HomeMy WebLinkAbout27981~
~`
~~ situations" recognized by the Supreme Court have now mushroomed
~~
. ,
~ into alnwst all situations. Indeed, the portent of things to
;i
;j come was accurately prophesied by Justice Ervin in his dissent
'' at Pages 26-27 wherein he concluded,
:;
~` i
"If despite Section 21 of Art. I of the
, State Constitution the Legislature from
time to time under precedents established
by this Court can eliminate the redress of
, particular injuries, or access to the courts ~
~ for such purpose, there will be no end or E
limit to the extent legislative power may be
exercised to legislate away particular causes ,
of actions and remedies, and particularly
~ so if some segment of the private sector
wishes to be imanune from suit and can lobby
through its immnunizing legislation."
After reviewing the legislative history of the
~
No-Fault Statute~ it is increasingly apparent that since the '
Supreme Court's initial review of the original No-Fault Statute ;
in the Klu~er and Lasky cases, the legislature has totally
~, eroded the statutory benefits which the Supreme Court had
earlier found to be a"reasonable alternative" to the common ;
~
law right to seek redress for injury. When the Supreme Court, ;
in Lasky, decided that partial elimination of speculative ~
;
' damages had been adequately replaced, it pointed to specific ~
reasonable alternative remedies: ;
i
a) The first of these was the speedy payment of
i
initial benefits to the victims.
b) The second benefit supposedly given to accident
,
victims in place of speculative damages (pain and ~
I
suffering) was the guaranteed recovery of economic i
~
loss, even where the victim was at fault. At the time ;
of the Lasky decision, the guaranteed payment of basic
economic losses covered under the PIP provisions of the
policy of insurance were considered a substantial
benefit received in exchange for the partial abrogation
of the right to seek redress for damages for pain and
~ Ha~~.ti'~:
. , ,F.
. . r a.r,
. ~ • ~ 4•!
Ay
3
~~ Y ~a»i`'S.~ a`l~.Ct~ = v
Page Six ;
B~M~X•.1~5 PaGE~797 ~
~
~
v £:~~°'i
~ ~~ ~ _