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Negligence — The Foundation of Personal Injury Claims

Every personal injury case in New York rests on a single legal concept: negligence. To prevail, the injured party must establish four elements — duty, breach, causation, and damages. Every person and entity in New York owes a duty to exercise reasonable care. Drivers owe that duty to pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists. Property owners owe it to anyone lawfully on their premises. Physicians owe it to their patients.

When someone breaches that duty — by texting while driving, failing to repair a broken handrail, providing substandard medical treatment, or releasing a defective product — they may be held legally liable for the harm that results.

The standard New York courts apply is objective: would a reasonably prudent person, in the same circumstances, have acted the way the defendant did? This is not a question of what the defendant personally believed was safe. It is measured against what a careful, reasonable person would have done. A driver who runs a red light because they were distracted by a phone call cannot argue that they personally thought it was safe to look away from the road. The question is whether a reasonable driver would have done the same — and the answer is obviously no.

Causation is often the most contested element. It is not enough to prove the defendant was careless. You must prove that their carelessness actually caused your injuries. Insurance companies routinely argue that the victim's injuries were pre-existing, that the accident was too minor to cause the claimed harm, or that some intervening event broke the chain of causation. Overcoming these arguments requires thorough medical documentation, expert testimony, and an attorney who understands how to build an airtight causal link between the defendant's negligence and your suffering.

Pure Comparative Negligence (CPLR §1411)

New York follows the doctrine of pure comparative negligence, codified in CPLR §1411. Under this rule, an injured person can recover damages even if they were partially — or even primarily — at fault for the accident. If a jury determines that you were 30% responsible for the incident and the defendant was 70% responsible, your total damages award is reduced by your percentage of fault. So if a jury awards $500,000, you would collect $350,000.

This makes New York one of the most plaintiff-friendly states in the country for personal injury claims, because many other states bar recovery entirely once the plaintiff's fault reaches 50% or 51%.

Insurance companies understand this rule and shift as much blame as possible onto the victim. They comb through police reports, medical records, and witness statements looking for any evidence you contributed to the accident. A jaywalking pedestrian struck by a speeding driver may be assigned 30% fault — but still recovers 70% of damages.

Our job at the Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum is to minimize the fault assigned to our clients and maximize the total damages. We accomplish this through aggressive investigation, expert accident reconstruction, and meticulous presentation of evidence.

The Serious Injury Threshold (Insurance Law §5102(d))

New York operates under a no-fault automobile insurance system. After a motor vehicle accident, your own insurer pays medical expenses and lost wages up to a certain limit, regardless of fault. However, to file a lawsuit for pain and suffering, your injuries must meet the "serious injury" threshold defined in Insurance Law §5102(d). This threshold is the single most litigated issue in Long Island personal injury law.

The statute defines eight categories of serious injury: death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation of use, and the 90/180-day injury. The last category covers a medically determined injury preventing substantially all customary daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the accident. Each category has been the subject of extensive appellate litigation.

Insurers routinely hire IME doctors whose sole purpose is to examine you for fifteen minutes and write a report concluding your injuries do not qualify. These doctors often find "full range of motion" regardless of what your treating physicians documented. Our firm has defeated these arguments in over 1,000 cases across Nassau and Suffolk County courts.

We work closely with treating physicians to ensure documentation is thorough, quantified with objective measurements, and tied to the statutory categories. When insurers move for summary judgment, we have the medical evidence and legal expertise to defeat those motions.

Statutes of Limitations

Every personal injury claim in New York is subject to a strict deadline for filing suit. Miss that deadline, and your claim is permanently barred — no matter how severe your injuries or how clear the defendant's liability. For most personal injury cases, including car accidents, slip-and-fall injuries, and product liability claims, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of injury (CPLR §214). Medical malpractice claims carry a shorter deadline of two years and six months from the date of the malpractice or from the end of continuous treatment (CPLR §214-a). Wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death (EPTL §5-4.1). Claims against municipalities, counties, school districts, and other government entities require a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident (General Municipal Law §50-e), followed by a lawsuit within one year and 90 days.

Some cases involve tolling provisions that extend deadlines. The statute is tolled for minors until age 18, for incapacitated persons, and in medical malpractice cases under the continuous treatment doctrine. The discovery rule may apply for foreign objects left in the body during surgery.

However, waiting is never advisable. Evidence degrades over time: surveillance footage is overwritten, witnesses forget critical details, and physical evidence is repaired or discarded. The sooner you contact an attorney, the stronger your case will be.

Choosing a personal injury attorney is one of the most consequential decisions you will make after being injured. The attorney you hire determines whether your case settles for a fraction of its value or you receive full compensation. At the Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, we bring more than 24 years of concentrated personal injury practice on Long Island to every case.

Over that time, we have recovered more than $100 million for our clients — not through volume-based processing, but through individualized attention, thorough preparation, and a willingness to go to trial when insurance companies refuse fair settlements.

What sets our firm apart is the depth of our legal knowledge. Jason Tenenbaum has authored more than 2,353 published legal articles covering personal injury law, insurance regulation, and civil litigation in New York. That level of scholarship translates directly into courtroom advantage: when we argue a motion, cite case law, or cross-examine a defense expert, we draw from a reservoir of knowledge most firms cannot match.

