New York Statute of Limitations

Personal Injury Actions: Three-year statute of limitation

NY CPLR § 214.

Actions to be commenced within three years:

for non-payment of money collected on execution; for penalty created by statute; to recover chattel; for injury to property; for personal injury; for malpractice other than medical, dental or podiatric malpractice; to annul a marriage on the ground of fraud.

Medical malpractice: Two-and-a-half year statute of limitation

NY CPLR § 214-a

An action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice 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 which gave rise to the said act, omission or failure.

Product Liability: Three-year statute of limitation from the date of the accident

NY CPLR § 214(5) 5.

an action to recover damages for a personal injury except as provided in sections 214-b, 214-c and 215;

Wrongful Death: Two-year statute of limitations

EPTL 5–4.1

1. The personal representative, duly appointed in this state or any other jurisdiction, of a decedent who is survived by distributees may maintain an action to recover damages for a wrongful act, neglect or default which caused the decedent's death against a person who would have been liable to the decedent by reason of such wrongful conduct if death had not ensued. Such an action must be commenced within two years after the decedent's death; provided, however, that an action on behalf of a decedent whose death was caused by the terrorist attacks on September eleventh, two thousand one, other than a decedent identified by the attorney general of the United States as a participant or conspirator in such attacks, must be commenced within two years and six months after the decedent's death. When the distributees do not participate in the administration of the decedent's estate under a will appointing an executor who refuses to bring such action, the distributees are entitled to have an administrator appointed to prosecute the action for their benefit.
2. Whenever it is shown that a criminal action has been commenced against the same defendant with respect to the event or occurrence from which a claim under this section arises, the personal representative of the decedent shall have at least one year from the termination of the criminal action as defined in section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law in which to maintain an action, notwithstanding that the time in which to commence such action has already expired or has less than a year remaining.

Special Rules for Minors: Three year statute of limitations

CPLR § 208. Infancy, insanity

If a person entitled to commence an action is under a disability because of infancy or insanity at the time the cause of action accrues, and the time otherwise limited for commencing the action is three years or more and expires no later than three years after the disability ceases, or the person under the disability dies, the time within which the action must be commenced shall be extended to three years after the disability ceases or the person under the disability dies, whichever event first occurs; if the time otherwise limited is less than three years, the time shall be extended by the period of disability. The time within which the action must be commenced shall not be extended by this provision beyond ten years after the cause of action accrues, except, in any action other than for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice, where the person was under a disability due to infancy. This section shall not apply to an action to recover a penalty or forfeiture, or against a sheriff or other officer for an escape.

Workers' Compensation: Two-year statute of limitations from the date of injury or last payment of compensation (whichever is later).

New York Workers' Compensation Law, Article 2, Section § 28

Limitation of right to compensation. The right to claim compensation under this chapter shall be barred, except as hereinafter provided, unless within two years after the accident, or if death results therefrom within two years after such death, a claim for compensation shall be filed with the chairman, but the employer and insurance carrier shall be deemed to have waived the bar of the statute unless the objection to the failure to file the claim within two years is raised on the first hearing on such claim at which all parties in interest are present. The right of an employee to claim compensation under this chapter for disablement caused by any occupational disease including but not limited to compressed air illness or its sequelae, silicosis or other dust disease, latent or delayed pathological bone, blood or lung changes or malignancies due to occupational exposure to or contact with arsenic, benzol, beryllium, zirconium, cadmium, chrome, lead or fluorine or to exposure to x-rays, radium, ionizing radiation, radio-active substances, or any other chemical compound shall not be barred by the failure of the employee to file a claim within such period of two years, provided such claim shall be filed after such period of two years and within two years after disablement and after the claimant knew or should have known that the disease is or was due to the nature of the employment. No case in which an advance payment is made to an employee or to his dependents in case of death shall be barred by the failure of the employee or his dependents to file a claim, and the board may at any time order a hearing on any such case in the same manner as though a claim for compensation had been filed.