Overview
- Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined measures to revive the Motor Vehicle Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Board, expand DMV, State Police and DFS investigations, and seek criminal penalties for organizers of staged crashes, including complicit medical providers.
- The plan would tighten New York’s “serious injury” definition by excluding non-permanent injuries that can keep victims from work or daily tasks for up to 90 days, curbing access to pain-and-suffering awards.
- It would bar recovery of damages when a plaintiff is found more culpable than the defendant, a shift from the current system that allows proportional recovery even when a victim is mostly at fault.
- State figures cite 38,270 suspected auto-fraud reports and 1,729 staged crashes in 2023, with officials estimating fraud can add roughly $300 to the average driver’s annual premium.
- Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie voiced reservations about limiting compensation for crash victims, and Streetsblog highlighted lobbying by Citizens for Affordable Rates, described as an Uber-backed coalition supporting the changes.