NYC Settlement Data: 52,018 Cases, $3.2B Paid

NYPD-related settlements represent the single largest category of NYC municipal payouts. The city’s 30,948 police misconduct settlements total $2.1B, with an average payout of $68K and a median of $15K.

The wide gap between average ($68K) and median ($15K) indicates that the distribution is heavily right-skewed: most cases settle for relatively modest amounts, but a small number of high-profile cases with severe injuries or wrongful death push the average much higher.

Common claim types include excessive force, false arrest, unlawful search and seizure, and wrongful death. Cases involving fatalities or permanent injuries routinely settle for $1M+ and have reached as high as $75M in individual cases.

NYC car accident claims against the city total $1.1B across 21,070 individual settlements. These involve accidents with city-owned vehicles (NYPD, FDNY, sanitation trucks, buses) or claims related to dangerous road conditions.

The average payout is $50K, while the median is just $3K — reflecting that many claims involve minor property damage or soft-tissue injuries, while a smaller number of catastrophic injury cases drive the average higher.

NYC’s no-fault insurance system means most car accident claims go through insurance first. Cases that reach the city’s settlement process typically involve either a “serious injury” threshold (as defined by NY Insurance Law §5102) or claims against the city as a vehicle owner/operator.

All data comes from NYC Comptroller ClaimStat reports, which track settlements and judgments paid by the City of New York. The data covers claims against city agencies, city employees, and city-owned property.

Important Caveats

• Settlement amounts reflect total payouts, not the initial claim amounts or demands.
• Data may include both pre-litigation settlements and post-verdict judgments.
• The NYC Comptroller data does not include private (non-city) settlements.
• Some years have more complete data than others due to reporting changes.