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Cindy Cordova is a seasoned legal writer with over seven years of experience crafting clear, informative, and professional content for law firm websites. With a B.A. in English from Trinity Christian College, she combines her strong writing background with a deep understanding of legal topics to help firms connect with their clients through trustworthy and accessible content.
- June 6, 2025
What Are Legal Remedies in a New York Personal Injury Case?
Quick Answer: In New York personal injury law, a legal remedy is the method by which a court helps an injured person recover for harm caused by someone else’s negligence or wrongful conduct. The most common form of remedy is financial compensation, but in certain cases, courts may issue other orders to protect the injured party. If you’ve been injured in an accident or due to someone else’s negligence in New York City, call our personal injury lawyers at (646) 647-3398 for a free case evaluation.
Common Types of Legal Remedies in Personal Injury Cases
Monetary Damages
These are the most frequently awarded remedies and are designed to compensate the injured person for their losses.
- Compensatory Damages: Cover direct financial losses such as medical bills, lost income, and damage to property.
- Non-Economic Damages: Compensate for intangible losses like pain and suffering, emotional distress, or diminished quality of life.
- Punitive Damages: In cases involving gross negligence or intentional harm, courts may award punitive damages to punish the wrongdoer and deter future misconduct.
Injunctions
A court order requiring the defendant to stop a specific harmful action. While less common in personal injury cases, injunctions may apply in ongoing situations such as harassment or unsafe property conditions.
Specific Performance
This remedy requires a party to carry out a specific action, usually agreed upon in a contract. It’s rare in personal injury cases but may arise in certain legal contexts overlapping with contract law.
Key Legal Considerations
- Contributory Negligence: If the injured party is found partially at fault, their compensation may be reduced based on their share of responsibility.
- Settlement: Many personal injury cases in New York resolve through out-of-court settlements, often achieved via negotiation or mediation.
- No General Damage Caps: Unlike some states, New York does not place general limits on the amount of compensation available in most personal injury cases.
What Are the Main Types of Legal Remedies Available in Injury Cases?
In personal injury cases, a legal remedy is the action a court takes to address the harm someone has suffered. The goal is to make the injured person “whole” again, as much as possible under the law. In New York City, there are several types of legal remedies available, depending on the details of your case.
Here are the main types of legal remedies you might see in injury cases:
- Compensatory Damages: This is the most common type of remedy in personal injury cases. These damages are meant to pay you back for the losses you suffered because of the injury. This includes things like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- Punitive Damages: These are less common and are only awarded in certain cases. Punitive damages are meant to punish the wrongdoer, not just compensate you. In New York, they’re only given when the wrongdoer acted with serious misconduct, like in cases of drunk driving or extreme carelessness.
- Injunctive Relief: While less typical in personal injury cases, this remedy involves a court order that tells someone to stop doing something that’s causing harm. For example, if a dangerous condition on a property keeps causing injuries, a court might order the property owner to fix it to prevent more harm.
Each case is different. The type of remedy that applies will depend on how the injury happened, the evidence, and how seriously you were hurt. In New York City, busy streets, construction zones, and crowded buildings can lead to many kinds of personal injuries. Whether you slipped on a wet floor in a Bronx supermarket or were hit by a speeding driver in Brooklyn, the right legal remedy can help you recover your losses.
If you’ve been hurt and are unsure what kind of remedy might apply to your case, it’s important to speak with a personal injury lawyer. They can help you understand your rights and work to get the relief you deserve.
How Do Compensatory Damages Work in New York Injury Cases?
Compensatory damages are the most common type of legal remedy in New York personal injury cases. These damages are meant to help you recover from your losses after an accident. Their goal is to “make you whole” again as much as possible by providing financial compensation for what you’ve lost.
In New York, compensatory damages are divided into two main categories:
- Economic damages cover actual money you’ve lost or will lose because of the injury.
- Non-economic damages cover losses that don’t have a fixed dollar amount but still impact your life.
Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical bills: past and future treatment costs related to your injury
- Lost income: pay you missed because you couldn’t work
- Future lost earnings: money you might lose if you can’t return to your job
- Property damage: cost to repair or replace damaged items, like a vehicle
Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering: physical pain or emotional distress caused by the injury
- Loss of enjoyment: not being able to enjoy hobbies or normal life activities
- Emotional distress: anxiety, depression, or trauma linked to the accident
- Loss of companionship: impact on close personal relationships, like with a spouse or partner
New York does not put a cap on compensatory damages in most personal injury cases, including in NYC. That means the amount you can recover depends on the specifics of your case. This includes how badly you were hurt, how long your recovery may take, and how the injury has affected your life.
For example, someone injured in a car crash in Brooklyn who cannot return to work may recover both the income they’ve already lost and the money they likely won’t earn in the future. If their injury also caused lasting pain or emotional distress, they might recover non-economic damages as well.
Compensatory damages are awarded only if it’s proven that another party was legally at fault. This usually requires showing that someone else acted carelessly or failed to follow a duty of care, like a driver failing to stop at a red light.
It’s important to gather strong evidence such as medical records, witness statements, and expert opinions to support your claim. These help show the full impact of the injury and support your request for fair compensation.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in New York City, knowing how compensatory damages work can help you understand what you may be entitled to receive. For more guidance, call The Orlow Firm at (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation.
Can You Receive Punitive Damages in a NYC Personal Injury Claim?
Yes, you can receive punitive damages in a New York City personal injury claim, but only in rare situations. Punitive damages are not meant to pay back the victim’s losses. Instead, they are a way to punish the wrongdoer for very bad behavior and to warn others not to do the same.
In most NYC personal injury cases, the damages awarded are compensatory. This means they help cover things like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Punitive damages go beyond that. They are meant to punish someone whose actions were especially harmful or careless.
To get punitive damages in New York, the injured person must prove that the at-fault party acted with:
- Gross negligence : more than careless—showing no concern for safety at all
- Intentional harm : the person meant to hurt someone
- Reckless behavior : the person knew what they were doing was dangerous but did it anyway
Here are a few examples when NYC courts might allow punitive damages:
- Drunk Driving Accidents : If a driver was extremely intoxicated and caused a crash
- Assault-Related Injuries : If someone physically attacked another person resulting in injuries
- Serious Corporate Negligence : A company knowingly sold a dangerous product or kept unsafe property conditions
In these cases, the behavior must be far worse than a simple mistake. It must show a total disregard for the safety or rights of others.
It’s also important to know that punitive damages are not automatic. Even if bad behavior is proven, it’s up to the court or jury to decide whether they are appropriate—and how much should be awarded.
If you’re wondering whether punitive damages may apply in your NYC personal injury case, it’s a good idea to talk with a lawyer. Every case is different, and the rules are strict. The Orlow Firm can help explain your legal options and whether your case may qualify. For a free consultation, call (646) 647-3398 today.
What Is Injunctive Relief and When Is It Used in NYC Injury Cases?
Injunctive relief is a special type of legal remedy. Instead of seeking money for harm done, it asks the court to make someone start or stop doing something. In New York City personal injury cases, injunctive relief is less common than financial damages, but it can be important in certain situations.
What Is Injunctive Relief?
In simple terms, injunctive relief is a court order. It tells one party to either stop doing something harmful or to take an action to fix a problem. These orders are meant to prevent future harm, not just address injuries that have already happened.
There are three main types of injunctive relief:
- Temporary restraining order (TRO): A short-term order meant to prevent immediate harm before a hearing takes place.
- Preliminary injunction: An order issued early in a case that stays in effect until the case is decided.
- Permanent injunction: A long-term order issued at the end of a case, usually meant to prevent future harm.
When Is It Used in NYC Injury Cases?
