What did New York's 2026 budget change about auto tort law?

The FY2027 budget bill (A10008C, signed May 26, 2026 as Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026) deletes the 90/180 category of 'serious injury' under Insurance Law §5102(d), requires juries to decide fault before serious injury, bars recovery in a motor vehicle suit when the plaintiff's fault is greater than the defendants', and caps non-economic damages at $100,000 for at-fault plaintiffs who were uninsured, impaired, or committing a felony. The proposed repeal of joint and several liability protection under CPLR §1602(6) was dropped from the final bill.

What is the 90/180 rule and why does its elimination matter?

The 90/180 category under Insurance Law §5102(d) let accident victims sue for pain and suffering when a non-permanent injury prevented them from performing substantially all daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days after a crash. Deleting it removes a path to non-economic damages that did not require permanent injury, so plaintiffs now have to qualify under the remaining categories, such as permanent consequential limitation or significant limitation of use.

How does the new comparative fault rule affect NY personal injury cases?

New York remains a pure comparative fault state for most cases, but new CPLR §1411(b) changes the rule for motor vehicle suits governed by the no-fault law. In those suits, a plaintiff whose fault is greater than the defendant's, or greater than all defendants' combined, is barred from recovery. No-fault benefits are not affected. The change makes liability allocation a dispositive issue in contested cases.

What medical documentation does a firm now need to clear New York's serious injury threshold?

With the 90/180 category gone, a claim has to fit one of the remaining categories, and categories like permanent consequential limitation and significant limitation of use depend heavily on medical proof. A treating physician's narrative of limitation is rarely enough on its own. Files need objective findings tied to the claimed category: imaging demonstrating the injury, range-of-motion measurements taken and recorded by a clinician, and a treatment history that shows continuity rather than a gap between the crash and the workup. Practically, that means pulling the complete record from every treater rather than the summary the client can name.

How does the modified comparative fault rule change a New York firm's records workload?

When a plaintiff who is more at fault than the defendants recovers nothing in the lawsuit, liability allocation becomes worth litigating in cases that previously would have settled on damages alone. That pushes more files into contested workups, and contested workups need complete records earlier: emergency department records establishing mechanism, prior treatment history to address pre-existing condition arguments, and billing records to document economic loss.

What should a New York personal injury firm change about intake and records under the new threshold?

Two things. First, move the records decision earlier, because a case that cannot clear the threshold is better identified in the first weeks than after months of carrying cost. Second, get the full provider list rather than the client's recollection, since a single unmentioned urgent care or imaging visit can be the difference between an objective finding and an unsupported claim. Retrieval billed as a per-case disbursement rather than staff time keeps that earlier, broader workup from landing on the firm's overhead.

NY Tort Reform Law Repeals 90/180 Serious Injury Rule

Q: When does the new NY tort reform take effect?

Governor Hochul signed the bill on May 26, 2026. The tort provisions took effect immediately and apply to all actions and proceedings commenced on or after that date. Suits already filed before May 26, 2026 proceed under the prior rules.

New York Tort Reform Is Law: What Chapter 58 Changed for Auto Injury Cases

Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York's FY2027 budget bill containing her auto insurance and tort changes on May 26, 2026, as A10008C, Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026. Part EE of that bill deletes the 90/180 "serious injury" category under Insurance Law §5102(d), requires juries to decide fault before serious injury, bars recovery for motor vehicle plaintiffs whose fault is greater than the defendants', and caps non-economic damages at $100,000 for certain at-fault drivers who were uninsured, impaired, or committing a felony. The tort provisions took effect immediately and apply to all actions and proceedings commenced on or after that date.

The final law is narrower than the governor's January proposal. Lawmakers removed the repeal of CPLR §1602(6), so joint and several liability protection for motor vehicle claims stays in place, and the budget left out her proposed cuts to the dollar thresholds for insurance fraud charges. The New York State Trial Lawyers Association opposed the package throughout, arguing it shifts costs onto injured drivers without guaranteeing lower premiums. Hochul had first announced a deal on May 7, 2026, but legislative leaders said money issues were still open, and lawmakers did not agree on the full $268.5 billion budget until late May.

