Georgia and New York

Georgia vs New York Personal Injury Law: Understanding Two Different Approaches

10 min read

  • 12 rules side by side
  • 11 sections

New York uses pure comparative negligence for injury claims outside its no-fault car crash system, so an injured person 60 percent at fault still recovers 40 percent, where Georgia allows nothing at 50 percent or more. A 2026 law changed that for car crash claims between people covered by New York’s no-fault system: in actions commenced after it took effect, a claimant more at fault than the defendants recovers nothing. New York also gives three years to sue, requires a notice of claim against a city or county within 90 days, and forbids any statutory cap on wrongful death damages.

Which state’s law applies

A Georgia court applies the law of the state where the injury happened. In Dowis v. Mud Slingers, Inc. (2005), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that “a tort action is governed by the substantive law of the state where the tort was committed.” A New York crash sued in Georgia is therefore decided under New York rules on fault and damages. Deadlines follow a different rule. In Harvey v. Merchan (2021), the Supreme Court of Georgia said that “[s]tatutes of limitations are generally procedural in nature, and therefore those of the forum state govern”, so a suit filed in Georgia generally runs on Georgia’s two years, not New York’s three. The exception is a foreign statute that “creates a cause of action that is not recognized in the common law and includes a specific limitation period”: that period governs when it is shorter than Georgia’s. Whether a Georgia court can hear the case at all, which depends on jurisdiction over the defendant and on venue, is a separate question that these rules do not answer. A New York court applies its own choice-of-law rules, which should be checked before filing there.

Side by side

Topic Georgia New York
Injured person's own fault, claims outside the no-fault system Recovery reduced; barred at 50% or more (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) Pure comparative fault: recovery reduced, never barred (CPLR 1411(a))
Injured person's own fault, no-fault car crash claims Same 50% bar (§ 51-12-33) Barred if the claimant's fault is greater than the defendant's or the defendants' combined, in actions commenced on or after the 2026 law took effect (CPLR 1411(b); L. 2026, ch. 58, part EE)
Defendants sharing fault Each pays only its own share, apart from concerted action (§ 51-12-33(b)) A defendant 50% or less at fault pays only its share of non-economic loss; full liability remains for economic loss and in car crash, reckless disregard, Labor Law article 10, and other excepted cases (CPLR 1601, 1602)
Personal injury deadline 2 years (§ 9-3-33) 3 years (CPLR 214(5))
Medical malpractice deadline 2 years from injury; 5 years from the act at most (§ 9-3-71) 2 years and 6 months from the act or the end of continuous treatment; foreign objects 1 year from discovery; missed cancer diagnosis from knowledge, 7 years at most (CPLR 214-a)
Wrongful death deadline 2 years from death (§ 9-3-33) 2 years from death; at least 1 year after a related criminal action ends (EPTL 5-4.1)
Claims against cities, counties, towns City notice 6 months; county 12 months (§§ 36-33-5, 36-11-1) Notice of claim within 90 days; suit within 1 year and 90 days, or 2 years for wrongful death (General Municipal Law §§ 50-e, 50-i)
Car crash pain and suffering No threshold Only for a "serious injury", decided after fault is decided (Insurance Law §§ 5102(d), 5104(a))
At-fault uninsured or convicted impaired driver No special limit Non-economic recovery for a serious injury limited to $100,000, except in death cases (Insurance Law § 5104(d))
Damages caps No cap on compensatory damages; punitive cap $250,000 with exceptions (§ 51-12-5.1) No statutory cap; wrongful death damages may never be capped by statute (N.Y. Const. art. I, § 16)
Malpractice pre-suit step Expert affidavit with the complaint (§ 9-11-9.1) Attorney's certificate of merit with the complaint; 90 days when a deadline is near (CPLR 3012-a)
Vehicle owner's liability for a permitted driver Family purpose doctrine (Yim v. Carr, 2019) Owner liable for negligence of anyone driving with permission (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388)

The New York text used here is the version published by the New York State Senate. A claim against the State itself goes to the Court of Claims under rules not set out here; dog bite and alcohol seller liability, the treatment of insurance and other collateral payments, and premises liability are also not compared.

Fault: pure comparative, with a 2026 exception for crashes

“Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, in any action to recover damages for personal injury, injury to property, or wrongful death, the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant or to the decedent, including contributory negligence or assumption of risk, shall not bar recovery”, and damages are “diminished in the proportion which the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant or decedent bears to the culpable conduct which caused the damages” (CPLR 1411(a)).

Subsection (b) now provides that “[i]n any action to recover damages for personal injury subject to article fifty-one of the insurance law, the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant shall bar recovery if the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant is greater than the culpable conduct of the person against whom recovery is sought or is greater than the combined culpable conduct of the persons against whom recovery is sought” (CPLR 1411(b)). It was added by part EE of chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026, which the legislative record shows signed under May 26, 2026; part EE “shall take effect immediately and shall be applicable to all actions and proceedings commenced on or after such date”.