Injunctive relief may come up when someone’s behavior is putting others at risk of injury. Instead of waiting for more people to get hurt, the court can act to stop the dangerous behavior. Some common situations in New York City where this might apply include:
- Unsafe conditions on property: If a landlord fails to fix a broken stairwell or remove hazardous materials, an injured tenant may ask the court to order repairs.
- Nursing home abuse: Families of residents might ask the court to stop abusive staff members from having contact with loved ones.
- Ongoing harmful behavior: A business might be ordered to stop using unsafe practices that have already caused injuries and could cause more.
Can You Request Injunctive Relief and Money Damages?
Yes. In many cases, both may be needed. For example, if someone is hurt due to unsafe conditions, they might sue for money to cover medical bills and also ask the court to make sure the danger is fixed to protect others.
Key Points to Remember
- Injunctive relief is not about compensation—it’s about stopping harm.
- It’s useful when there’s a risk of more injury in the future.
- It may be used along with other legal remedies like compensatory or punitive damages.
If you believe someone’s actions are putting you or others in danger—even after an injury has occurred—it’s important to speak to a personal injury lawyer. They can help you understand whether injunctive relief might apply to your case in New York City.
What Factors Affect the Type of Remedy You Can Receive in New York?
Several important factors can affect the type of legal remedy you may receive after being injured in New York. These factors help courts, insurance companies, and lawyers decide what kind of compensation is fair and legal in your situation. Below are the main things that can influence the remedy you might get in a New York personal injury case:
- The Type and Severity of Your Injury: More serious injuries usually lead to larger or different types of remedies. For example, a broken bone or permanent disability may qualify you for damages beyond basic medical costs.
- Who Was at Fault: In most personal injury cases, the court looks at who caused the injury. If someone else was clearly at fault, you may be able to seek full compensation from them. But if you were partly responsible, your remedy could be reduced under New York’s comparative negligence rule.
- Insurance Rules: New York’s no-fault insurance law affects remedies in car accident cases. In minor accidents, your own insurance pays for your basic expenses. But if your injuries are considered “serious” under the law, you may step outside this system and sue for more damages, like pain and suffering.
- Available Evidence: The strength of your case depends on evidence, like medical records, photos, or witness statements. Stronger evidence can support your claim for more complete remedies.
- Location and Court Rules: Some remedies depend on where the case is filed. In New York City, for example, local court rules and past decisions may impact the outcome of your case.
- Timing: There are time limits for filing injury claims, called statutes of limitations. If you wait too long, you could lose the right to any remedy at all, no matter how strong your case is.
- The Type of Remedy Sought: Not all remedies are based on money damages. In rare cases, the court may order someone to stop doing something harmful (called injunctive relief). But this depends on the facts of your case and whether money alone would be enough to fix the harm done.
Understanding how these factors apply to your case can be difficult without legal guidance. A personal injury attorney can help you figure out which remedies might be available and how to pursue them. If you or a loved one has been injured in New York City, call The Orlow Firm at (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation to discuss your options.
How Do Courts Decide Which Legal Remedy Applies in Injury Cases?
When someone is injured and brings a case to court, the judge or jury must decide what type of legal remedy is appropriate. A legal remedy is a way the court tries to fix the harm caused by another person’s actions. In personal injury cases, this usually means deciding how the injured person should be compensated.
Courts in New York look at several key factors when choosing which remedy to apply:
- The type and severity of the injury: Courts review how serious the injury is. Minor injuries may only lead to small payments, while serious or long-term injuries may lead to larger awards.
- The proof of harm: The injured person must show strong evidence, such as medical records or photos, showing how the injury affected their body and life.
- The loss suffered: This includes money spent on medical care, lost income from missed work, and pain and suffering. Courts try to match the remedy to the amount of harm done.
- Intent or negligence: If the person who caused the harm acted carelessly or on purpose, it can affect the remedy. For example, if someone knowingly caused harm, the court might allow for punitive damages, which are rare and meant to punish serious wrongdoing.
