Hurt in a NYC Taxi or Rideshare? Who Pays the Bills

Under New York Insurance Law section 5104(a), a person hurt in the use or operation of a motor vehicle in New York generally cannot sue another covered person for pain and suffering, and cannot sue for basic economic losses like medical bills, unless the injury meets the legal definition of a "serious injury." This rule applies whether the vehicle involved is a yellow cab, a green borough taxi, or a car arranged through a ride-hailing app. Passengers in these vehicles are covered persons under the no-fault system, which is designed to pay certain costs quickly without regard to who caused the crash.

Who pays the first medical bills after a taxi or rideshare accident?

In most taxi and app-ride accidents in New York City, the no-fault insurance attached to the vehicle you were riding in is the first source of payment for reasonable medical treatment and certain lost income, regardless of who was at fault for the crash. This is the basic design of New York's no-fault system under the Insurance Law, which is meant to get injured passengers care and partial wage replacement without waiting for a fault determination to be made.

What is no-fault coverage and why does it limit lawsuits?

No-fault insurance exists so that ordinary injuries from car accidents do not automatically turn into lawsuits. Under Insurance Law section 5104(a), there is no right to recover non-economic loss, meaning compensation for pain and suffering, and no right to recover basic economic loss, meaning the kind of medical and wage costs no-fault already covers, unless the injury rises to the level of a "serious injury." This threshold applies to claims between covered persons arising from negligence in the use or operation of a motor vehicle in New York, which includes taxis and app-based rides operating in the city.

When can a claim go beyond no-fault?

A claim for pain and suffering, or for losses beyond what no-fault pays, becomes possible only once the injury meets the definition of "serious injury" found in Insurance Law section 5102(d). Until that threshold is met, the claim stays inside the no-fault system no matter how the accident happened.

What counts as a serious injury under New York law?

Insurance Law section 5102(d), as amended effective May 26, 2026, defines "serious injury" as a personal injury that 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.

Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 (Part EE), signed May 26, 2026, removed the earlier category that had allowed a claim based on being unable to perform substantially all usual daily activities for a set number of days within the first six months after a crash. For actions commenced on or after May 26, 2026, that category is no longer part of the law, and only the categories listed above apply. An injury that once might have been argued under the removed category now has to be evaluated under one of the remaining categories in order to support a claim beyond no-fault.

Does it matter if it is a yellow cab, green cab, or app-based ride?

For purposes of the no-fault threshold, the type of vehicle does not change the legal analysis. Passengers in medallion yellow cabs, green boro taxis, and vehicles dispatched through a ride-hailing app are all covered persons under the same no-fault framework described in Insurance Law section 5104(a). What differs from case to case is which insurance policy responds first, since for-hire vehicles typically carry commercial no-fault coverage attached to the vehicle rather than to the passenger's own personal auto policy. A passenger generally looks first to the insurer of the vehicle that was involved in the crash.

What if a city-owned vehicle or public entity is involved?

Some taxi and rideshare accidents also involve a vehicle owned or operated by a public entity, such as a city bus or a municipal vehicle. When a claim involves a public entity, additional procedural requirements apply before any lawsuit can proceed, on top of the no-fault serious injury threshold described above.

What deadlines apply, and which one controls?

Several different deadlines can apply to the same accident, and the shortest deadline that applies is the one that controls the outcome, regardless of any longer deadline that might otherwise seem to apply. No-fault benefits themselves carry their own notice and filing requirements, separate from any lawsuit for a serious injury. A claim involving a public entity, such as a city-owned bus or vehicle, carries a notice requirement that is far shorter than the ordinary personal injury limitations period, and missing that shorter notice period can bar the claim entirely, even where the underlying injury clearly meets the serious injury threshold. Because these deadlines run independently of one another, and some are measured in a small number of days rather than months or years, identifying every potentially responsible party and every applicable deadline early matters a great deal.

This article is general information about New York law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The law changes and how it applies depends on the specific facts. Speak with a lawyer about your own situation.