§ 1600.Definitions

Article 16 limits what a low-fault defendant has to pay for non-economic loss, so the whole article depends on knowing what that phrase covers. CPLR 1600 answers that question with an open-ended list: pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and other damages for non-economic loss.

The list isn't closed -- it says non-economic loss includes but is not limited to those examples -- so courts can recognize other categories of loss as non-economic when they don't reduce to a receipt or a pay stub. What the definition leaves out matters just as much: economic losses like medical bills, lost earnings, and future medical care fall outside it, and Article 16's cap never touches those. A defendant found only 20 percent at fault might have their share of a pain-and-suffering award capped, but they remain on the hook for their full share of economic damages under ordinary joint-and-several rules.