Injured person's fault, $100,000 found Georgia New York, outside the no-fault system New York, no-fault crash claim commenced after the 2026 law
40% $60,000 $60,000 $60,000
50% $0 $50,000 $50,000
51% $0 $49,000 $0
60% $0 $40,000 $0

Car crashes: the serious injury threshold

In an action between covered persons for injuries from negligent use of a motor vehicle in New York, “there shall be no right of recovery for non-economic loss, except in the case of a serious injury, or for basic economic loss”. “No liability for non-economic loss shall be fixed unless and until the trier of fact has determined the existence of a serious injury”, and the trier of fact decides fault first (Insurance Law § 5104(a)).

“Serious injury” means “a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; or significant limitation of use of a body function or system” (Insurance Law § 5102(d)). The 2026 law removed the former category for a non-permanent injury that prevented usual daily activities for 90 of the first 180 days.

For an injured person who is at fault but not barred, non-economic recovery for a serious injury “shall be limited to one hundred thousand dollars” if that person was driving an uninsured vehicle they were responsible for insuring (except a lapse under 30 days), was driving while impaired and was convicted, or was driving in the commission of a felony and was convicted. The limit does not apply in death cases (Insurance Law § 5104(d)).

Basic economic loss, which no-fault benefits pay, runs up to $50,000 per person (Insurance Law § 5102(a)). Georgia has no no-fault system or tort threshold.

Joint liability

When a defendant’s liability “is found to be fifty percent or less of the total liability assigned to all persons liable, the liability of such defendant to the claimant for non-economic loss shall not exceed that defendant’s equitable share” (CPLR 1601(1)). That limit does not apply to economic loss, and CPLR 1602 lists cases where it does not apply at all, including “any person held liable by reason of his use, operation, or ownership of a motor vehicle or motorcycle” and “any person held liable for causing claimant’s injury by having acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others” (CPLR 1602(6), (7)).

“Every owner of a vehicle used or operated in this state shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the use or operation of such vehicle … by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner” (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388(1)).

Deadlines

“An action to recover damages for a personal injury” must be commenced within three years, with listed exceptions (CPLR 214(5)). A wrongful death action “must be commenced within two years after the decedent’s death”, and when a criminal action has been commenced against the same defendant for the same event, the personal representative has “at least one year from the termination of the criminal action” (EPTL 5-4.1).

A medical malpractice action “must be commenced within two years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness, injury or condition”. A foreign object claim may be commenced within one year of discovery. A claim for negligent failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor runs two years and six months from when the person knew or should have known of the negligence and the injury, but “no later than seven years from such alleged negligent act or omission”, or from the last continuous treatment (CPLR 214-a).

Claims against local government

Where a notice of claim is required against a public corporation, it must be served “within ninety days after the claim arises; except that in wrongful death actions, the ninety days shall run from the appointment of a representative of the decedent’s estate” (General Municipal Law § 50-e(1)(a)). No action may be maintained against a city, county, town, village, fire district, or school district unless the notice was served, at least 30 days passed without payment, and the action is “commenced within one year and ninety days after the happening of the event upon which the claim is based; except that wrongful death actions shall be commenced within two years after the happening of the death” (General Municipal Law § 50-i(1)).

Georgia gives cities six months’ notice and counties 12 months (§§ 36-33-5, 36-11-1).

Damages: no caps, and a constitutional rule for death cases

New York’s constitution provides: “The right of action now existing to recover damages for injuries resulting in death, shall never be abrogated; and the amount recoverable shall not be subject to any statutory limitation” (N.Y. Const. art. I, § 16). A wrongful death award is “fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries resulting from the decedent’s death to the persons for whose benefit the action is brought”, plus medical and funeral expenses, and for deaths on or after September 1, 1982, punitive damages “may be awarded if such damages would have been recoverable had the decedent survived” (EPTL 5-4.3(a), (b)).

On appeal, the Appellate Division “shall determine that an award is excessive or inadequate if it deviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation” (CPLR 5501(c)).

Georgia has no cap on compensatory damages and caps punitive damages at $250,000 except in product liability, specific-intent, and impairment cases (§ 51-12-5.1).

Malpractice: certificate of merit

“In any action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice, the complaint shall be accompanied by a certificate, executed by the attorney for the plaintiff”, declaring that the attorney consulted a licensed physician (or dentist or podiatrist) and concluded “that there is a reasonable basis for the commencement of such action”. If a time limit would bar the action before a consultation could be had, the certificate “shall be filed within ninety days after service of the complaint”; the attorney may instead declare that three good faith attempts with three separate professionals failed (CPLR 3012-a(a)). Georgia requires an expert affidavit with the complaint (§ 9-11-9.1).

Dates and documents to pin down

  1. Where the injury happened, which sets the governing law in a Georgia court, and where the suit will be filed, which generally sets the deadline.
  2. For a New York car crash, the date the action is or will be commenced, because the 2026 fault bar depends on it.
  3. Whether the injury meets the serious injury list, which decides whether pain and suffering can be claimed after a crash.
  4. For a claim against a New York city, county, town, village, or school district, the date 90 days after the claim arose.
  5. For a malpractice claim, the date of the act and the last date of continuous treatment.

How Georgia’s own rules work is explained in the Georgia personal injury law guide. Another pure comparative negligence state is compared in how Arizona’s fault rule compares with Georgia’s.

Sources

General information about Georgia and New York law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.