Whiplash settlements
in New York.

New York applies pure comparative negligence, which means a whiplash 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 whiplash 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 whiplash cases. The band is constrained primarily by jury verdict ranges, insurance policy limits, and the strength of the medical paper trail. Catastrophic whiplash 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, whiplash 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 whiplash 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.