NY Gov Hochul Vetoes Bill Expanding Recoverable Wrongful Death Damages
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed for a second time the Grieving Families Act (GFA), a bill that would have expanded recoverable damages in wrongful death claims to include noneconomic damages. Under the current 177-year-old law, compensable damages in wrongful death actions are limited to economic loss only. New York and Alabama are the only two states that currently restrict family members from seeking recovery for their emotional suffering by limiting recoverable damages to the deceased’s earning potential.
Hochul first vetoed a version of the GFA on Jan. 30, 2023, after legislators refused to amend its language to carve out an exemption from noneconomic damages for medical liability claims (see MLM February 2023).
“I have suggested to the Legislature that we amend the legislation and sign into law a version that would give parents of children who have tragically died in accidents the opportunity to seek meaningful accountability for their heart-wrenching loss while, for the time being, exempting far more costly medical malpractice claims,” Hochul wrote at the time in a New York Daily News op-ed explaining her veto. “This approach recognizes that expanding the wrongful death framework must be done in a methodical, smart way.”
That version of the GFA would have extended New York’s statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuits from two years to three and a half, permitted surviving family members to collect noneconomic damages for the loss of affection and companionship, and opened the door for nontraditional family members to seek compensation. The bill would have also applied retroactively.
The updated bill attempted to address Hochul’s concerns by extending the statute of limitations from two years to only three years, a reduction of six months from the original proposal, and by limiting the bill’s retroactive effect to all causes of action that accrued on or after July 1, 2018, irrespective of the filing date.
The new GFA also defined a “close family member” as an individual closely related to the deceased. Determination of whether a “close family member” is entitled to recovery is entrusted to a jury or judge considering the specific circumstances of the person’s relationship with the deceased.
The updated GFA further outlined the types of damages that can be sought through a wrongful death lawsuit. These damages would have included reasonable funeral expenses; reasonable medical expenses for care related to the injury causing death, grief or anguish resulting from the death, loss of love, society, protection, comfort, companionship and consortium due to the death; pecuniary injuries such as loss of services, support or inheritance resulting from the death; and loss of nurture, guidance, advice, training and education due to the death.
Upon vetoing the GFA for a second time, Hochul said that she favors changing the wrongful death statute but that the bill lawmakers sent her still carried the “potential for significant unintended consequences.”
