New York tort reforms could cut crash injury payouts

New York’s new motor vehicle tort rules, effective immediately after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the state budget in late May 2026, could make it harder for injured drivers, passengers and pedestrians to recover full compensation. Shulman & Hill says the changes shift more weight onto fault and narrow who can seek pain-and-suffering damages.

Why it matters: - New York’s revised motor vehicle tort rules could reduce or eliminate pain-and-suffering recoveries in some crash cases. - The changes raise the stakes for fault disputes and early evidence gathering after a wreck. - Injured New Yorkers who were able to pursue claims under the prior rules may now face a higher bar.

What happened: - Gov. Kathy Hochul signed New York’s state budget into law in late May 2026. - The budget included major changes to the state’s car accident laws. - The new rules took effect immediately upon passage. - The rules apply to most motor vehicle lawsuits filed from that point forward. - Shulman & Hill, a New York personal injury and workers’ compensation law firm founded by Alex Shulman and J.J. Hill, said the reforms will reduce compensation for injured New Yorkers.

The details: - Under the new fault rule, a driver found more than 50% at fault in a motor vehicle case cannot recover pain-and-suffering damages. - Before the change, a plaintiff’s share of fault only reduced the amount recovered. - The new rule gives auto insurers a stronger incentive to argue that the injured person caused most of the crash. - New York also removed the “90/180” category from the state’s serious injury threshold. - That category had allowed pain-and-suffering claims when injuries kept a person from most normal daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after a crash. - The new law adds a $100,000 cap on pain-and-suffering damages for claimants who were uninsured, impaired or committing a crime at the time of the accident. - A new trial rule now requires juries to decide fault before determining whether an injury meets the “serious” threshold. - Shulman & Hill says crash photos, witness statements and police reports are now even more important because early evidence can determine whether an injured person recovers anything.

Between the lines: - The reforms shift leverage toward insurers by making fault outcomes more decisive earlier in the case. - The removal of the 90/180 category narrows a path that had helped people with documented injuries who kept working through pain. - The fault-first trial structure could make liability fights the central issue in more lawsuits before medical thresholds are even considered.

What's next: - Injured drivers, passengers and pedestrians will likely need faster claim development and stronger documentation under the new rules. - Law firms handling crash cases will focus more on immediate scene evidence and fault allocation. - Shulman & Hill said it will keep pursuing compensation for injured New Yorkers despite the new limits.

The bottom line: - New York’s tort reforms make car accident claims harder, especially when fault is contested or the claimant falls into one of the new restriction categories.