Unlike most firms that hire outside appellate counsel, Jason Tenenbaum writes his own appeals. The attorney who tried the case understands the record and strategic decisions better than any outside lawyer. Our appellate work has produced landmark reversals in the Appellate Division, Second Department. We are admitted in seven states plus multiple federal courts, giving us the ability to handle complex cross-jurisdictional cases.

We also maintain relationships with top medical specialists across Long Island who treat on a lien basis — meaning you pay nothing out of pocket until your case resolves. This eliminates financial barriers to treatment and ensures your injuries are documented by qualified specialists from the start.

We have tried cases in Nassau County Supreme Court, Suffolk County Supreme Court, every district court across Long Island, and the Appellate Division. We know the local judges, defense attorneys, and the tactics local insurance adjusters use. That familiarity is an advantage no out-of-area firm can replicate.

New York personal injury law allows injured parties to recover two broad categories of damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are the tangible financial losses that result from your injury. These include all past and future medical expenses — emergency room visits, surgeries, hospitalizations, physical therapy, prescription medications, and ongoing rehabilitation.

Economic damages also include lost wages and lost earning capacity if your injuries prevent you from returning to your former occupation. Property damage, such as vehicle repair costs, is also recoverable. These damages are calculated from medical bills, pay stubs, tax returns, employer statements, and expert testimony from vocational specialists and economists.

Non-economic damages compensate you for intangible harms that do not carry a specific price tag. These include pain and suffering — both physical pain and emotional suffering caused by your injuries. Emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD, is compensable.

Loss of enjoyment of life addresses activities and pleasures your injuries have taken away. Loss of consortium claims allow a spouse to recover for lost companionship and intimacy. Critically, New York does not cap non-economic damages in most personal injury cases. There is no artificial ceiling on what a jury can award for your pain and suffering.

Calculating non-economic damages is part science and part art. Attorneys commonly use the multiplier method — multiplying economic damages by a factor of 1.5 to 5 depending on severity. The per diem method assigns a daily dollar value to pain and multiplies it by the expected days of suffering.

Documentation is the foundation of maximum recovery. Medical records, pay stubs, expert testimony, and even a personal pain journal all help build a compelling damages case. Our firm works with medical experts, economists, and life-care planners to ensure every dollar you are owed is identified and aggressively pursued.

Personal injury law is practiced locally. The practical reality of litigation is shaped by the county where your case is filed, the judges who preside, and the jury pool that decides it. Hiring a local Long Island attorney who practices in these courts every day provides advantages no out-of-area firm can replicate.

Familiarity with Nassau and Suffolk County court procedures is the first advantage. Nassau County cases are filed at 100 Supreme Court Drive in Mineola. Suffolk County cases go to 1 Court Street in Riverhead. Each courthouse operates under its own local rules that supplement the statewide Civil Practice Law and Rules.

Nassau County has specific rules for preliminary conferences and note of issue deadlines that differ from Suffolk County. Discovery cutoffs, motion timelines, and trial scheduling vary between the two counties. An attorney who practices here regularly knows these requirements instinctively. One who does not risks missing deadlines and weakening your case through avoidable procedural errors.

Knowledge of local judges and their preferences directly affects litigation strategy. Each judge has individual preferences regarding motion practice, discovery disputes, and trial management. Some actively encourage settlement. Others prefer cases to proceed to trial.

Some judges strictly enforce discovery deadlines and dismiss cases for non-compliance. Others grant extensions more liberally. Knowing which judge is assigned to your case allows a local attorney to tailor strategy accordingly. This institutional knowledge is built over years of daily practice and cannot be acquired from a Google search.

Relationships with local medical providers and experts are essential to a strong case. When injured, you need immediate access to specialists who provide thorough treatment and detailed documentation. Our firm has spent over 24 years building relationships with orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, pain management specialists, and radiologists across Long Island.

These providers treat on a lien basis — meaning you pay nothing until your case resolves. They understand what insurers look for and document injuries with the specificity needed to withstand defense challenges. An out-of-area attorney without these relationships cannot offer the same coordinated care.

Understanding of local jury demographics and tendencies affects everything from case valuation to trial presentation. Nassau and Suffolk County juries have different characteristics and tendencies regarding personal injury verdicts. An attorney who has tried cases in both counties factors these differences into settlement negotiations and trial preparation. This knowledge comes only from years of courtroom experience in these specific jurisdictions.

The ability to personally investigate accident scenes is often overlooked. When your attorney is on Long Island, visiting the scene, photographing conditions, and checking for surveillance cameras is a matter of driving across town — not booking a flight.

In cases where road conditions, lighting, or intersection design contributed to the accident, a personal site inspection reveals details photographs cannot capture. Our office at 326 Walt Whitman Road in Huntington Station gives us quick access to scenes throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Finally, choose an attorney who tries their own cases rather than referring to outside trial counsel. Many firms do not actually try cases. They negotiate settlements, and when an insurer refuses a fair offer, they accept the lowball amount or refer the case out for trial.

This creates a fundamental misalignment of interests. The attorney handling your case has no incentive to prepare for trial because they will never stand before a jury.

Insurance companies know which firms try cases and adjust their offers accordingly. At the Law Office of Jason Tenenbaum, Jason writes his own appeals and tries his own cases. The attorney who knows your file from day one stands before the judge and jury at trial. That continuity, combined with deep local knowledge, is what produces results.

Related practice areas: Car Accident Lawyer • Medical Malpractice • Slip & Fall Attorney