A Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days if your injury involved a government vehicle, city bus, police car, or a dangerous road condition tied to a public agency. For most other New Mexico injury cases, the filing that matters is a civil complaint, and the usual deadline is 3 years from the injury date.

The mistake that sends people searching this is waiting because they are scared, sore but unsure, or worried that reporting a crash will create immigration problems. In New Mexico, that delay can hurt a claim, but a week does not automatically kill it.

The correct approach is to separate the deadlines.

If the crash was a private-driver case on roads around Clovis like US-60/84 or NM 209, the big deadline is usually 3 years. But waiting even a few days can still cost you evidence: skid marks fade, holiday-weekend witnesses disappear, and uninsured or drunk drivers are harder to track down. New Mexico also has a high rate of uninsured drivers, so fast notice to your own insurer matters if you may need UM/UIM coverage.

If a City of Clovis, Curry County, or New Mexico Department of Transportation vehicle or road defect was involved, the 90-day notice rule under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act is the danger point. Miss that, and you can lose the claim much earlier than the 3-year lawsuit deadline.

For a crash, report it promptly to Clovis Police Department or New Mexico State Police, get medical care, and preserve names, photos, and vehicle information.

Being undocumented does not mean filing an injury claim causes automatic deportation. A civil injury claim in New Mexico is about fault, insurance, and damages. The real risk is usually delay, not immigration status.