Last month the New York Legislature passed Governor’s Program Bill #95, containing numerous provisions involving a broad array of subjects. Part F of the bill included several provisions that will affect medical malpractice and personal injury litigation. On Nov. 13, 2009, the governor signed that bill into law. In this month’s column, we review the pertinent aspects of this new legislation.
The most significant item is contained in Sections 7 and 8 of Part F, which limits the ability of health insurers and other benefits providers to obtain reimbursement for their expenditures via malpractice, personal injury or wrongful death actions brought by or on behalf of their insureds. Over the past decade, attorneys representing parties in these types of cases are routinely served with notices by health insurers. These notices often purport to assert liens or rights of subrogation or reimbursement for expenses they incurred on behalf of the plaintiff as a result of the tortious conduct that is the subject of the litigation.
