CHANGES TO NEW YORK STATE LAWS FOR THOSE INJURED IN ACCIDENTS – PART 3 OF 3
On May 27, 2026, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law significant amendments which impact the ability of parties injured in automobile accidents to recover money damages.
Three major changes have gone into effect, including the elimination of an injury category to qualify for non-economic damages, a cap to a plaintiff’s recovery who is convicted of certain crimes out of the accident, and changes to a plaintiff’s right to recovery where plaintiff holds the majority at fault.
These changes are being explained in a series of three blog posts.
This third post will review the newly installed bar on recovery if the plaintiff is the party with a majority of the fault.
Modified Comparative Negligence for Automobile Cases
New York has historically followed a pure comparative negligence system, under which a plaintiff’s recovery is reduced by his or her percentage of fault but previously, the plaintiff was never completely barred from recovery if any percentage of the fault for the accident was placed on the defendant.
One of the best ways to explain what the above means is an example. Let’s say Joe is speeding, going 50 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone. Joe is also talking on a cell phone while driving, actually videochatting with his friend. Joe comes to an intersection that has a traffic light at it and Joe has the green light. As Joe goes through the intersection, Harold is driving on a cross street and runs through a red light. Joe’s car and Harold’s car collide, and Joe breaks his arm in the accident. Joe brings a lawsuit against Harold.
The jury finds that Joe was 60% at fault for the accident – going double the posted speed and, come on Joe, videochatting while driving(!), but finds Harold 40% at fault because he ran a red light. The jury finds Joe was damaged in an amount of $100,000. In this scenario, since Joe was awarded $100,000 in damages but Harold was found only 40% at fault, Joe would have received $40,000 from Harold’s insurance company. However, now, Joe would not recover anything from Harold, because Joe was more at fault than Harold.
The new legislation creates an exception for automobile personal injury actions governed by the No-Fault Law.
Rather than adopting a straightforward 50-percent bar, the statute CPLR 1411(b) provides:
“In any action to recover damages for personal injury subject to the No-Fault Law, the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant shall bar recovery if the culpable conduct attributable to the claimant is greater than the culpable conduct of the person against whom recovery is sought or is greater than the combined culpable conduct of the persons against whom recovery is sought.” CPLR 1411(b).
The above new statute is not applicable to any other areas of law other than motor vehicle accidents. Pure comparative fault continues to exist in other areas of personal injury law.
The practical implications of this language remain uncertain, particularly in multi-vehicle collisions. Questions arise where a plaintiff’s fault exceeds that of one tortfeasor but is less than that of another. In such circumstances, issues concerning which defendants remain liable and how any unrecoverable share of fault is allocated will likely require judicial interpretation.
Continued Development from Change in Law
These changes to NY automobile liability law raises many questions for plaintiff attorneys, which will be answered through future litigation and court decisions.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, it is important you contact an experienced law firm, like Flink Maswick Law PLLC, who can help you understand your rights to recovery.
