MVA Retainers in New York

A signed retainer is the finish line of intake, and it is where we start. We deliver signed MVA retainers in New York: accident victims who have been screened against your case criteria and have already signed your firm’s own retainer agreement. Your team opens the file and starts working the case. There is no lead to chase, no intake script to run, and no list to share with competing firms.

Every case is exclusive to one firm, priced as a flat fee per signed case, and covered by 14-day replacement protection. No contracts and no percentage of the fee, ever.

This page explains what a delivered New York case actually contains, how the screening works under New York law, what the replacement protection covers, and how to check a delivered case in its first 14 days.

New York accident law facts behind our screening

Filing deadline: 3 years from the date of the accident for personal injury claims (CPLR section 214(5)). Claims against a government entity generally need a notice of claim within 90 days, which is one more reason cases are delivered fast.
Fault system: No-fault. Every vehicle must carry personal injury protection, described in words only here: a per person benefit that pays the insured’s own medical bills, a portion of lost wages, and other necessary expenses regardless of fault. A pain and suffering claim against the at-fault driver requires meeting the serious injury threshold in Insurance Law section 5102(d), under the categories as amended effective May 26, 2026, which eliminated the 90/180-day category.
Negligence rule: For motor vehicle cases under Insurance Law Article 51, modified comparative negligence with a bar at more than 50% fault (CPLR section 1411(b), effective May 26, 2026 for actions commenced on or after that date): a claimant more than 50% at fault recovers nothing in the lawsuit, while a claimant at 50% or less recovers reduced by their share of fault. Personal injury protection benefits are not affected by this bar, and wrongful death actions remain under the pure comparative rule. Other personal injury cases outside motor vehicle law still follow pure comparative negligence.
Minimum insurance: 25/50/10 liability coverage is the New York floor: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage, plus personal injury protection described in words only above. Limits are higher where the injury results in death, described in words only here. Uninsured motorist coverage is also required.

What a delivered New York case includes

A signed retainer agreement, on your firm’s own paperwork
A client screened against your criteria: accident within the last year, fault position established against the 2026 motor vehicle rule, injuries confirmed, treatment started or scheduled, serious injury threshold position checked, insurance verified on both sides, no prior attorney
The intake record and consent documentation for the file
English or Spanish speaking clients, matched to what your firm can handle

In plain terms, a delivered case file looks like this (sample, with details changed): Sample delivered case, Brooklyn, New York. Accident: rear-end collision on a city street, 3 weeks before delivery. Client: driver, not at fault. Injuries: neck and back pain, seen at an emergency room the same day, physical therapy scheduled. Threshold position: treatment and injury profile consistent with meeting the serious injury threshold. Insurance: at-fault driver’s policy confirmed, limits verified, client’s own personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage checked. Prior attorney: none. Status: retainer signed on the buying firm’s own agreement, consent record attached, client confirmed reachable by phone.

Your firm’s first job on delivery is the 14-day verification checklist below, not intake. The signing already happened.

How pricing works

New York retainers are priced as a flat fee per signed case, set for New York against your criteria and markets, and quoted before you commit to anything. The fee is never a percentage of your recovery. There are no contracts and no minimum term. If a delivered case fails the criteria you agreed with us, or the client turns out to be unreachable, tell us within 14 days and we replace it.

Why flat fee and never a percentage: your firm keeps its fee arrangement clean. We are paid for delivering a signed case that meets your criteria, the same way every time, and we never share in the settlement. That keeps the engagement simple for your firm, your client, and anyone who ever reviews the file.

The math to run before you buy: take your average fee on a settled New York MVA case and decide what share of it you can spend to acquire a signed case. That figure is your ceiling. A signed retainer program works when the flat fee sits comfortably under that ceiling and the cases meet criteria, because your intake cost per signing drops to the time it takes to verify a file instead of the weeks it takes to chase leads. If you currently buy leads, compare the retainer fee with your true cost per signed case from leads, including your intake team’s hours. Most firms that run both numbers honestly find the comparison closer than they expected, with far less work on the retainer side.

How it works

You set the criteria. Case types, fault position, treatment requirements, and the New York markets you want covered.
We run the campaigns and the intake. Advertising, screening, and signing happen under your criteria and on your agreement.
Signed cases are delivered to your firm. Your team picks up a file that is ready to work, not a name to chase.
Your first 14 days are protected. Verify each case against the checklist below. Anything that fails gets replaced.

If your firm prefers to run its own intake on screened leads instead, see our MVA leads in New York page.

What the 14-day replacement covers

Replacement protection exists so your firm never pays for a case that was not what we said it was. It covers a delivered case that:

Fails the case criteria you agreed with us (fault position, accident age, injury or treatment status, threshold position)
Turns out to be unreachable after genuine attempts
Was already represented by another attorney
Does not match the insurance position described at delivery

It does not cover a case that simply settles for less than hoped, or a client who later stops treatment against advice. Those are case outcomes, not delivery defects, and no honest provider can insure them. Report a problem inside the 14 days, with what you found, and the case is replaced.

