What can be recovered, and from whom
A police abuse case usually carries two claims, and they pay differently. The federal claim under Section 1983 has no cap: compensatory damages for a proved injury, nominal damages where a violation is proved and a loss is not, punitive damages against the individual officer, and attorney's fees from the defendants. The state-law claims add defendants and remedies, and bring caps, notice rules and immunities that change with the state line. This page sets the two side by side for New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania. It does not estimate what any case is worth.
What a person can recover depends on which claim pays it. The federal claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is the same in every state: no statutory cap, damages measured by the injury, punitive damages against the officer, fees shifted to the defendants. The state-law claims are different in every state. New York has no cap and a 90-day notice. New Jersey has a Civil Rights Act with its own fee provision. Florida caps what the government pays on a state-law claim. Pennsylvania immunizes its cities for almost everything an officer does on purpose. The pages under this one go state by state; this page is the map.
Nothing here puts a number on a case. The what a case is worth page explains why we refuse to, and the public settlements page shows what other people's cases have paid, from public records.
Four states, four sets of rules
The dollar figures on these cards are statutory caps on state-law claims against the government. They are not settlements and they do not limit the federal claim.
New York
- Notice of claim 90 days
- Federal claim 3 years
- Cap on damages None
New Jersey
- Tort claims notice 90 days
- Federal claim 2 years
- Civil Rights Act Fees shifted
Florida
- Pre-suit notice 3 years
- Federal claim 4 years
- State-law cap $200,000
Pennsylvania
- Written notice 6 months
- Federal claim 2 years
- Local-agency cap $500,000
The federal claim: what Section 1983 pays
Compensatory damages, for an injury that is proved
Compensatory damages under Section 1983 compensate for actual injury, and the injury has to be proved. In Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247 (1978), the Supreme Court held that without proof of actual injury a procedural due process violation supports only nominal damages not to exceed one dollar. In Memphis Community School Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299 (1986), it held that a jury may not award damages for the abstract value or importance of a constitutional right. The right being important is not the measure. What happened to you is.
Loss of liberty counts on its own
In the Second Circuit, which covers New York, time in custody is an injury in itself. Kerman v. City of New York, 374 F.3d 93 (2d Cir. 2004), holds that loss of liberty is separately compensable, independent of physical or emotional harm, and that a jury that finds no probable cause should award compensatory damages, not merely nominal ones. A person held for hours who was never touched still has a compensable injury.
Nominal damages
Where a violation is proved and a loss is not, the remedy is nominal damages. Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 592 U.S. 279 (2021), holds that nominal damages redress a completed violation and keep a case alive. The limit is in Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103 (1992): a plaintiff who wins nominal damages is a prevailing party, but where substantial damages were sought and only nominal damages won, "the only reasonable fee is usually no fee at all."
Punitive damages, against the officer and never the city
Punitive damages are available against an individual where the conduct is "motivated by evil motive or intent, or when it involves reckless or callous indifference to the federally protected rights of others" (Smith v. Wade, 461 U.S. 30 (1983)). They are never available against the municipality, which is immune from punitive damages under Section 1983 (City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, 453 U.S. 247 (1981)). Whether the employer then pays a punitive award for its officer is a question of state indemnification law, and the who pays page goes through it.
Attorney's fees
The court "may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs" (42 U.S.C. § 1988(b)). The fee does not have to be proportionate to the damages. In City of Riverside v. Rivera, 477 U.S. 561 (1986), a plurality upheld a fee award of $245,456.25 on damages of $33,350. Both figures are court awards in another person's case, reported in a published decision. They are why a case with modest damages and a clear violation can still be brought.
The state claims: caps, notice and immunities
State-law claims matter because they reach defendants and remedies the federal claim does not. Under state law an employer can answer for its officer's assault or false arrest without proof of a policy, which Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978), forbids on the federal side. The price is the state's conditions: a short written notice, and in two of the four states a ceiling on what the government pays. None of those conditions applies to the federal claim. State notice rules do not bind it (Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988)), and no state cap limits it.
