Wrongful Death Attorneys

It is a lawsuit for a death caused by someone's wrongful act, neglect or default. Under EPTL 5-4.1 it is brought by the personal representative of the person who died, for the family members who are distributees, against someone who would have been liable to the person had they lived. It is a civil claim for money; a criminal case is separate. The person's own injury claim can be brought alongside it as a survival claim.

The wrongful death claim compensates the family's financial losses caused by the death, and the money goes to the distributees. The survival claim is the person's own injury claim, which continues after death (EPTL 11-3.2(b)); it covers what accrued before death, such as conscious pain and suffering, medical bills and lost earnings before death, plus funeral expenses, and it becomes part of the estate (EPTL 11-3.3). It does not include earnings after death. Both are usually tried together, with separate verdicts.

Only the personal representative: an executor named in a will or an administrator, once a court has appointed them (letters are usually issued by the Surrogate's Court). The claim is for the distributees, such as a spouse, children or parents, but they do not sue individually. If an executor refuses to bring the action, distributees who are not part of the administration can ask to have an administrator appointed to bring it (EPTL 5-4.1).

Generally two years after the death, or at least one year after a criminal action against the same defendant for the same event ends (EPTL 5-4.1). A local government that may be responsible: notice of claim within 90 days after the representative is appointed; suit within two years (GML 50-e, 50-i). The State: within 90 days after appointment, file and serve the claim or serve a notice of intention on the Attorney General; the claim must be filed and served within two years after the death. Survival claims differ.

That the defendant would have been liable to the person had they lived: usually a duty of care, a breach of it, and that the breach caused the death. Then the family's pecuniary loss: the support, services and care the person provided, medical and funeral expenses. Proof comes from police, medical examiner and hospital records, video, witnesses, workplace or property records and, often, medical and economic experts.

Under EPTL 5-4.3, fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries the death caused the distributees, plus reasonable medical, nursing and funeral expenses, with interest from the date of death; punitive damages only if the person could have recovered them. Grief and loss of companionship are not in the statute and are generally not compensable. The survival claim can add the person's own pre-death losses. The recovery is divided by each distributee's pecuniary loss (EPTL 5-4.4).

Yes. Under CPLR 1411(a), in a wrongful death action the decedent's share of fault does not bar recovery; it reduces the damages in proportion. A 2026 rule in CPLR 1411(b) bars recovery in some motor-vehicle personal-injury actions when the claimant's fault is greater than the defendants'; it is written for personal-injury actions, so its effect on a survival claim from a crash should be checked in each case.

Wrongful death claims can arise from traffic crashes involving drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, falls and falling objects on construction sites, medical and nursing-home care, unsafe buildings and property, and defective products. Each has its own proof and, when a public body may be legally responsible, its own notice rules. The links on this page lead to the page for each cause.

A wrongful death claim is brought by a personal representative acting for the distributees, so each step affects other people: getting the right letters, meeting notice dates that start at appointment, preserving video and records, proving financial loss, and a court hearing on how any recovery is divided. Ask a lawyer about the court's rules on who may appear for a representative. We work on a contingency basis: no fee unless there is a recovery, and the consultation is free.

Get the death certificate and ask for police, medical examiner and hospital records. Ask anyone with video, such as stores, buildings or bus operators, to keep it. Keep funeral and medical bills and the person's pay and tax records. Decide who will seek appointment as representative, because some notice periods run from that appointment. Do not sign a release or give a recorded statement to another party's insurer before getting advice.