Your first-14-days verification checklist

Run this on every delivered New York case. It takes minutes per file and it is what the replacement window is for.

Signed retainer agreement in hand, on your firm’s paperwork, with the client’s details matching the delivery
Client reached by phone and confirms the accident, the injuries, and that they signed with your firm
Accident date inside your criteria and well inside the New York 3 years deadline
Fault position as described at delivery, checked against the crash details, including the 2026 more-than-50% bar for motor vehicle cases filed on or after May 26, 2026
Serious injury threshold position as described at delivery, checked against treatment records and the injury profile under the amended categories
Treatment started or scheduled as described
Insurance position as described, for both the client and the at-fault driver, including personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage on the client’s own policy
No prior attorney anywhere in the picture
If a government vehicle is involved, the notice of claim status confirmed

Anything that fails: document it and tell us inside the 14 days. That is the whole process.

Consent and compliance, in plain terms

Every case starts with a person who asked for help after an accident. The intake record and consent documentation travel with the delivered file, so your firm can see how the client was contacted and what they agreed to. Clients sign your firm’s own retainer agreement, so the attorney-client relationship is directly between your firm and the client from the first signature. We are a marketing and intake provider. We do not practice law, we do not advise your clients on their claims, and we never take a share of any fee.

How to spot a bad retainer provider

New York firms get pitched signed cases constantly. These are the tells:

Percentage pricing. A provider who wants a cut of your fee has a different business from yours, and a messier one.
Their agreement, not yours. If the client signs the provider’s paperwork instead of your firm’s retainer, ask hard questions about who the client thinks their lawyer is.
No replacement terms in writing. Verbal promises about bad cases are worth exactly what they cost you when a case goes bad.
No screening detail. A provider who cannot explain exactly how fault, treatment, threshold position, and insurance are verified is selling you names, not signed cases.
Pressure to skip verification. Any provider who minds you checking delivered cases in the first 14 days is telling you what you will find.

New York markets we cover

We deliver signed cases across New York, led by New York City, with Buffalo, Yonkers, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany as the other main markets. Set the map and we build to it. Metro volume signs faster and costs more to generate. Mid-size markets deliver steadier files at a calmer pace. Many firms run both.

FAQs

How much do signed MVA retainers cost in New York?

Pricing is set per state. New York cases are quoted as a flat fee per signed case, based on your criteria and markets, before you commit. It is never a percentage of the settlement or fee.

Do clients sign my firm’s retainer agreement or yours?

Yours. Every client signs your firm’s own retainer agreement, so the engagement is directly between your firm and the client from day one.

How does New York’s no-fault system affect the cases I receive?

New York requires personal injury protection on every auto policy, so the client’s own policy pays first for medical bills and a portion of lost wages regardless of fault. A pain and suffering claim against the at-fault driver requires meeting the serious injury threshold in Insurance Law section 5102(d), under the categories as amended effective May 26, 2026. Every New York retainer we deliver has its threshold position established before signing, so cases that cannot become tort claims do not reach your firm.

How does New York fault law affect the cases I receive?

For motor vehicle cases filed on or after May 26, 2026, New York follows modified comparative negligence with a bar at more than 50% fault under CPLR section 1411(b): a claimant more than 50% at fault recovers nothing, while a claimant at 50% or less recovers reduced by their share of fault. Personal injury protection benefits are not affected by this bar, and wrongful death actions remain pure comparative. Every New York retainer we deliver has its fault position established against the current rule before signing.

How long do New York clients have to file?

3 years from the date of the accident for personal injury claims under CPLR section 214(5). Claims against a government entity generally need a notice of claim within 90 days. Our screening only accepts accidents within the last year, so your firm receives cases with the filing window still open.

What if a signed case does not check out?

You have 14 days to verify each delivered case against your criteria. If a case fails the criteria you agreed with us, the client is unreachable, or the file does not match what was described, we replace it.

What exactly do I receive for each case?

The signed retainer on your firm’s agreement, the intake record, and the consent documentation, for a client screened on fault, injuries, treatment, threshold position, insurance, and prior representation. The sample case file above shows the shape of a delivery.

Can the client be Spanish speaking?

Yes. New York cases can be English or Spanish speaking, and we match deliveries to the languages your firm handles.

Is there a contract or minimum term?

No. There are no contracts and no minimum term. Firms stay because the cases check out, not because paperwork traps them.

How is this different from buying leads?

With leads, your firm pays for chances and does the intake work: the calling, the chasing, the screening, the signing. With retainers, you pay for the finished step, a signed client who met your criteria before delivery. The tradeoff is price per unit against hours and conversion risk. Our MVA leads in New York page lays out the lead side if your intake team would rather do the work.

Start with New York signed cases

Set your criteria and markets and we will quote your first New York cases. Reach us through our contact page, or read the full national program on our MVA retainers page.