Manhattan Wrongful Death Lawyer for New York County Families

Under EPTL 5-4.1, the action is brought by the decedent's personal representative, meaning the executor or administrator appointed by a court, on behalf of the family members who are distributees. If the decedent left a will naming an executor who refuses to bring the action, the distributees are entitled to have an administrator appointed to pursue it. In Manhattan, letters are typically sought from the New York County Surrogate's Court.

Generally two years after the death (EPTL 5-4.1). If a criminal action was started against the same defendant for the same event, the representative has at least one year from the end of the criminal action. When a city or other municipality may be responsible, a notice of claim is generally due within 90 days, and for wrongful death that period runs from the appointment of the estate representative (General Municipal Law 50-e); the action must be started within two years of the death (General Municipal Law 50-i).

EPTL 5-4.3 allows fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries resulting from the death to the persons for whom the action is brought, plus the reasonable expenses of medical aid, nursing and attention for the fatal injury and reasonable funeral expenses. Punitive damages may be awarded where they would have been recoverable had the decedent survived, and interest runs from the date of death.

Not under the current wording of EPTL 5-4.3, which measures wrongful death damages by pecuniary injuries. The Legislature passed a "Grieving Families Act" bill (S4423) that would have allowed grief and anguish damages, but the Governor vetoed it on December 5, 2025. A new bill, S10171, was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 4, 2026. Unless a new law is enacted, the pecuniary rule applies.

EPTL 5-4.4 says the damages are exclusively for the benefit of the decedent's distributees and are distributed in proportion to the pecuniary injuries each suffered, as determined after a hearing by the court handling the action or the Surrogate. The reasonable expenses of the action or settlement, and medical and funeral expenses included in the recovery, can be fixed by the court and deducted.

The wrongful death claim compensates the family's losses caused by the death. A survival claim continues the decedent's own claim for injuries suffered before death; EPTL 11-3.2(b) provides that no cause of action for injury to person or property is lost because of the death of the person in whose favor it existed. The estate representative usually brings both together.

Claims against the City and other municipalities require a timely notice of claim, which for wrongful death runs 90 days from the appointment of the estate representative, so the Surrogate's Court step should not wait. For the MTA, Public Authorities Law 1276 says wrongful death actions follow the notice of claim and time limitation provisions in the Public Authorities Law, which should be checked for the specific agency involved.