By Allysson Bornt
Gov. Hochul came to the funeral of my father Robert last year. She ordered flags lowered to half-staff after he was killed on a state Department of Transportation worksite. Now she’s pushing a plan that will revictimize families like mine, strip accountability from wrongdoers, and prop up insurers at taxpayers’ expense.
My dad went to work expecting to come home. Instead, I got the call with the worst news of my life.
On that horrible day, Dad was outside his vehicle supervising a ditch cleaning operation when a driver ignored traffic control devices, drove through a closed lane, and struck him, pinning him between two vehicles. Almost immediately, insurers tried to blame him for his own death.
Right now, New York follows what’s called “pure comparative negligence.” Even if someone is partially at fault, they can still recover damages for the portion they are not at fault….
A report this month by Weiss Ratings found that auto insurers deny almost half of all liability claims, even as carriers rack up record profits through investments of premium payments.
A January report from New York Law School’s Center for Justice and Democracy found that auto insurance company profits in New York have skyrocketed in recent years through income from investing collected premiums, even as the number of crashes stayed steady or in some years declined.…
Her proposals don’t protect families. They protect insurance companies. Her budget proposals give defendants an incentive to drag cases out and shift just enough blame to escape paying what they owe.
The governor once stood with us in our grief as I held my newborn, knowing my father would never see him grow up. Now she must stand with victims and New Yorkers.
Bornt is the daughter of a state Transportation Department worker killed on the job.
For the full op ed, click here.
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