A wrongful death case is a lawsuit brought on behalf of a decedent’s family for damages resulting from the negligent actions of another that causes the decedent’s death. Wrongful death actions can arise in a variety of circumstances, such as in car accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice cases, products liability cases, slip and fall accidents, and exposure to toxic substances.
New York’s wrongful death statute (Estates, Powers and Trusts, Article 5, Part 4) states that a personal representative of the decedent, who is appointed by the state, can bring a wrongful death action on behalf of the surviving distributees or beneficiaries.
Members of the decedent’s family may be able to recover for the following types of economic and non-economic damages in New York:
- Funeral expenses
- Medical expenses
- Loss of future earnings that the decedent would have earned during life
- Loss of benefits that the decedent would have received if still alive
- Loss of companionship, comfort, and solace
- Pain and suffering that the decedent experienced before death, while the decedent was still conscious
- Punitive damages may be awarded in certain circumstances to punish the party who caused the accident
Our firm successfully represents both Plaintiffs and Defendants in wrongful death actions. Most recently we have been retained by the family of a young man who tragically struck and killed by a New York City Transit Authority train in Brooklyn as reported by News 12 Brooklyn.
Additionally, we successfully defended a cooperative development against a wrongful death action wherein it was claimed that the co-op did not provide adequate security for a resident who was shot and killed in his apartment. After a two (2) week trial, the jury returned a verdict of no liability against the defendant and dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint as reported on October 8, 2010 by Verdict Search.