What this calculator does

Run this scenario in DocketMath using the Pre Post Offer Damages calculator.

DocketMath’s Pre/Post-Offer Damages Split calculator for New York helps you separate a damages timeline into two buckets:

• Pre-offer damages: damages that accrued before an offer date.
• Post-offer damages: damages that accrued on or after that offer date.

The practical goal is to quantify how much of the total damages figure falls before vs. after the offer date—so you can plug those amounts into downstream work (for example, comparing damages portions tied to different time periods or events).

Not legal advice: This tool is designed for calculation and allocation based on the dates you provide. It does not determine what a particular legal claim is actually entitled to.

Time window covered by New York’s general statute of limitations

This guide uses New York’s general/default civil limitations period as the default “time window” for computing the damages split. The period is:

• 5 years, using N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c) (the general/default period identified for this guide).

Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10

Important clarity: No claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for this particular split method. So the calculator’s approach is anchored to the general 5-year/default period. If your specific situation is governed by a different limitations rule, you may need a different time window (and therefore different split results).

How the output typically changes

Your results typically change most based on these inputs:

• Offer date: determines which days land in pre-offer vs. post-offer.
• Accrual start date: affects the earliest recoverable days included under the 5-year approach.
• Accrual end date / damages through date: affects the latest day included.
• Total damages (or daily/hourly damages rate): converts the day-count split into dollars.

Use the tool when you need a consistent timeline-based allocation, not when you’re trying to decide liability or determine what dates are legally proper for accrual.

When to use it

Use DocketMath’s pre/post-offer damages split guide when your workflow involves two timing questions at once:

1. What is the recoverable damages window under the applicable time limits (here, the general/default 5-year period referenced above)?
2. What portion of the damages falls before vs. after a specific “offer” date?

Common situations include:

• You have a known damages accrual period (e.g., a performance stretch, a continuing harm window, or a damages clock running from a defined event).
• You have a single offer date that matters for downstream allocation logic.
• You want to avoid manual spreadsheet errors when counting days and pro-rating damages.

Common inputs you’ll have ready

Check what you can supply:

Step-by-step example

Below is a fully worked example that shows how the split behaves. The numbers are chosen to make the day-count logic easy to follow.

Example facts (New York)

• Accrual start date: January 1, 2020
• Offer date: January 15, 2022
• Accrual end date: December 31, 2022
• Daily damages rate (illustration): $100 per day

Step 1: Apply the general/default time window (5 years)

Because the general/default period used in this guide is 5 years (anchored to N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c)), the recoverable window may be truncated if your dates extend beyond a 5-year lookback relative to whatever analysis point the calculator applies.

In this example, the accrual window (Jan 1, 2020 through Dec 31, 2022) is within 5 years, so no truncation occurs due to the time window constraint.

Step 2: Split the timeline at the offer date

The offer date is the dividing line:

• Pre-offer includes days before January 15, 2022
• Post-offer includes days on/after January 15, 2022

So the day ranges are:

• Pre-offer period: Jan 1, 2020 → Jan 14, 2022
• Post-offer period: Jan 15, 2022 → Dec 31, 2022

Step 3: Count days (illustrative method)

To compute damages from a daily rate, you need day counts. In a calculator, this is automated; conceptually:

• Pre-offer days = number of calendar days from Jan 1, 2020 up to (and including) Jan 14, 2022
• Post-offer days = number of calendar days from Jan 15, 2022 up to (and including) Dec 31, 2022

Step 4: Multiply by the rate

Assuming the day counts:

• Pre-offer days = 745 days
• Post-offer days = 351 days

Then:

• Pre-offer damages = 745 × $100/day = $74,500
• Post-offer damages = 351 × $100/day = $35,100
• Total = $109,600

How you’d enter this in the DocketMath workflow

Use the primary CTA to get to the calculator:

• Primary CTA: /tools/pre-post-offer-damages

In practice, you’ll provide:

• Accrual start date
• Offer date
• Damages through date (accrual end)
• Either:

  • Total damages (the calculator pro-rates between pre/post), or
  • Daily/hourly rate (the calculator multiplies by the respective day counts)

If you make estimates, keep assumptions consistent and document them—day-count allocation is sensitive to start/end dates.

Common scenarios

This section is a checklist for how the split behaves when inputs differ. Think of it as “what changes when…”

Scenario A: Offer date is before accrual start date

• Accrual start: after the offer
• Result: Post-offer bucket contains all days, and pre-offer damages = $0

Checklist:

Scenario B: Offer date is after accrual end date

• Offer happens after damages have stopped
• Result: Pre-offer bucket contains all days, and post-offer damages = $0

Checklist:

Scenario C: Offer date falls inside the 5-year window but close to boundaries

If your accrual period spans more than 5 years, the calculator’s timeline filter may clip recoverable days.

Common outcomes:

• The recoverable pre-offer portion might be truncated.
• The recoverable post-offer portion might be truncated.
• The split still occurs at the offer date, but with fewer total recoverable days.

Pitfall:

• If you manually compute day counts without applying the 5-year truncation logic, you may overstate recoverable damages.

Scenario D: Damages provided as a total amount, not a rate

If you only know the total damages for the full accrual window (for example, “$250,000 through Dec. 31, 2022”), you still need a way to allocate between pre/post.

DocketMath’s split approach generally:

• Computes the proportion of recoverable days in pre vs. post
• Allocates dollars proportionally to that day split

Checklist:

Scenario E: Multiple discrete damages periods

If you have separate “damages clocks” (for example, Period 1: March–June, Period 2: October–December), a single split may not fit cleanly.

Approach:

• Run the split separately for each period
• Then combine the results

Checklist:

Tips for accuracy

Small date mistakes can create large dollar differences, especially with per-day calculations.

1) Use a consistent offer-date boundary rule

When using a split calculator, use the same inclusion rule every time:

• Pre-offer = days before the offer date
• Post-offer = days on/after the offer date

If you accidentally interpret post-offer as strictly after (excluding the offer date), your post bucket can shift by one day.

2) Treat dates as calendar days (unless your model requires something else)

This guide’s typical approach is calendar days. If your damages rate is tied to business days (or another non-calendar convention), you may need to normalize your rate or adjust your timeline assumptions.

Checklist:

3) Confirm accrual start/end dates align

Related reading

• Pre/Post-Offer Damages Split Guide for Alabama
• Pre/Post-Offer Damages Split Guide for Arizona
• Pre/Post-Offer Damages Split Guide for Colorado