Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York

Re: lawsuit

If you are a Plaintiff and are required to appear in court or for some type of court-ordered examination, the answer is yes, you must travel back to New York. Other court appearances such as compliance conferences and settlement conferences can be handled by your attorney (if you have one).

If you are a Defendant, you don't have to appear at all but will be "defaulted" and judgment will be entered against you. The only exception is the rare situation where a judge orders a plaintiff to travel out-of-state because defendant is terminally ill and/or can not come to New York for dire financial reasons. But even those situations are rare.