Until this spring, New York was the largest pure comparative negligence jurisdiction in the country. That meant an injured person could recover damages reduced by their share of fault, even if they were mostly to blame. A change enacted in the state budget ended that for car accident injury lawsuits, and its effects are now showing up in courtrooms and claims offices.
This is a news explainer, not legal advice. The rule is new and courts are still interpreting it.
What changed
The FY2027 state budget added a new provision, CPLR 1411(b), to New York's civil procedure law. In a motor vehicle injury action covered by the state's no-fault insurance article, a plaintiff whose fault is greater than the defendant's, or greater than the combined fault of all defendants, cannot recover. The law took effect on May 27, 2026. It is often called a "50% bar," but as one practitioner analysis points out, it is technically a comparison of fault, not a fixed percentage, which matters when several defendants are involved.
Who it applies to
The new rule is limited to motor vehicle personal injury actions. Claims involving premises, products, construction, and professional negligence still follow the old proportional rule, where your fault reduces your damages but never eliminates them. The Governor's original proposal was broader, but lawmakers narrowed it.
One detail catches people off guard: the rule depends on when the lawsuit was filed, not when the accident happened. Any car accident claim not yet filed on May 27 falls under the new rule, no matter how long ago the crash occurred.
What did not change
Two proposals in the original package did not pass. Lawmakers did not repeal the exception that keeps full joint and several liability for non-economic damages in motor vehicle cases, so a defendant with a small share of fault can still be on the hook for a large award if co-defendants cannot pay. New York's serious-injury threshold under the no-fault law also remains, meaning defendants can challenge a claim on both injury severity and fault. The state's scaffold law for construction falls was left alone as well.
Early effects on claims
- A rush, then a lull. Injury lawyers filed a large volume of car accident suits in the last weeks of May to lock in the old rule. Filings in June and July then ran below the usual pace as firms re-evaluated cases where the plaintiff's fault was significant.
- Fault is now a motion issue. Defendants can ask a judge to dismiss a case early by showing the plaintiff was more at fault, something that rarely worked under the old rule.
- Evidence matters more. Dashcam video, vehicle event data recorders, telematics, and phone records can decide who was more at fault, so both sides are demanding that this evidence be preserved earlier.
Open questions remain, including how the rule treats pedestrians and motorcyclists hit by uninsured drivers, how fault of people who are not parties to the case is counted, and whether applying the rule to older accidents will survive constitutional challenge.
Georgia: another reform is being tested
New York is not the only state reshaping injury law. On September 9, Georgia's Court of Appeals issued the first appellate ruling testing that state's 2025 tort reform law. The court allowed testimony about the extent of an injury during the first phase of a split trial. One insurance-industry commentator said that runs against the law's intent, while another attorney noted the court approved the basic idea of deciding fault separately from damages. Reactions are mixed, and further rulings are likely.
What to do after a car accident
- Photograph the scene, vehicles, and road conditions, and get witness contact details.
- Do not admit fault or guess about what happened to insurers or other drivers.
- Ask that dashcam, vehicle data, and nearby security footage be preserved as soon as possible.
- Talk to an attorney early. Filing deadlines apply; in New York, personal injury lawsuits generally must be filed within three years of the accident.
In New York car accident cases, being more at fault than the other side can now mean recovering nothing. Fault evidence collected in the first days can matter more than ever.
Our personal injury settlement calculator gives a rough range for damages, but remember it does not account for fault-based rules like this one.