Reviewed by Laurence P. Banville, Esq.Do I sue the driver or the insurance company?
You sue the driver and, where it applies, the owner. Their liability insurer is not named as a defendant. It hires the lawyers, defends the case and pays a settlement or judgment up to the policy limit. New York lets you sue the insurer directly only later: under Insurance Law §3420(a)(2), if a judgment against the insured stays unpaid 30 days after notice of entry is served, you can bring an action against the insurer for the judgment, up to the coverage limit.
For most claims against a driver or owner, the lawsuit must be filed within three years under CPLR §214(5). Remember too that New York is a no-fault state. A suit for pain and suffering requires a serious injury as defined in Insurance Law §5102(d), which our guide to pain and suffering after a New York car accident explains.
The negligent driver
The starting point is the person behind the wheel. A driver who speeds, runs a light, follows too closely or looks at a phone can be liable for the injuries that result. In a multi-car crash, more than one driver may share the blame.
Can I sue the owner if someone else was driving?
Yes, in most cases. Vehicle and Traffic Law §388 makes every owner of a vehicle used in New York liable for injuries caused by the negligence of anyone driving it with the owner’s permission, express or implied. The owner does not have to be in the car or at fault. Courts presume the driver had permission once ownership is shown; in Murdza v. Zimmerman (2003) the Court of Appeals called this a rebuttable presumption. If the car was stolen, there was no permission, and the owner is usually not liable under this section. See liability when a rental car is stolen.
Can I sue a rental car company?
Usually not just because it owns the car. A federal law, the Graves Amendment, 49 U.S.C. §30106, says a company in the business of renting or leasing vehicles is not liable under any state’s law simply as owner during the rental period. That overrides the owner rule in VTL §388 for rental and leasing companies. The shield drops away if the company itself was negligent or committed criminal wrongdoing, for example by renting out a car it knew had bad brakes. You can still sue the renter who was driving. More on this in being hit by a rental car driver in New York.
The driver’s employer
When a driver causes a crash while doing their job, the employer can be liable for that driving under the rule known as respondeat superior. This covers delivery drivers, company cars and commercial vehicles. Whether a gig driver counts as an employee, and which policy applies, depends on the facts. See truck accident lawsuits in New York and suing DoorDash after a delivery driver crash.
Who do you sue after a taxi accident?
Usually the cab driver and the vehicle’s owner, which for a yellow cab is often the medallion owner or a fleet. VTL §388 applies to taxis like any other vehicle. The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission also sets minimum insurance levels for medallion taxis and for-hire vehicles, so there is normally a commercial policy behind the claim. Details are in suing a taxi company in NYC.
Can I sue the city for a crash with a city vehicle?
Yes, but the rules are stricter. Before suing a city, county, town or village you must serve a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e, and file the lawsuit within one year and 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-i.
- Emergency vehicles. Vehicle and Traffic Law §1104 lets police cars, ambulances and fire trucks on an emergency run pass red lights and exceed the speed limit. When the driver was using those privileges, ordinary carelessness is not enough. In Saarinen v. Kerr (1994), a police chase case, the Court of Appeals held that liability requires reckless disregard for the safety of others, meaning a conscious indifference to a known and obvious risk, not a momentary lapse of judgment.
- Road defects. If a pothole or broken pavement caused the crash, many municipalities can be sued only if they had prior written notice of the defect. In New York City, the Pothole Law, NYC Administrative Code §7-201(c), requires written notice to the City of the specific defect at least 15 days before the accident, with narrow exceptions such as where the City created the defect.
Can I sue a bar that served the drunk driver?
Possibly. New York’s Dram Shop Act, General Obligations Law §11-101, lets a person injured by an intoxicated person sue whoever caused or contributed to that intoxication by unlawfully selling alcohol to them. Selling to a visibly intoxicated person is unlawful under Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §65, so the key question is often what the staff saw. A separate law, General Obligations Law §11-100, covers anyone who unlawfully furnished alcohol to a person under 21 knowing, or with reasonable cause to believe, they were underage. See suing a drunk driver in New York.
Vehicle or parts manufacturers
If a design or manufacturing defect in the car or a part caused the crash or made the injuries worse, the manufacturer or seller can be a defendant in a product liability claim alongside the driver.
What if more than one party is at fault?
A jury assigns each party a share of fault. Under CPLR §1411(a) your own share reduces what you recover rather than barring it. Motor vehicle injury cases now follow a different rule. For lawsuits commenced on or after May 26, 2026, CPLR §1411(b) bars recovery in a personal injury action governed by the no-fault law if your fault is greater than that of the defendant, or of all the defendants combined.
Collecting from several defendants matters too. CPLR §1601 normally limits a defendant found 50 percent or less at fault to its own share of non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. But CPLR §1602(6) says that limit does not apply to anyone held liable because of the use, operation or ownership of a motor vehicle. So a driver or owner found only partly at fault can still owe the full non-economic award. A bar or a municipality is not liable because of driving or owning the car, so the §1601 limit can still protect it. That is one reason it pays to identify every vehicle defendant early. For the steps in a claim, see how a car accident lawsuit works in New York.
Banville Law reviews these claims and refers or co-counsels them with trial counsel where a case calls for it.
Frequently asked questions
Who do I sue after a car accident in New York?
Start with the driver who caused the crash and the owner of that vehicle, who is liable for a permitted driver’s negligence under Vehicle and Traffic Law §388. Others can be added when the facts support it: an employer whose driver was working, a taxi or fleet owner, a city or town, a bar that served a visibly intoxicated driver, or a manufacturer of a defective part. Most claims against a driver or owner must be filed within three years under CPLR §214(5).
Can I sue the owner of the car if someone else was driving?
Usually yes. Vehicle and Traffic Law §388 makes an owner liable for injuries caused by anyone driving with permission, whether that permission was spoken or just understood. The Court of Appeals treats ownership as creating a rebuttable presumption that the driver had permission. The main exceptions are a stolen car, where there was no permission, and rental or leasing companies protected by federal law.
Can I sue a rental car company for an accident?
Only in limited situations. The Graves Amendment, 49 U.S.C. §30106, protects companies in the business of renting or leasing vehicles from liability based only on ownership during the rental. The company can still be liable for its own negligence or criminal wrongdoing, such as renting out a car with known defects. You can still pursue the driver who rented the car and that driver’s coverage.
Can I sue a bar that served the drunk driver?
You may be able to. General Obligations Law §11-101, the Dram Shop Act, allows a person injured by an intoxicated person to sue whoever unlawfully sold alcohol that caused or contributed to the intoxication. Serving someone who is visibly intoxicated is unlawful under Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §65. If the driver was under 21, General Obligations Law §11-100 may also apply.
Can I sue New York City for a crash with a city vehicle?
Yes, but you must first serve a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e and sue within one year and 90 days under §50-i. If a police car, ambulance or fire truck was on an emergency run and using its privileges under Vehicle and Traffic Law §1104, you must show the driver acted with reckless disregard for safety, the standard set in Saarinen v. Kerr (1994).
Can I sue the other driver’s insurance company directly?
Not at the start. In New York you sue the driver and owner, and their insurer defends them and pays any settlement or judgment up to the policy limit. Insurance Law §3420(a)(2) allows a direct action against the insurer only after a judgment against its insured remains unpaid 30 days after notice of entry is served, and only up to the coverage limit.