Brooklyn Car Accident Claim
Several clocks start on the day of the crash, and they run at different speeds. The shortest one is often the one people learn about too late.
Thirty Days to File Your No-fault Application
Written notice of your claim must reach the insurer as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 30 days after the crash. Insurance Regulation 68 sets that limit. A late filing can be excused, but only with a written explanation that gives clear and reasonable justification for the delay.
Ten Days to File the MV-104 With the DMV
Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 605 requires a written report to the DMV within 10 days when a crash injures or kills anyone, or causes more than $1,000 in damage to any one person's property. The DMV can suspend a license and registration until that report is filed. The MV-104 is separate from the police report, and in many minor Brooklyn collisions, no officer responds at all.
Three Years to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Under CPLR Section 214(5), a suit for personal injuries must be started within three years of the crash. That period sounds generous. In practice, evidence disappears well before it expires, and a lawsuit filed one day late is almost always barred. Where a crash causes a death, a Brooklyn wrongful death claim must be brought within two years of the date of death.
Ninety Days When a City Vehicle Or an MTA Bus Is Involved
Crashes involving a city sanitation truck, a municipal vehicle, or a New York City Transit bus follow a much shorter schedule. General Municipal Law Section 50-e requires a written notice of claim within 90 days, sworn and served on the correct office. The lawsuit itself must then be started within one year and 90 days. Public Authorities Law Section 1212 applies the same notice rule to the New York City Transit Authority.
Here is how those periods compare:
- No-fault application: 30 days from the crash
- MV-104 report to the DMV: 10 days from the crash
- Notice of claim against the city or transit authority: 90 days
- Suit against the city or transit authority: 1 year and 90 days
- Personal injury lawsuit against a private driver: 3 years
- Wrongful death action: 2 years from the date of death
How No-Fault Benefits Work After a Brooklyn Crash
New York is a no-fault state, so your first source of payment is the policy covering the vehicle you occupied. Our page on New York no-fault insurance covers the coverage itself in more detail.
What No-Fault Pays
Insurance Law Section 5102 defines basic economic loss as up to $50,000 per person, which includes:
- Necessary medical, hospital, surgical, dental, and rehabilitative expenses
- Lost earnings up to $2,000 per month for up to three years, paid at 80%
- Other reasonable and necessary expenses up to $25 per day for up to one year
What No-Fault Does Not Pay
No-fault benefits do not cover vehicle repairs, and they do not cover pain and suffering. They also stop at the policy limit. Anything above that ceiling has to come from a claim against the driver who caused the crash.
Damage to your car travels on a separate track. That claim goes either to your own collision coverage or to the at-fault driver's property damage liability coverage, and it settles on its own timeline. A quick repair check has no bearing on the value of an injury claim, even though adjusters sometimes present the two together.
Why Benefits Get Cut Off
Insurers deny no-fault benefits on timing more often than on the merits. Bills for health care must be submitted within 45 days of treatment, and a claim for lost earnings within 90 days. Carriers also schedule independent medical examinations and terminate benefits based on the examiner's report. A denial is not the end of the matter, and we regularly challenge these cutoffs.
When You Can Step Outside No-Fault and File a Lawsuit
Because no-fault handles the basics, state law limits when an injured person may sue for pain and suffering. That gate is the serious injury threshold.
What Counts as a Serious Injury
Insurance Law Section 5102(d) defines serious injury as a personal injury resulting in death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system, permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, or significant limitation of use of a body function or system. Meeting any one category opens the door to a full claim.
What Changed in 2026
New York removed the category that had allowed a claim based on a non-permanent injury preventing usual daily activities for 90 of the first 180 days after a crash. Many pages still describe that rule as current law. If you were told your case rested on it, the analysis needs a fresh look at your medical proof.
The practical effect is that objective medical documentation carries more weight than it used to. Imaging, surgical records, and a treating physician's findings on permanence or limitation now do most of the work in showing that a claim clears the threshold.
How Fault and Coverage Affect a Brooklyn Claim
Shared Fault Does Not End Your Claim
New York applies pure comparative negligence. Under CPLR Section 1411, your own conduct does not bar recovery; instead, damages are reduced in proportion to your share of the fault. Someone found 30% responsible can still recover 70% of proven damages. Insurers know this rule and often argue for a higher percentage than the facts support.
When more than one party is responsible
Responsibility does not always stop with the driver. Depending on the facts, the owner of the vehicle, an employer whose worker was on the job, or a rideshare company's coverage may also be part of the claim. Commercial vehicles, delivery vans, and for-hire cars are common on Brooklyn streets, and they typically carry higher limits than a personal auto policy.
Identifying every available policy early usually matters more to the outcome than any single argument about liability. Where several parties share responsibility, each one's share is decided as part of the case.
Uninsured and underinsured drivers
When the at-fault driver has no coverage or too little of it, your own policy may supply supplementary uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. These claims run on strict notice requirements and often go to arbitration rather than court.
What Happens If Your Claim Becomes a Lawsuit in Kings County
Most Brooklyn cases settle. When an insurer will not offer a fair figure, the case is filed in Kings County Supreme Court and enters a structured process.
Filing, pleadings, and discovery
We file a summons and complaint, and the defense answers and demands a bill of particulars detailing your injuries and claims. Discovery follows: exchange of medical records and authorizations, written questions, depositions of everyone involved, and often a defense medical examination.
Mediation, settlement, and trial
Cases are conferenced before the court, and many resolve at mediation once both sides have seen the proof. If no agreement is reached, the case is placed on the trial calendar and tried before a jury.
Several things commonly slow this timeline:
- Treatment that is still ongoing, since the full value is unknown until the medical picture stabilizes
- Disputes over liability among multiple drivers
- Missing records from a hospital or a specialist
- A government defendant, which adds a pre-suit hearing under General Municipal Law Section 50-h
Claims by Passengers, Pedestrians, and Cyclists in Brooklyn
If you were not driving, the process still starts with no-fault, but the policy that responds may not be your own. Passengers usually claim through the coverage on the vehicle they were riding in.
A pedestrian or a cyclist struck by a car generally claims no-fault benefits through the policy on that vehicle, and our Brooklyn pedestrian accident lawyer team handles those filings. Because passengers rarely share fault, their claims often turn on which driver was responsible rather than on whether anyone was.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Brooklyn Car Accident Claim Process
How long does a Brooklyn car accident claim take?
Can I file a claim if I was partly at fault?
What if the other driver had no insurance?
Do I have to give the insurance company a recorded statement?
What if my no-fault benefits were denied?
Contact Davidoff Law About Your Brooklyn Car Accident Claim
The Brooklyn car accident claim process rewards early, organized action, and it punishes missed deadlines. Our attorneys at Davidoff Law take over the filings, deal with the insurance companies, and build the medical and liability proof while you focus on treatment. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, so there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you. Ruben Davidoff and our team are available around the clock, and se habla español.
Call Davidoff Law at 718-268-8800 or contact our team to schedule a free case evaluation about your Brooklyn car accident claim.
Ruben Davidoff, founder of Davidoff Law, established his practice in 2012 after moving to Queens in 1988 and beginning his legal career in 1997. Admitted in NY State and the US District Court for the Eastern District of NY, he has extensive experience in personal injury, handling various cases like airline crashes, auto accidents, and slip/trip and fall cases. Mr. Davidoff provides personalized attention, recovering millions for clients through settlements or verdicts, leveraging decades of experience.
