Medical care and immediate safety come first. Then preserve evidence, identify all potentially involved parties and insurance, and investigate deadlines. An incident report is not necessarily a legal claim; an insurance claim is not a lawsuit; a government notice is not a lawsuit either. Negotiations normally should not be assumed to suspend filing deadlines.
NJ: The court’s general timetable identifies a two-year limitation for personal injury, but claim type, accrual, age, government involvement, and exceptions need review. NJ uses modified comparative negligence under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1: claimant fault can reduce recovery and can bar it when it exceeds the applicable defendant fault comparison. Auto policy choices, including PIP and limitation-on-lawsuit provisions, can affect claims. NJ Courts — Statute of Limitations FAQ, NJ Legislature — N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, NJDOBI — Auto Insurance Consumer Information.
NY: The court’s general timetable lists three years for ordinary negligence, with different periods for other claims. Do not publish the older blanket statement that NY always allows recovery regardless of how much the claimant was at fault. The current CPLR 1411 text reviewed for this edition includes a 2026 subsection (b) for personal-injury actions subject to Insurance Law Article 51, barring recovery where claimant fault exceeds the specified defendant-fault comparison. Subsection (a) retains proportional reduction for other covered actions. Effective-date and case-applicability questions, related 2026 auto reforms, and thresholds need attorney review for the actual claim. NY Courts — Statute of Limitations Timetable, NY Legislature — CPLR 1411, NY Governor — Auto Insurance Reforms, May 27, 2026.
DC: The general residual limitation is three years, but other listed categories and exceptions differ. Contributory negligence can be a serious barrier in ordinary negligence cases. DC Code § 50-2204.52 creates a different rule for covered pedestrian/vulnerable-user collisions; it does not convert every DC injury case into a comparative-fault case. A lawyer must assess the precise collision and parties. DC Code § 12-301, DC Code § 50-2204.52.
Government claims: NJ public-entity tort notices commonly involve a 90-day requirement; NY municipal tort notices under General Municipal Law § 50-e generally involve 90 days; DC Code § 12-309 generally requires specified written notice within six months for covered unliquidated-damage claims against DC. These are screening warnings, not universal deadlines for every government defendant. State agencies, federal agencies, transit authorities, school entities, claim types, and late-notice exceptions need separate review. NJ Treasury — Tort and Contract Notice, NY Legislature — General Municipal Law § 50-e, DC Code § 12-309.
Auto medical benefits: NY DFS explains that written no-fault notice generally must be given as soon as reasonably practicable and within 30 calendar days, subject to its stated reasonable-justification exception. Other submission requirements can be separate. NJ and DC policies and legal rules differ; do not import the NY deadline as a universal three-jurisdiction rule. NY DFS — No-Fault FAQs, NJDOBI — Auto Insurance Consumer Information, DC DISB — Consumer Auto Insurance Guide.