Proposed New York Personal Injury Law Suffers Temporary Setback
While suffering a temporary setback after being recently vetoed by Governor Eliot Spitzer, an important piece of New York personal injury legislation is expected to be signed into law this fall.
Senator William Stachowski had introduced legislation which would have changed the involvement of insurance companies, policy holders and accident victims during personal injury claims. Specifically, this New York personal injury legislation would have done two things.
It would have prevented insurance companies from cutting off coverage to a policyholder during a personal injury case without first proving that its defense was impaired by a late personal injury claim. This proposed New Jersey legislation would have also allowed a plaintiff to find out how much insurance coverage a defendant has prior to a personal injury case even going to court.
Spitzer wrote in his veto memo that he would have approved this proposed New York personal injury law based on the first initiative alone. He opinioned that this stipulation would prevent insurance companies from using technicalities to deny people insurance coverage and ultimately make it harder for these people to deal with their hardship.
As for the second part of this legislation, Spitzer said that he would like to see it be fully debated before taking more action on it. This aspect of the two-part personal injury bill was passed in just three days in June. While calling it commendable, Spitzer said that this aspect of the New York personal injury legislation needed to be fleshed out in more detail.
Stachowski indicated in a story in The Business Review that he expects this personal injury legislation to be passed, possibly in the fall. He also expressed his confidence that Spitzer was in support of the proposed personal injury law.
As they always do, insurance companies have lobbied hard against this personal injury legislation. They have said that such a law would result in more New York personal injury cases and lead to higher costs and premiums. Proponents of this legislation have argued the exact opposite and indicated that such a personal injury law would make these cases fairer for everyone involved.
Various personal injury attorneys weighed in on this legislation in the story. Attorney Brent Nowicki indicated that Governor Spitzer is being extremely responsible by allowing all sides to debate the bill before giving it his signature. Attorney Dan Kohane said that he expects the first-part of the bill to move forward as is while the second part will probably be retooled.
Visit The Injury Blog and of course Total Injury for the latest updates on these proposed changes to New York personal injury law. And if you've suffered a personal injury because of someone else's negligence, speak to a local personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Simply fill out our free personal injury case evaluation form or call 877-288-7564, and we'll help you get in touch with one of our sponsoring personal injury attorneys in your area. Sponsoring personal injury lawyers can evaluate your case in more detail and help you get a better understanding of what may be next, so don't delay before it's too late.