ALBANY – First responders like firefighters are seeing soaring costs and increased risks under New York’s trial-lawyer friendly car accident liability laws, Gov. Kathy Hochul charged Friday.
Hochul — who has been deadlocked with the state Legislature over the issue — doubled down on her proposal being negotiated as part of New York’s weeks-late budget at the Westmere Fire Department in Albany.
She said staged car accidents are causing the insurance companies to calculate more risk, and therefore driving up rates across the board — including at any business or agency that uses vehicles, such as firefighters.
First responders like firefighters are seeing soaring costs and increased risks under New York’s trial-lawyer friendly car accident liability laws, Gov. Kathy Hochul charged Friday. Helayne Seidman
Insurance costs for the fire department spiked to $12,000 this year, from roughly $7,000 in 2023, Hochul said, adding fiscal pressure onto the long list of demands facing emergency services personnel.
“That is extraordinary growth, and I don’t think you’ve gotten into more accident over that time,” Hochul said to the firefighters standing beside her.
“I’m sure it has nothing to do with anything that you have done, other than the cost of the liability claims and the out of control insurance situation is putting a real cost on all of you here,” she said.
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Hochul’s proposal is also looking to change the legal definition of “serious injury” in order push back against fraudulent claims, some of which stem from staged crashes and bogus medical claims.
“You have to drop everything and go respond, putting yourself are in danger, to a staged accident,” Hochul told the firefighters.
Hochul doubled down on her proposal being negotiated as part of New York’s weeks-late budget at the Westmere Fire Department in Albany. Stephen Yang for NY Post
“You are on the front line of having deal with this spectacle.”
Hochul’s proposal has received support from major fire and emergency services unions as well as the State Troopers Police Benevolent Association – all of which cite financial and safety concerns.
“These claims waste resources, drive up premiums, and divert emergency crews from genuine emergencies,” said Donald Farrell, first vice president of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York.
Insurance companies reported nearly 44,000 suspected cases of auto insurance fraud in New York to the state Department of Financial Services last year.
Hochul said car accidents are being staged, which has led insurance companies to calculate more risk, resulting in increasing rates. Matt Roberts/Shutterstock
“Strengthening enforcement tools and targeting organized fraud networks, as the governor’s proposals would do, would allow our State Troopers to focus their time and resources on protecting the public from genuine threats,” PBA President Charles Murphy wrote in a letter to legislative leaders last month.
One such case brought by FedEx in federal court just last week alleged a sophisticated crime ring led by a crooked Brooklyn lawyer wildly overstated car accident insurance claims, milling people through a network of medical providers that all got kickbacks by performing unnecessary procedures.
In another case filed this week, a Brooklyn family was accused of racking up over $300 million in insurance payments from Liberty Mutual by allegedly deliberately coordinating hit-and-run accidents with Uber drivers then fraudulently claiming injuries.
The ride-sharing company is pumping upwards of $8 million into a lobbying effort backing Hochul’s proposal.
Insurance costs for the FDNY rose to $12,000, a $5000 increase from its 2023 rate of $7000. Helayne Seidman for NY Post
But with budget talks heading into their third week past the April 1 deadline, Hochul has so far been unsuccessful in getting lawmakers to budge on the issue.
The influential trial lawyers lobbying group is now making the case that New York’s laws should err on the side of paying out to victims, even in cases where they may be at fault.
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They also have demanded assurances that going along with Hochul’s reforms would actually lead to lower insurance premiums for everyday New Yorkers.
New York Trial Lawyers Association President Andrew Finkelstein blamed rising insurance costs on the insurance companies, alleging they make “record profits.”
“Hochul’s plan strips injured New Yorkers of the ability to hold wrongdoers accountable and seek justice — while allowing insurance companies to profit even more. It includes no effective mechanism to limit those profits or protect consumers,” Finkelstein said.