How to Document a Car Accident in New York: Photos, Notes & Evidence Checklist

In most states, documentation determines how much you recover. In New York, it determines whether you recover anything beyond $50,000 at all — because the serious injury threshold is proven with evidence, and the evidence starts on the roadside.

Here is exactly what to capture.

Quick Answer

Photograph the scene before any vehicle moves. Take at least 12 photos: four wide shots, all damage, both plates, the other driver's licence and insurance card, traffic controls, and road conditions. Write a same-day note recording direction, speed, signal state, weather, and every physical symptom you feel. Get one witness's phone number. New York is a one-party consent state (Penal Law § 250.05) — as a participant in a conversation, you may lawfully record it.

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Why does documentation matter more in New York?

Because New York asks two questions, not one.

Question 1: Which insurer pays my medical bills? No-fault benefits are paid by the insurer of the vehicle you occupied — or, if you were a pedestrian or cyclist, the insurer of the vehicle that struck you. Answering that question requires the other driver's insurance carrier and policy number. Get it wrong, or miss it, and the 30-day NF-2 goes to the wrong company.

Question 2: Can I sue for pain and suffering? Only if you clear one of the nine serious injury categories in Insurance Law § 5102(d). Categories 7, 8, and 9 — permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation, and the 90/180 rule — are decided almost entirely on objective medical evidence documented early and continuously.

A third question runs underneath both: what is my fault percentage? Under pure comparative negligence (CPLR § 1411), every point an adjuster shifts onto you is a point off your recovery.

The 12-Photo Checklist

Take these in order. Do not move a vehicle first unless it is unsafe not to; if you must, photograph its position first.

Worth the extra seconds: the debris field photographed from above (it locates the true point of impact better than the cars do); sun glare at driver eye height; airbag deployment and the interior; visible injuries with consent; the odometer.

Photo 9 deserves emphasis. In a no-fault state, the insurance card is not a formality. It is the address to which your $50,000 in benefits must be mailed within 30 days.

What most people photograph wrong

Too close. A tight shot of a crumpled fender proves damage exists. It proves nothing about causation. The wide shot is the valuable one.

After the cars were moved. The geometry is then gone permanently.

No scale reference. Place a phone or a shoe next to a skid mark. Without a reference, a photo cannot convey size.

Only from the driver's side. Walk around both vehicles.

Screenshots instead of originals. Original files carry EXIF metadata — timestamp, GPS, device. A screenshot destroys it. Back up the originals unedited.

📝 NowAccident preserves the timestamps automatically →

What should your written note contain?

Write it within a few hours. Memory degrades measurably within 24 hours, and it degrades toward whatever version you have repeated most.

Record in plain sentences:

• Date, exact time, precise location — cross streets, direction of travel, lane number
• Your speed, honestly estimated
• What you were doing in the five seconds before impact
• The signal or sign state as you observed it
• Weather, lighting, road surface
• What each person said, in quotation marks
• Who exited which vehicle, and how they moved
• Whether anyone stated they were injured — or that they were not
• Every physical symptom you feel, however trivial

That last item carries unusual weight in New York. Neck stiffness recorded on day one is evidence that supports both a no-fault claim and, months later, a §5102(d) argument. Its absence is the evidence the defence will use.

Be accurate, not flattering. A note saying "I was doing about 40 in a 35" is credible. A note saying "exactly 35," contradicted by an event data recorder, destroys your credibility on every other point.

Can you record the other driver in New York?

Yes — New York is a one-party consent state. Under Penal Law § 250.05, eavesdropping requires that the recorder not be a party to the conversation. Because you are a participant in your own roadside exchange, you may lawfully record it without the other driver's permission.

This is the opposite of California's rule, and it is a real advantage. Practical notes:

• Photographs and video of a public roadway: no consent issue.
• Audio of your own conversation: lawful, one-party consent.
• Recording a conversation you are not part of: unlawful.
• Dashcams: forward-facing recording of a public road is generally fine. Cabin microphones capturing conversations you are not part of raise different questions.

Recording openly is still the better practice — a driver who admits fault on a recording they knew about is far harder to explain away later.

The medical evidence the threshold demands

This is the part that separates New York from every at-fault state.

To clear categories 7, 8, or 9 of § 5102(d), you generally need:

• Prompt initial treatment. A delay of weeks invites the argument that something else caused the injury.
• Objective findings. MRI or CT imaging; quantified range-of-motion testing with numerical degrees compared against normal, not "reduced ROM."
• Continuous treatment. Gaps are the single most common reason cases are dismissed at the threshold stage.
• A physician's contemporaneous opinion connecting the findings to the accident and describing the limitation.
• For the 90/180 rule: documentation of what you could not do, day by day, for at least 90 of the 180 days after the crash. A dated log of missed work, cancelled activities, and tasks you needed help with.

Insurers will schedule an Independent Medical Examination (IME) with a physician of their choosing, whose report will typically conclude the threshold is not met. Attend it — failing to appear can terminate benefits — and treat every prior record as the counterweight.

This is general information, not medical advice.

What evidence disappears, and how fast?

If a business camera may have captured the crash, send a written preservation request immediately — an email or letter naming the date, time, and camera location, asking them to preserve the footage. Businesses preserve footage when asked in writing before it rolls over, not out of kindness.

Do not repair the car before it is documented

Once the bumper is replaced, the physical evidence of impact height and force is gone. Photograph thoroughly, keep the estimate, and — if liability is contested and the crash was serious — ask your attorney before authorising repairs.

What your documentation feeds

• Form NF-2 (due to the insurer within 30 days)
• Form MV-104 (due to the DMV within 10 days if injury or >$1,000 damage)
• The 90-day Notice of Claim, if a city vehicle or a municipal road defect was involved
• The § 5102(d) threshold argument, months later
• The lawsuit, within three years (CPLR § 214)

Every one of them asks for facts you can only capture once.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many photos should I take after a car accident? At least 12, covering scene geometry, both vehicles, plates, the other driver's licence and insurance card, traffic controls, and road conditions.

Can I record the other driver without telling them in New York? Yes. New York is a one-party consent state under Penal Law § 250.05 — as a participant in the conversation, you may record it. Recording openly is still the better practice.

What if I did not take photos at the scene? Return as soon as safely possible and photograph the location, signals, and sightlines. Write your recollection today and date it honestly. Contact nearby businesses in writing about footage before it is overwritten.

Why does the other driver's insurance card matter so much in New York? Because no-fault benefits are paid by the insurer of the vehicle you occupied — or that struck you, if you were a pedestrian or cyclist. The 30-day NF-2 must go to the right company.

Does a dashcam recording help in New York? Frequently, particularly on signal state, speed, and lane position. Preserve the original file immediately; many dashcams overwrite within hours.

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Sources

• New York Insurance Law §§ 5102(d), 5104
• 11 NYCRR § 65-1.1
• New York Penal Law §§ 250.00, 250.05
• New York CPLR §§ 214, 1411
• New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 600, 605

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about New York law as of the last updated date. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Recording law is fact-specific; whether a particular recording is lawful depends on circumstances beyond this article's scope. Whether a given injury meets the § 5102(d) threshold is a heavily litigated medical and legal question. Consult a licensed New York attorney before recording anyone, before authorising vehicle repairs in a contested claim, and about the evidence in your specific case. Health-related statements are general information, not medical advice.