Overview
- At a Harlem press event, Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair Janno Lieber promoted an agency analysis projecting roughly $50 million in annual litigation savings that the MTA says could be redirected to service.
- Hochul’s package seeks to curb what she calls fraudulent, high-dollar claims by barring payouts to people found more than 50% at fault and by narrowing the legal definition of a serious injury.
- Lieber argued the current system makes the MTA a deep-pocket target and cited cases where the agency paid full damages despite minimal fault because other drivers lacked sufficient insurance.
- Crash-victim and safe-streets advocates warn the changes would restrict compensation, including for non‑permanent injuries that keep people out of work for over 90 days, and trial lawyers say the plan favors insurers.
- Outside spending is drawing scrutiny, with reports that an Uber-backed group has funded ads for the measure, as Hochul rejects claims of special-interest influence; a fiscal watchdog estimates policyholders could save up to $200 a year.