$268.5B

Size of NY FY2027 enacted budget containing the tort provisions (Insurance Journal)

$100K

New cap on non-economic damages for at-fault uninsured, impaired, or felony drivers

$1,935

Average NY household auto insurance premium in 2024 (Triple I)

Key Statutory Revisions

The enacted text of Part EE and Insurance Journal's summary of the final budget show which of the administration's auto proposals survived negotiations:

Enacted in Chapter 58

Elimination of the 90/180 serious injury category under Insurance Law §5102(d)
Fault-first sequencing: juries decide fault, then serious injury, before any non-economic loss is fixed (§5104(a))
Modified comparative fault for motor vehicle suits: a plaintiff more at fault than the defendants is barred from recovery (CPLR §1411(b))
$100,000 non-economic cap for at-fault plaintiffs who were uninsured, impaired and convicted, or committing a felony and convicted (§5104(d)); death cases excluded
Staged-accident fraud expanded to anyone who hires, requests, encourages, orchestrates, or invites another person to stage a crash
Rating limits: no rates based primarily on ZIP code, education, occupation, or homeownership; DFS approval for rate increases; excess-profit refunds

Dropped From the Final Law

Repeal of CPLR §1602(6): joint and several liability for motor vehicle claims was preserved
Lower dollar thresholds for first- and second-degree insurance fraud charges
Reorganization of the Motor Vehicle Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Board

The elimination of the 90/180 category carries direct implications for personal injury caseloads. That category permitted accident victims to pursue non-economic damages if a non-permanent injury prevented them from performing substantially all of their usual daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days following a collision. Without it, claims must satisfy one of the remaining categories in Insurance Law §5102(d): death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system, permanent consequential limitation of use, or significant limitation of use.

The law did not add new objective-proof wording to the definition. It deleted the 90/180 category and left the other categories as written. The governor's office described the goal as reserving pain and suffering damages for people "able to objectively demonstrate that they have suffered a serious injury."

Jury Sequencing Rules

The amendment to Insurance Law §5104(a) sets an order of determination at trial. No liability for non-economic loss can be fixed until the trier of fact finds a serious injury, and the trier of fact cannot decide serious injury until it has determined the party or parties at fault:

Threshold check

Step 1: Allocate Fault

The jury determines each party's share of fault. If the plaintiff's fault is greater than the defendants', CPLR §1411(b) bars recovery and the inquiry ends.

Threshold check

Step 2: Evaluate Serious Injury

If the plaintiff is not barred, the jury determines whether the medical evidence satisfies one of the remaining §5102(d) categories. The 90/180 category is no longer available.

Outcome

Step 3: Determine Damages

Non-economic damages are calculated only after fault and serious injury are established, subject to the $100,000 cap where it applies.

Practitioners have already flagged drafting problems. Writing in the New York Law Journal on June 8, 2026, Dan Kohane and Brigette Whitmore said courts will have to reconcile seemingly inconsistent language about whether fault or serious injury must be decided first.

Legislative Context and Premium Data

The administration framed the reforms around statewide auto coverage costs. New York households paid an average of $1,935 for personal auto insurance in 2024, up from $1,753 in 2023, according to the Insurance Information Institute (Triple I). This represented 2.23% of median household income, compared to the 1.59% national average, ranking New York behind Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi.

Executive branch officials pointed to litigation volume and staged accident fraud as cost drivers. Support came from commercial carriers, rideshare operators, municipal leaders, and industry coalitions. A Citizens Budget Commission study cited by Insurance Journal estimated the provisions should cut a typical New York driver's premium by about 10%.

The plaintiff bar contested the premise, arguing that statutory restrictions on recovery limit injured parties' rights without guaranteeing corresponding premium reductions:

Insurance profits must not come at the expense of justice, accountability, or the rights of injured New Yorkers.
Andrew Finkelstein
President, New York State Trial Lawyers Association

Operational Adjustments for Litigation Practices

For New York personal injury firms, the elimination of the 90/180 category and the adoption of modified comparative fault require adjustments across intake, discovery, and file management:

New York No-Fault and Tort Framework Comparison

Issue	Prior Regime (Before May 26, 2026)	Enacted Law (Chapter 58 of 2026)
Pain & Suffering Threshold	90/180 activity-based category available for non-permanent injuries	90/180 deleted; claims must fit a remaining §5102(d) category
Comparative Fault Standard	Pure comparative fault: recovery reduced by the plaintiff's share, never barred	Recovery barred when the plaintiff's fault is greater than the defendants' (CPLR §1411(b))
Jury Deliberation Order	No statutory order for fault and threshold findings	Fault first, then serious injury, then non-economic loss (§5104(a))
Non-Economic Damages Cap	No cap	$100,000 for at-fault uninsured, impaired, or felony drivers; death cases excluded
Joint & Several Liability	Motor vehicle exception under CPLR §1602(6) preserved joint liability	Unchanged: proposed repeal was excluded from the final law
Insurance Rate Regulation	5% flex-rating allowed; ZIP, education, and occupation usable as criteria	DFS approval required for increases; ZIP, education, occupation, and homeownership barred as primary rating bases

Early Diagnostic and Clinical Verification

Because the surviving serious injury categories turn on medical proof, counsel must establish clinical findings early in the litigation lifecycle. As noted in litigation analyses by defense practitioners, early medical evaluation will be essential under the revised standard. A July 2026 analysis from Weber Gallagher expects plaintiffs to need more extensive medical records to prove injuries, with medical reviews, independent medical examinations, and expert reports at the center of motor vehicle litigation.

