New Jersey Resident Injured by a Commercial Vehicle in New York Found Not to be a "Qualified Person" Entitled to Hit and Run Benefits from MVAIC

AUTO – MVAIC – INSURANCE LAW § 5218 – "QUALIFIED PERSON"
Matter of Thakuri v. Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp.
(Sup. Ct., New York Co., decided 11/18/2010)

Petitioner, a New Jersey resident, made a motion for an order allowing her to commence a personal injury action against the New York Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) for a broken ankle she sustained when she was struck while riding her bicycle in Manhattan by a bus that left the scene of the accident.

In spite of her motion being unopposed, New York County Supreme Court Justice Eileen Rakower DENIED petitioner's application, finding that since New Jersey no-fault law does not afford protection for injuries from being struck by commercial vehicles, petitioner did not meet the definition of a "qualified person" under New York Insurance Law § 5202(b):

Insurance Law §5202(b) states, in relevant part:

"Qualified person" means (i) a resident of this state, other than an insured or the owner of an uninsured motor vehicle and his spouse when a passenger in such vehicle, or his legal representative, or (ii) a resident of another state, territory or federal district of the United States or province of the Dominion of Canada, or foreign country, in which recourse is afforded, to residents of this state, of substantially similar character to that provided for by this article, or his legal representative[.]

On her police accident report, petitioner lists her address as "518 North 5 Street Harrison NJ 07029." On her Notice of Intention to Make a Claim form, pay stub, household affidavit; and hospital records, petitioner lists her address as 17 Davis Street Harrison, NJ. The court in Simon v. Motor Vehicle Acc Indemnification Corp., 83 AD2d 803 (1st Dept. 1981) found:

The record before this Court demonstrates that claimant is not a qualified person.   The no-fault statute in the State of New York applies to commercial vehicles, while the statute in the State of New Jersey only applies to passenger cars. Coverage for injuries sustained while being struck by a commercial van are not covered under New Jersey law.(where a New Jersey resident was struck by a commercial van that left the scene of the accident.)

In the police report, the offending vehicle is described as an "unknown bus." In her MVAIC paperwork, petitioner checks the option for "A Bus or School Bus," next to "the type of vehicle" that hit her.  There is no evidence that the bus involved in the accident was not a commercial vehicle.  Here, as in Simon, petitioner has failed to show that New Jersey would afford reciprocal coverage to a New York driver and, thus, is not considered a "qualified person" for purposes of commencing a lawsuit against MVAIC.