Wrongful Death in New York

When an individual is killed as a result of another individual’s negligence or wrongdoing it is called wrongful death.

For hundreds of years, wrongful death laws did not exist in our country. Under common law, any right to a personal injury claim was lost when the injured individual died. This often left dependents and beneficiaries with huge medical bills, a significant loss of income, and other financial losses, not to mention the deep emotional loss of a loved one.

To correct this injustice, New York enacted its own wrongful death statute.  This law allows for dependents and beneficiaries (i.e. a partner, children, other next of kin) to sue the negligent party responsible for their loved one’s death.

Wrongful death statutes allow the aggrieved dependants and beneficiaries to seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are the out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of the wrongful death. The plaintiff has the right to seek compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, funeral expenses, and other out-of-pocket costs. Non-economic damages are related to the pain of the person who died, as well as for the suffering of survivors — for example, loss of consortium, emotional suffering, and the like. 

The process of starting a wrongful death lawsuit is complicated.  First, the family of the decedent must go to Surrogate's Court and file a petition.  Basically, this means the family is formally advising the Court that someone has died (this person is now called a decedent) and that the family is looking to resolve the decedent's financial obligations (this is referred to as the decedent's estate). 

Because a wrongful death action can impact on the worth of the decedent's estate, the family members must tell the Surrogate's Court that a wrongful death action is going to be commenced and the family must continue to advise the Court of the status of the wrongful death lawsuit.  The actual wrongful death lawsuit will be started in a seperate court, usually the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

In New York, the Estate of the person who was killed generally has two years to start a lawsuit.  There are situations where the Statute of Limitation to commence a wrongful death claim can be shorter, like when a municpality is involved.

At Lever & Stolzenberg LLP, we have plenty of experience handling wrongful death lawsuits.  We can represent you in the Surrogate's Court action as well as in Supreme Court.  For more information, please feel free to call us and ask to speak to an attorney.

Library for Wrongful Death:

• What Is Wrongful Death?   
  Who can sue for wrongful death, and in what kind of circumstances can you receive compensation for the loss of a loved one? In this legal article, New York wrongful death attorneys answer the most basic questions you may have about wrongful death.

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