Recently, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul once again vetoed the bipartisan “Grieving Families Act”, a bill that would bring New York State in line with the vast majority of the country by providing families of a loved one who died due to the negligence or malpractice of another with a cause of action for emotional damages. Farber Balsam Papain Ferrari supports the passage of the Grieving Families Act and is monitoring this important bill very closely.
Currently, a family member may only sue on behalf of a deceased loved one for economic damages, i.e. the economic support the deceased provide their family. This means that if a family member’s 4 year-old child or 94 year-old retired grandparent died due to the negligence or malpractice of another, and that family member, assuming they are a legal representative of the deceased person’s estate, brings a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the estate, that family member currently could not recover for their emotional damages because there would be no economic damages. This current scheme in New York law discriminates not only against children and the elderly, but also stay-at-home parents and any family member who, while not maintaining a job, may provide invaluable support, guidance, and love for their family. People must be allowed under the law to recover for their anguish and grief following the death of a loved one, regardless of whether they held a formal job or not.
In a time of political divisiveness, the Grieving Families Act represented a welcomed example of a bill that enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support.1 Unfortunately, before her most recent veto Governor Hochul had vetoed this bill multiple times. For example, in her veto memo of December 29, 2023, Governor Hochul cited “unintended consequences” of the Bill such as “increased insurance premiums” and “risk[ing] the financial well-being of our health care facilities”.
The argument of increased insurance premiums and risks to health care facilities is an unfortunate go-to argument in the insurance playbook. Given the undeniable bipartisan support for this bill, which seeks only to bring New York in lockstep with most of the country, such arguments ring especially hollow. Insurance companies claim that laws such as the Grieving Families Act will lead to a flood of cases that will overwhelm the courts and will lead to increased costs which everyone has to bear. What insurance companies conveniently fail to point out, however, is that if their clients – whether they are a building owner, construction company, or a hospital – did not commit negligence or malpractice in the first place, then there would not be any wrongful death lawsuit to commence. Instead of focusing on preventive measures to make everyone safer, insurance companies and health care facilities shift the focus from those who seek to make the law fairer and more just for all to potential increased costs which they fail to quantify. Instead of condemning those who simply want New Yorkers to enjoy broader access to remedies under the law, they should turn to their clients and figure out best practices and procedures for making everyone in this state as safe as possible.
If your loved one has passed away due to the potential negligence of another, please call Farber Balsam Papain Ferrari at (212) 972-7040 today.2
Not only is the bill overwhelmingly supported by New York’s assembly members and state senators, but it also enjoys support from such advocacy groups as the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the DC 37 AFSCME AFL-CIO, touted as New York City’s largest municipal public employee union.
Under New York’s Estate, Powers and Trusts Law, §5-4.1, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death suit is two (2) years from the date of death.
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