Newsday: State Legislature passes bill to better compensate families for ‘wrongful deaths’

By: Michael Gormley

A bill that would provide greater compensation to families that suffer a “wrongful death” in accidents has been passed by the State Legislature after years of effort by grieving families, including some on Long Island.

The Senate gave the bill final legislative approval late Tuesday; the Assembly passed it on June 1. It would amend a 175-year-old law that limits compensation in a civil lawsuit for families who lost a relative in what is determined to be a wrongful death such as an auto accident in which blame was assessed.

The bill now goes to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who vetoed a similar measure last year. She had said last year’s bill failed to fully explore the impact on businesses and insurance companies, which opposed the measure. Hochul said Wednesday she had no comment on the new measure because she hasn’t yet reviewed it.

The current law allows civil court judgments only for “pecuniary loss,” or losses that can be valued by money. That means there would be less compensation for the death of children, retired elderly, women who work in the home and others who disproportionately have lower incomes. Advocates have argued that results in higher damages paid for, say, the wrongful death of a doctor than a bus driver, simply based on their income.

“For many years, the courts have struggled to overcome the current law's narrow and inhumane language, which measures the worth of loved family members solely by their value as wage earners,” the bill states. “The law, in essence, says that the attributes of our family members that we most value — emotional support, love, companionship, advice and guidance — count for nothing.”

The measure also would change the law to show that families today take many forms. The bill would include stepchildren and non-married partners among those who are eligible for lawsuit payments.

The effort has been pushed hard in Albany by families, including the Long Island families who lost five young members in the 2021 head-on crash in Quogue and a 2015 crash in Cutchogue.

“It is vital to recognize all victims of these wrongful death occurrences,” said Nancy DiMonte of East Northport. She is a spokeswoman for the families involved in the Cutchogue crash in which a modified Lincoln Town Car limo made a U-turn and was struck broadside by a pickup truck.

She told Newsday she hopes the measure will make insurance companies more open to compensation for fatalities without requiring families to go to court. She said she also hopes the news might make drivers more cautious.

A coalition of advocates for older New Yorkers and people with disabilities along with consumer groups said the existing law devalues some people.

“Each year New Yorkers are killed by drunken drivers, medical negligence, defective products, dangerous roadway conditions, and countless other acts and omissions,” stated the coalition. “This denies survivors a full measure of justice, devaluing the lives of children, seniors, and other loved ones who would not produce substantial income. As a result wrongdoers are not held fully accountable for the lives they have taken.”

An association of businesses and health care providers said the measure will drive up insurance premiums and local government taxes to cover higher municipal insurance costs.

"By passing this bill, New York lawmakers are ignoring the concerns of local governments, doctors and hospitals, and feedback from Governor Hochul's office,” said Tom Stebbins, executive director of Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York. “As written, the bill will send insurance premiums skyrocketing while lining the pockets of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.”