At a glance
- What changed
- Part EE amended Insurance Law 5102(d) and 5104 and added CPLR 1411(b) for motor-vehicle actions.
- Who it affects
- People who start a New York motor-vehicle personal injury action or proceeding on or after the date Part EE took effect.
- What to do
- If the crash was in New York, ask whether the 90/180 category still applies to your filing date, and whether shared fault now bars the case.
On this page
What changes
Part EE of the 2026 budget bill (A10008C) amended Insurance Law 5102(d) and 5104 and CPLR 1411. It took effect immediately and applies to actions commenced on or after that date.
Part EE makes three changes that matter on a crash file:
| Rule | Before the date Part EE took effect | Actions started on or after the date Part EE took effect |
|---|---|---|
| Serious injury | Insurance Law 5102(d) included a medically determined non-permanent injury that kept a person from substantially all usual daily activities for at least 90 days in the 180 days after the injury | That 90-of-180-days category is deleted |
| Fault and injury | Fault and serious injury were not sequenced this way in 5104(a) | The trier of fact decides who is at fault before it decides whether an injury is serious. Non-economic liability cannot be fixed until serious injury is found |
| Shared fault | CPLR 1411 let a claimant recover a reduced amount even if mostly at fault | New CPLR 1411(b) bars recovery in an Article 51 personal injury action if the claimant's fault is greater than the fault, or combined fault, of the people sued |
| Non-economic cap | No 5104(d) cap of this kind | New 5104(d) caps non-economic damages at $100,000 for certain at-fault injured people who are not already barred by 1411. The cap does not apply to death cases |
The $100,000 cap applies when the injured person was operating an uninsured motor vehicle they were responsible for insuring (except a lapse under 30 days), operating while impaired and later convicted, or operating in the commission of a felony, or immediate flight, and later convicted.
Who it affects
People who start a New York motor-vehicle personal injury action or proceeding on or after the date Part EE took effect. A case filed before that date follows the earlier text, including the 90/180 category.
What you still owe or still need to do
The three-year personal injury period in CPLR 214 is still the lawsuit clock for most private-driver cases. How long you have to file quotes that section.
You still have to report the crash to your own insurer and follow any state crash-report rule where the wreck happened. What to do in the first hours is that order.
What to do now
If the crash was in New York, look at the date any lawsuit would start. A filing on or after the date Part EE took effect cannot use the old 90/180 category. Shared fault can now close the case if your share is greater than the people you sued. What if I was partly at fault? is the page that applies that bar.
If the crash was in another state, Part EE does not change your statute.
Pages we updated
- What to do in the first hours after a car crash now points to the 2026 New York fault change.
- What if I was partly at fault in the crash? quotes CPLR 1411(b).
- How long do I have to file after a car crash? notes that the three-year New York period did not change.
Sources
Where our facts come from
Who wrote this page
- Written by
- Injury First Steps editorial staff. Who runs this site
- Licensed professional
- None. No personal injury attorney has checked this page.
Ask about the first hours
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