Hinshaw & Culbertson predicts that plaintiffs will reframe injuries that once fit 90/180 under permanent consequential limitation or significant limitation of use, categories that depend heavily on medical opinion. Intake and discovery workflows must verify pre-existing records, MRI/CT imaging, orthopedic consultations, and objective range-of-motion measurements before filing notes of issue.

Intake Risk Assessment

Modified comparative fault increases intake scrutiny on split-liability matters. Intersection collisions, lane-change claims, and comparative negligence scenarios require thorough early investigations, including scene imagery, witness statements, dashcam data, and emergency department records, to establish liability allocation from the outset.

Managing Threshold Motions

Summary judgment practice under Insurance Law §5102(d) will focus heavily on objective medical documentation. Unretrieved specialist records, missing diagnostic studies, or unaddressed pre-existing conditions create exposure on threshold motions.

Reverse search uses insurance data to fill in treatment gaps clients don't always remember, surfacing facilities, dates, and clinicians as needed.

Open Questions Now That It Is Law

Courts will settle several practical questions as cases filed after May 26, 2026 move through motion practice:

Which Files Are Covered

Part EE took effect immediately and applies to all actions and proceedings commenced on or after May 26, 2026. The text ties coverage to when the action was commenced, not when the accident happened.

Suits filed before May 26, 2026 proceed under prior law
Check the commencement date on every open file
Unfiled claims from earlier crashes need a threshold review before filing

Multi-Party Liability Allocation

The fault bar compares the plaintiff's share to the defendant's or to all defendants' combined. Hinshaw expects courts to have to decide how it works when the plaintiff's share exceeds some co-defendants but not others.

Joint and several liability remains intact for motor vehicle claims
Apportionment among co-defendants requires detailed discovery
Appellate decisions will define boundary interpretations

Trial Sequencing

The new §5104(a) language on the order of fault and serious injury findings has already drawn criticism as ambiguous, and trial courts will apply it first.

Threshold questions may shift from summary judgment toward the jury
Fault-phase evidence may overlap with injury evidence
Early appellate rulings will shape trial practice

Consumer Regulatory Provisions

Alongside the tort changes, the budget enacted new consumer insurance rules, according to Insurance Journal and the governor's office. Insurers can no longer use flex rating to raise personal auto rates without Department of Financial Services approval, and they cannot use ZIP code, education, occupation, or homeownership as the primary basis for auto rates. Insurers must explain auto and home premium increases above 10%, and underwriting gains that exceed expected profit by more than 5% of earned premiums over three years must be returned to policyholders.

Practical Impact on New York Personal Injury Practice

Chapter 58 changes statutory standards that have guided motor vehicle litigation for decades. The removal of the 90/180 category and the adoption of modified comparative fault require early, objective clinical documentation on every file commenced after May 26, 2026.

Firms managing personal injury portfolios must assemble comprehensive medical records early in the case lifecycle: identifying treating facilities, securing complete imaging and specialist reports, and substantiating serious injury thresholds before motion practice begins. Part EE itself adds no new rules on medical records or independent medical examinations, so the change shows up in how much proof each file needs. Firms that use medical record retrieval services for law firms can start that workup at intake rather than after the first threshold motion.

Medical record retrieval for personal injury firms functions as a direct case disbursement, with itemized per-case invoices flowing through to settlement statements.

Build Objective Medical Proof for NY Cases

LlamaLab retrieves complete medical records in 4 days on average, with roughly 30-40% returned same-day on electronic requests. Identify missing treating providers and verify threshold injuries early.

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Sources: NY Senate: A10008C, Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 (signed May 26, 2026), Governor Hochul: Reforms to Lower Auto Insurance Premiums (May 27, 2026), Insurance Journal: NY Lawmakers Agree to Auto Insurance Reforms (May 28, 2026), Times Union: Parts of Hochul's Auto Insurance Proposals Passed (May 23, 2026), Insurance Journal: Budget Deal Announcement (May 7, 2026), New York Law Journal: Besides Ambiguity, What's in the New Motor Vehicle Tort Reform Law? (June 8, 2026), Hinshaw & Culbertson: New York's Sweeping Motor Vehicle Tort Law Reforms (June 8, 2026), Weber Gallagher via JD Supra: New York's 2026 Tort Reforms (July 2, 2026), Landman Corsi Ballaine & Ford: Litigation Impact Analysis, Insurance Journal: NY Premium Data via Triple I, Mondaq: NY Governor's Motor Vehicle Tort Reform Proposal, Bloomberg Law: Trial Lawyers Oppose Plan.

This article provides general information about New York tort reform developments and should not be construed as legal advice. Consult qualified counsel for advice specific to your matter.