BILL NUMBER: S7333
SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
time frame to commence an action for certain victims who were exposed to
a toxic substance; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating
thereto
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill will allow victims injured by the latent effects of exposure
to a toxic substance to file an action within one year from the earlier
of when they discover, or through reasonable efforts should have discov-
ered, the cause or source of the toxic injury.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill entitles the bill the toxic victim justice act.
Section two of the bill amends section 214-c(2) of the civil practice
law and rules to clarify that the date a plaintiff receives a diagnosis
of an injury resulting from the latent exposure to a toxic substance is
presumed to be the date of discovery of the injury for purposes of
applying the statute of limitations.
Section three of the bill amends section 214-c(4) of the civil practice
law and rules so that a plaintiff or claimant who discovers an injury
described in subdivision two of this section, without knowing the
specific toxic etiological cause or source of the injury, may commence
an action or file a claim one year from the earlier of: (i) the date
the plaintiff or claimant subsequently discovers the specific toxic
etiological cause or source of the injury, or (ii) the date the plain-
tiff or claimant with reasonable diligence should have discovered the
cause or source of the injury.
That section also states that a plaintiff or claimant filing a claim or
cause of action after the time period otherwise authorized must allege
and prove either that: (i) technical, scientific or medical knowledge
and information sufficient to ascertain the cause or source of the inju-
ry had not been discovered, identified or determined, or that (ii) after
diligent effort the cause or source of the injury was not known to the
plaintiff or claimant prior to such period.
Section four of the bill makes the act effective immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
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.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate

Statutes affected:
S7333: 214-c civil practice law, 214-c(2) civil practice law, 214-c(4) civil practice law