New York, N.Y. (January 2, 2024) - On December 29, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul again vetoed the "Grieving Families Act" championed by the New York plaintiffs' bar. As discussed in prior Client Alerts, the draft bill would have substantially expanded the recoverable damages and classes of persons who can recover in wrongful death actions in New York, while also expanding the statute of limitations.
The Governor explained her decision by referring to some of the same concerns she expressed at the time of her first veto in January 2023. While the Governor still supports many goals of the legislation, in particular its provision for the recovery of grief and loss of consortium damages in wrongful death cases, she again expressed a concern about potential unintended consequences of the draft bill. For example, it would have allowed "close" family members to recover, rather than the current statutorily-prescribed list of distributees of the deceased. This would complicate many pending cases by forcing juries and judges to determine who qualifies as "close" under any given set of facts. The Governor also believes the bill could increase insurance costs on families and small businesses, as well as the health care system and, in particular, struggling hospitals in underserved communities.
The plaintiffs' bar remains committed to this issue and we anticipate their allies in the legislature will continue to work on the bill with the goal of getting it to the Governor's desk for a third time.
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