Head & brain settlements
in New York.

New York applies pure comparative negligence, which means a head & brain claimant who is partly responsible for their own injury still recovers — the award is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to them, but never barred. This is materially more claimant-friendly than the modified or contributory rules in neighbouring jurisdictions, and it shows up in head & brain settlements where comparative fault is contested (the claimant who failed to mitigate, the unbelted occupant, the worker who departed from a safety protocol).

New York does not impose a state-specific statutory cap on the standard heads of damage in head & brain cases. The band is constrained primarily by jury verdict ranges, insurance policy limits, and the strength of the medical paper trail. Catastrophic head & brain claims with documented future care needs can clear the upper end of the band without bumping into a statutory ceiling.

Because New York is a no-fault auto insurance state, head & brain claims arising from motor-vehicle accidents are first routed through Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. Tort recovery against the at-fault driver is gated by the state's serious-injury threshold, which materially limits the lower end of the head & brain settlement band. New York operates a no-fault auto scheme with mandatory $50,000 PIP. Tort recovery for non-economic damages requires meeting the serious-injury threshold under Insurance Law § 5102(d) — death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, loss of fetus, permanent loss of body organ/member/function, permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation of body function, or non-permanent injury preventing usual activity for 90 of 180 days.