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Curbing auto lawsuits: Safer cars and stricter no-fault laws are driving a slowdown in personal-injury suits, lawyers say
Steve Cohn thought his personal-injury law practice would dry up after New York passed its no-fault law 30 years ago, making it impossible for someone hurt in a car accident to sue unless his injuries were serious. But despite the new restrictions, business continued to boom - until two years ago. That's when Cohn noticed far fewer people coming through the door of his Carle Place office. And the people who did come in had lesser injuries, so he had to turn them away because they weren't hurt severely enough to qualify under the no-fault law. "What happened was, cars just got so much safer," he said. "People who were buying new cars were getting all the new safety features, and people who were buying used cars were starting to get the safety features that came onto the market five years ago." In the past 10 years, personal-injury lawyers on Long Island and across the country have seen business take a dive - and not only because cars are getting safer as a result of things such as air bags, better child safety seats and more protection from side impacts. …
Marc Galanter, a University of Wisconsin professor who studied the shrinking number of trials for the American Bar Association, said what's happening on Long Island is not unique. "Generally we're in a period where litigation seems to be dropping," he said.
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