Provides that in toxic tort cases the date of discovery of the injury by the plaintiff or claimant is presumed to be the date of diagnosis and where the specific toxic etiological cause of injury is not known for up to ten years (instead of five years) after the injury itself is discovered a plaintiff shall have three years to file a claim from the time such specific cause is discovered.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
727
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to time
limitations for filing claims for certain injuries
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 214-c of the civil practice law
2 and rules, as added by chapter 682 of the laws of 1986, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 214, the three year peri-
5 od within which an action to recover damages for personal injury or
6 injury to property caused by the latent effects of exposure to any
7 substance or combination of substances, in any form, upon or within the
8 body or upon or within property must be commenced shall be computed from
9 the date of discovery of the injury by the plaintiff, which is presumed
10 to be the date the diagnosis was conveyed to the plaintiff or claimant,
11 or from the date when through the exercise of reasonable diligence such
12 injury should have been discovered by the plaintiff, whichever is earli-
13 er.
14 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 214-c of the civil practice law and
15 rules, as added by chapter 682 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read
16 as follows:
17 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions two and three of
18 this section, where the discovery of the specific toxic etiological
19 cause of the injury, including the source of the alleged harm, is
20 alleged to have occurred less than [five] ten years after discovery of
21 the injury or when with reasonable diligence such injury should have
22 been discovered, whichever is earlier, an action may be commenced or a
23 claim filed within [one year] three years of such discovery of the cause
24 of the injury; provided, however, if any such action is commenced or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02381-01-5
S. 727 2
1 claim filed after the period in which it would otherwise have been
2 authorized pursuant to subdivision two or three of this section the
3 plaintiff or claimant shall be required to allege and prove that techni-
4 cal, scientific or medical knowledge and information sufficient to
5 ascertain the cause of [his] the plaintiff or claimant's injury had not
6 been discovered, identified or determined, or that after diligent effort
7 the cause was not known by the plaintiff or claimant, prior to the expi-
8 ration of the period within which the action or claim would have been
9 authorized and that [he] the plaintiff or claimant has otherwise satis-
10 fied the requirements of subdivisions two and three of this section.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
