Gov. Kathy Hochul is taking off the gloves, accusing the powerful trial lawyers lobbying group of outright lying about her plan aimed at saving a bundle on car insurance.
Hochul is proposing changing the legal definition of “serious injury” to cut down on frivolous and fraudulent claims such as staged accidents and to cap the damages victims can receive if they are uninsured, convicted of impaired driving, or have a felony conviction connected to the accident.
At a recent press conference, the Trial Lawyers Association — accompanied by Assemblywoman Jen Lunsford (D-Rochester) — presented a handful of cases of accident victims, claiming Hochul’s proposal would have negatively impact their ability to collect damages.
But the Hochul administration reviewed the cases and claimed none of the victims would have been impacted by her proposal.
“Exploiting victims of serious accidents to peddle false information and misconstrue facts is a new low,” a Hochul spokesperson said.
“The governor’s auto insurance proposals are a common sense way to root out fraud, waste and abuse, without stripping legitimate victims of their rightful compensation. While special interests continue to put profits first, Governor Hochul will continue to focus on driving down costs for New Yorkers.”
Hochul’s team said her proposals do not change the ability of victims — people not at fault — to recover economic damages such as reimbursement for medical costs and lost wages. Nor does it change their ability to pursue non-economic damages including for emotional distress, pain and suffering.
The Trial Lawlers lobby, which has deep ties to the Democratic-controlled state Senate and Assembly, has been a force in urging lawmakers to block or stall Hochul’s proposal, which a determined Hochul is trying to tuck into the state budget as part of her affordability agenda.
Sources said the spat is one of the major hold-ups in adopting a new state budget, which was due April 1.
5 Trial Lawyers Association cases rebutted by Hochul’s team’s analysis:
- Neil Browne: An accident victim who requires multiple surgeries and is unable to work due to injury would still be entitled to the same ability to pursue economic damages as is currently the case. He would also meet one of the eight remaining categories of serious injury if he chooses to pursue non-economic damages.
- Alison: She was not found at fault and her ability to pursue economic and non-economic damages would not be affected.
- Robert Bornt: He was killed. The governor’s proposal does not impact the ability of families of the deceased to pursue damages
- Lynette, an accident victim who required multiple surgeries and was unable to work due to injury, would be entitled to the same right to pursue economic damages and meet one of the eight remaining categories of serious injury should she choose to pursue non-economic damages.
- Jermaine: Suffers from broken bones and shoulder defined as serious injury. Hochul is not proposing changing the criteria, so he would still be eligible to pursue non-economic damages.
In response, a Trial Lawyers Association rep called Hochul’s analysis “blatantly false.”
“These claims are blatantly false, just like the fiction being sold to the public that this plan will result in savings. Unlike the paid actors employed by the astroturf groups supporting the governor’s pro-insurance agenda, these are real victims who have been seriously injured,” said TLA spokesperson Sabrina Rezzy.
“Clearly, the governor’s office has no problem attacking crash victims – just like her policies do – for the benefit of insurers.”
Hochul’s proposals “incentivize the defendant to drag out the case, aiming to shift just enough blame onto the victim to avoid paying anything at all.”
A grieving family “could be left with nothing”—based on a disputed allocation of fault—under the governor’s plan, the TLA rep said.
Data show that New York drivers pay the highest car insurance rates in the nation, shelling out more than $4,000 on average.
The state Department of Financial Services reports that insurance carriers reported 43,811 incidents of suspected auto vehicle insurance fraud to its fraud bureau in 2025. That’s a staggering 80% increase over 5 years, when 24,238 incidents of suspected fraud were reported.
In 2023, New York State had 1,729 staged crashes, ranking second highest in the nation.
The Insurance Information Institute estimates that fraud raises auto insurance premiums by up to $300 per year.
Democrat Hochul’s tort reform package comes on the heels of a law approved by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 that curb litigation and other costs.
Over that time, Florida’s car insurance premiums reversed from a 25% increase in 2023 to a 2.5% increase in 20024 to a 7.4% reduction for drivers in 2025.
By comparison, increases in New York car insurance premiums increased 13.1% in 2024 and 11.1% in 2025.
Hochul is not without deep-heeled allies backing her car insurance package.
Ride share app Uber Technologies has pumped $8 million into a Super PAC — Citizens for Affordable Rates — that is bankrolling a media ad campaign supporting Hochul’s plan to lower New York’s sky-high car-insurance costs.
Mailings paid for by Uber Technologies recently hit mailboxes of voters in support of Hochul’s plan.