| State | Notice for state claims | Federal limit | State cap | State civil rights statute | Fee shifting | Indemnification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 90 days (Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e; Court of Claims Act § 10 for the State) | 3 years (CPLR 214(5)) | None. Interest on a judgment against a municipality is limited to 9 percent (Gen. Mun. Law § 3-a) | N.Y.C. Admin. Code ch. 8 (NYPD only, no qualified immunity defense); Civ. Rights Law §§ 79-n, 79-p | 42 U.S.C. § 1988; Admin. Code § 8-805; Civ. Rights Law § 79-p | Gen. Mun. Law § 50-k(3) (City of New York) |
| New Jersey | 90 days under the Tort Claims Act (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8); none for the Civil Rights Act claim | 2 years (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2) | No dollar cap is in our verified ledger, so none is published here | New Jersey Civil Rights Act, N.J.S.A. 10:6-2; qualified immunity applies (Morillo v. Torres) | 42 U.S.C. § 1988; N.J.S.A. 10:6-2(f) | N.J.S.A. 59:10-1 (State), 59:10-4 (local, permissive) |
| Florida | 3 years, 2 for wrongful death (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)) | 4 years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)) | Statutory caps of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident (§ 768.28(5)(a)); no punitive damages against the government | None. The Florida Civil Rights Act is not an analogue (§ 760.01) | 42 U.S.C. § 1988 on the federal claim; lawyer's fee on the state claim limited to 25 percent (§ 768.28(8)) | Fla. Stat. § 111.071(1)(a) |
| Pennsylvania | 6 months (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(a)) | 2 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524) | Statutory caps of $500,000 per occurrence for local agencies (§ 8553) and $250,000 per plaintiff, $1,000,000 in the aggregate for Commonwealth agencies (§ 8528) | We know of none; no damages action under the state constitution (Jones v. City of Philadelphia) | 42 U.S.C. § 1988 on the federal claim | 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8548, 8550 |
Every dollar figure in this table is a statutory cap on damages against the government under state law. None is a settlement, a result or an estimate, and none limits a Section 1983 claim against an individual officer. Florida's caps are unchanged after the June 30, 2026 veto of HB 145.
Read across the rows and a pattern shows. In New York the state claims add real value and the trap is the 90-day notice. In New Jersey the Civil Rights Act tracks the federal claim, fee shifting included, and skips the notice. In Florida and Pennsylvania the state claim is narrow or capped, so the federal claim carries the case.
For scale: what claims against the NYPD actually average
The largest public payer in our four states publishes its numbers. The New York City Comptroller's Annual Claims Report for fiscal 2023 reports that, across fiscal 2019 to 2023, the average personal injury police action claim settled before litigation paid $17,609, and the average resolved in litigation paid $68,702. Pre-litigation settlements were 56 percent of resolutions and 24 percent of the dollars.
The headline settlements are real. So is the $17,609 average. Both are other people's cases.
Read those two numbers carefully
They are City Comptroller averages for fiscal 2019 to 2023, not medians. An average can be pulled up by a handful of very large payments, and the report does not give a median. They cover one city and one kind of claim. They are public statistics about other people's cases, not results of this firm and not a prediction of yours. We have no verified median or typical range for New Jersey, Florida or Pennsylvania, so none is published here.
What comes out, and who pays
The gross figure is not what a person takes home. The legal fee, case expenses, Medicare and Medicaid liens, and in New York City offsets for child support and parking judgments come out of a recovery, and part of it may be taxable. The liens, taxes and fees page goes through each. Who writes the check is a separate question. In most cases the employer pays for the officer under an indemnification statute, and the who pays page sets out the four states' rules.
Every remedy on this page belongs to a claim, and every claim has a clock. If a criminal charge from the same incident is pending, talk to your defense lawyer before describing the arrest to anyone; the criminal case and civil case page explains why. The deadlines page has every clock.
New York
No cap, the 90-day notice, the City's own civil rights law, indemnification, and every New York figure in our ledger.
New York →New Jersey
The Civil Rights Act and its fees, the Tort Claims Act notice, indemnification, and qualified immunity under state law.
New Jersey →Florida
The statutory caps, claim bills, the 2026 veto, and the gap between a verdict and what is paid.
Florida →Pennsylvania
Local-agency immunity, the statutory caps, willful misconduct, and why the federal claim carries the case.
Pennsylvania →Public settlements
Settlements and verdicts from public records in four states. Other people's cases, shown for range.
The records →Liens, taxes and fees
What comes out of a recovery before it reaches you: fees, expenses, liens, offsets and tax.
What comes out →Who pays
Indemnification in four states, punitive damages against individuals, Monell, and why the City pays.
Who pays →Wrongful conviction compensation
The state compensation statutes, and how a statutory claim differs from a Section 1983 claim.
Compensation →Pennsylvania deadlines
Two years, the six-month notice, the 60-day recordings request, and the three federal districts.
Pennsylvania clocks →Common questions
Is there a cap on damages in a Section 1983 case?
No statute caps damages on the federal claim. Compensatory damages must be proved with evidence of actual injury, punitive damages run only against individual officers and never against the municipality, and a prevailing plaintiff may recover attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. 1988. The caps people hear about, such as Florida's $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, are statutory caps on state-law claims against the government. They do not limit the federal claim.
What is the average police misconduct settlement in New York City?
The City Comptroller's fiscal 2023 claims report gives two averages for fiscal 2019 to 2023: $17,609 for a personal injury police action claim settled before litigation and $68,702 for one resolved in litigation. Those are the Comptroller's averages, not medians, an average can be pulled up by a few very large payments, and they describe other people's claims. They are not a prediction of any case.
Can I get punitive damages against the city?
No. The Supreme Court held in City of Newport v. Fact Concerts that a municipality is immune from punitive damages under Section 1983. Punitive damages are available against an individual officer whose conduct was motivated by evil motive or intent, or involved reckless or callous indifference to federally protected rights, under Smith v. Wade.
Which state is this site's law for?
New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania, the four states where the firm's attorneys are admitted. Each has its own notice rule, limitation period, cap and indemnification statute, and each has its own page under this one.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.