Establishes the toxic victim justice act to extend the time frame to commence an action for certain victims who were exposed to a toxic substance; repealer

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic1

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Michelle Hinchey says this is needed

The source or cause of an injury resulting from exposure to a toxic substance can be impossible to identify until many years (even decades) have passed. Yet current New York law can preclude even the most dili- gent victims of toxic exposure from filing an action and seeking justice. Under current law, an individual who was previously injured without knowing a specific toxic cause of such injury may access a one-year statute of limitations from the date on which such toxic cause is later discovered; but only if that date falls within five years of discovery of the initial injury. Unfortunately, as science and medicine evolve, it is often the case that this five year window closes before a link between the injury and toxic cause can be known. If such discovery was impossible because, for exam- ple, the link between the injury and the toxic substance was unknown to the medical field during that period, current law precludes a victim from subsequent recovery. This bill addresses this restriction by extending the deadline for filing an injury claim in court to one year from the earlier of either: 1 - The date the claimant subsequently discovered the specific toxic cause of the injury, or 2 - The date the claimant with reasonable diligence should have discov- ered such cause. To ensure fairness to defendants and timely litigation, the bill requires a plaintiff allege and prove that either the technical, scien- tific, or medical knowledge sufficient to ascertain the cause of the injury had not been discovered at the time of injury, or that such information was not known to the claimant after diligent effort.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.