In New York City, courts often rely on compensatory damages, which are payments meant to make up for the losses caused by the injury. These can be economic (like medical bills) or non-economic (like emotional pain).
Sometimes, though rarely in personal injury cases, a court may also consider injunctive relief. This means the court tells someone to stop doing something that is causing harm, such as stopping unsafe practices on a property.
The court also considers what the injured person is asking for in their lawsuit. If they request a specific type of remedy, the court will decide if it is fair and allowed under New York law.
Each case is different, and the details matter a lot. For example, if a person in Brooklyn slips on an icy sidewalk and breaks their leg, the court will assess how the accident happened, whether the property owner was careless, and how the injury changed the person’s life. Based on that, the court will then decide what remedy should be given to help that person recover—often through financial compensation.
If you’re unsure about what remedies may apply to your case, speaking with a knowledgeable attorney can help. The Orlow Firm can guide you through the process and help you understand your legal options. Call (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation.
What Should You Do If You’re Not Getting the Remedy You Deserve?
If you feel you’re not getting the legal remedy you deserve after an injury, you’re not alone. Many people in New York City face challenges when trying to recover fair compensation. Whether your claim was denied, delayed, or underpaid, it’s important to take action quickly and carefully.
Here are the steps you should consider:
- Review the Details of Your Case: Begin by reviewing all documents related to your claim. This includes insurance paperwork, medical records, and correspondence from any involved parties. Look for missing or incorrect information that may have led to a low offer or denial.
- Understand the Reason for Denial or Dispute: Insurance companies often give reasons for rejecting or reducing claims. These might include missing paperwork, dispute over fault, or disagreement about the extent of your injury. Knowing why your claim was denied helps you respond appropriately.
- Request a Detailed Explanation if Needed: If you’re unsure why your claim was not accepted or fully paid, ask for a written explanation. In New York, insurance companies must explain their decisions. A clear reason can help you know what to fix or fight.
- Don’t Accept Unfair Settlements: Sometimes insurers offer a quick payment that doesn’t cover all of your losses. It may be tempting to accept, but don’t sign anything until you’ve reviewed it carefully. You may be giving up your right to a fair injury remedy.
- Gather Evidence of Your Damages: To support your claim, collect as much proof as possible. This can include medical bills, photos, doctor’s notes, lost wage records, and witness statements. Strong evidence can help strengthen your case.
- Track All Communication: Keep a record of all phone calls, emails, and letters from doctors, insurance companies, and others involved in your injury case. These can be useful if you need to dispute something or go to court.
If these steps don’t resolve the issue, it may be time to speak with a personal injury attorney. A lawyer can help you:
- Figure out what legal remedies you qualify for under New York law
- Negotiate with insurance companies or the other party on your behalf
- File a lawsuit if necessary to seek full compensation for your injuries
You should never have to face this process alone—especially if you’re trying to heal from a serious injury. Legal remedies exist for a reason: to help people recover after harm and hold the responsible party accountable. Getting professional legal help can make a big difference in whether or not you receive the remedy you’re owed.
If you’re in New York City and feel you’re not being treated fairly after an injury, don’t wait. Contact The Orlow Firm at (646) 647-3398 to speak with someone who can review your case and help explain your options in plain language. We’re here to support you through every step.
FAQ: Legal Remedies for Injury Victims in New York City
- What is a legal remedy in a personal injury case? A legal remedy is the way the law helps someone who has been wrongfully hurt. In injury cases, it usually means money awarded to cover the harm suffered. This could include medical bills, lost income, or pain and suffering.
- What types of legal remedies are available in New York City injury cases? The most common remedy is compensatory damages. This means money to cover real losses, like medical costs or missed work. In rare cases, courts may also award punitive damages. These are meant to punish especially bad behavior. Injunctive relief—when a court orders someone to do or stop doing something—is less common, but can apply in certain cases.
