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Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2026 state budget includes a number of proposed reforms intended to reduce New York’s sky-high auto insurance premiums. If enacted, the legislation would significantly amend personal injury litigation in motor vehicle cases, and enhance penalties for fraud. Here are some of the key initiatives:
- Under New York’s current “pure comparative” statutory framework, a plaintiff can still recover damages even if they were 99% at fault for an accident (see CPLR 1411). The new law would modify this by precluding recovery of pain and suffering damages altogether if the plaintiff is determined to have been more than 50% at fault for an accident.
- Current state law imposes full “joint and several” liability on defendants even if they were only 1% at fault for an accident. Under the new law, defendants would not be liable for pain and suffering damages if they were less than 50% at fault. Instead, they would only be responsible for their specific percentage of fault as determined by the jury or judge.
- Pain and suffering damages would be capped at $100,000 for plaintiffs who operate an uninsured vehicle at the time of the accident.
- Under current law, a plaintiff cannot recover in court if they did not sustain a “serious injury” as statutorily defined (see NY Insurance Law 5102). Instead, their recovery is limited to no-fault insurance benefits. The new law would replace the currently vague legal definition of “serious injury” with more objective medical standards.
- To combat the surge of staged accidents in recent years, the new law would increase the current 30-day window insurers have to report suspected fraud to the Department of Financial Services, and enhance criminal penalties for anyone found guilty of staging an accident. It would also strengthen penalties against medical providers who sign off on fraudulent diagnoses.
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