Attorneys Michael F. Hupy and Jason F. Abraham traveled to Madison in January 2011 to oppose the new law that would severely restrict the legal rights of victims injured in automobile accidents. They testified before the Wisconsin Joint Assembly and the Senate Joint Committees on Insurance in opposition of Senate Bill 7.
Senate Bill 7 repeals the Truth in Auto Law passed in 2009 and rolls back insurance liability coverage to 1982 levels. The new bill prohibits combining the underinsured motorist coverage from multiple insurance polices a person has purchased. The bill also allows insurance companies to apply “reducing clauses” which could lower the amount an injured victim can collect when hit by an underinsured motorist.
Hupy and Abraham testified against Senate Bill 7 because when someone has been catastrophically injured in a traffic accident, loss of limbs, paralyzed or left in a vegetative state, their suffering does not end with the injury. In addition to losing their ability to earn a living, they are subjected to severe emotional stress and they can incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in current and future medical bills, forcing some families into bankruptcy. “We fought for the defeat of Senate Bill 7 because it would force many innocent accident victims to file bankruptcy and force Wisconsin taxpayers to pick up the tab”, said Attorney Abraham.
In the past, the Truth in Auto Law allowed Attorneys to help their clients with medical bills. They have been able to win settlements and judgments that paid for current medicals bills and long term care. Senate bill 7 limits the attorney’s ability to help victims relieve financial burdens that have been caused by someone else’s negligence. “Senate Bill 7 victimizes victims of negligent drivers a second time”, said Attorney Hupy.