- How much compensation can I get in a personal injury case in NYC? The amount depends on many factors, such as how badly you were hurt and how the injury has changed your life. There’s no set amount, and each case is different. A personal injury lawyer can help you understand what types of damages might apply to your case.
- Can I sue for pain and suffering in New York? Yes, but only if your injury is considered “serious” under New York law. This means injuries like broken bones, permanent disability, or long-term medical problems. If you meet this rule, you may be able to get damages for both emotional and physical pain.
- Does New York’s no-fault law affect my legal remedies? Yes. In car accident cases, New York’s no-fault law usually limits lawsuits unless the injury is serious. Your own insurance will typically pay for medical bills and lost wages. To sue for additional damages, like pain and suffering, your injuries must meet the serious injury threshold.
- What if I’m partially at fault for my injury? New York follows a rule called “comparative negligence.” This means you can still get compensation even if you were partly at fault. However, your payment may be reduced based on how much you were to blame. For example, if you were 25% at fault, your compensation might be reduced by 25%.
- How do I know what remedy applies to my situation? The remedy depends on the facts of your case—how you were injured, who was responsible, and the effect of your injuries. Courts look at what will help make you as whole as possible, legally speaking. A personal injury lawyer can review your case and explain your options.
- What can I do if I don’t think I received a fair remedy? If you believe your compensation was too low or the wrong type of remedy was used, you may be able to appeal or reopen your case. This depends on the situation and timelines. It’s important to speak with a lawyer quickly if you have these concerns.
- How long do I have to seek a legal remedy after my injury? In New York, the time limit to file a personal injury lawsuit is usually three years from the date of the injury. This is called the statute of limitations. But some cases, like those involving city agencies or medical malpractice, may have shorter deadlines. Acting quickly helps protect your rights.
- Should I talk to a lawyer even if my injuries seem minor? Yes. Even minor injuries can result in long-term effects or costs you didn’t expect. A lawyer can help you understand your rights and whether you’re entitled to a legal remedy. The Orlow Firm offers free consultations if you have questions about your case. Call (646) 647-3398 to learn more.
Contact The Orlow Firm for a Free Consultation About Your Legal Remedy in NYC
If you’ve suffered an injury in New York City and have questions about what kind of legal remedy may be available to you, The Orlow Firm can help. Legal remedies are the ways the court helps make things right after someone has been harmed. These can include financial compensation or court orders to stop harmful behavior. Each case is different, and understanding what remedies apply to your situation can be confusing. Speaking with a lawyer can give you clarity and peace of mind.
The Orlow Firm offers free initial consultations to injury victims and their families. This means that you can talk to one of our attorneys at no cost to learn what your legal rights might be. We’ll listen to your story, answer your questions, and discuss what options may be available based on the details of your case.
During your free consultation, we may cover topics like:
- What types of damages you may be able to recover: This might include medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.
- Whether punitive damages may apply: In rare cases involving extreme wrongdoing, the court may award extra money to punish the wrongdoer.
- If non-money remedies are available: Sometimes, the court may order a person or company to stop doing something that is causing harm.
- How long you have to file a claim: New York has strict deadlines, called statutes of limitations, for different types of injury cases.
Getting hurt can turn your life upside down. Medical bills, lost income, and emotional stress can make recovery even harder. A legal remedy is about getting the support you need to rebuild your life. At The Orlow Firm, we aim to explain your options clearly and help you move forward with confidence.
If you or a loved one has been injured in New York City, don’t wait to get the help you need. Call The Orlow Firm today at (646) 647-3398 for a free and confidential consultation. Let us help you understand your legal remedy and take the next steps in your recovery.
The Following People Contributed to This Page
Cindy Cordova is a seasoned legal writer with over seven years of experience crafting clear, informative, and professional content for law firm websites. With a B.A. in English from Trinity Christian College, she combines her strong writing background with a deep understanding of legal topics to help firms connect with their clients through trustworthy and accessible content.
