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On June 10, 2025, the New York State Grieving Families Act got a (fourth) chance to be signed by Governor Hochul. She refused to sign prior iterations of the legislation, citing stress on New York’s business community and the specter of increased consumer costs. However, Senate Bill S4423 was recently substituted for A6063—signaling the legislation is on track to be delivered to the governor.
The Latest Version of the Grieving Families Act
New York State Senate Bill S4423 “provides for the types of damages that may be awarded to persons for whose benefit an action for wrongful death is brought.” More specifically, it is an act “to amend the estates, powers and trusts law, in relation to the payment and distribution of damages in wrongful death actions.”
As currently drafted, Section 1 discusses the right of a personal representative of a decedent to bring an action for wrongful death. It states, “such an action must be commenced within three years after the decedent’s death.” This three-year statute of limitations is a change from current law, which provides for a two-year statute of limitations.
Section 2 discusses the damages that can be awarded. Subsection (a) states:
“In every such action, in addition to any other lawful element of recoverable damages, compensation for the following damages may be recovered:
(i) Reasonable funeral expenses of the decedent paid by the persons for whose benefit the action is brought, or for the payment of which any persons for whose benefit the action is brought is responsible;
(ii) Reasonable expenses for medical care incident to the injury causing death, including but not limited to doctors, nursing, attendant care, treatment, hospitalization of the decedent and medicines;
(iii) Grief or anguish caused by the decedent’s death;
(iv) Other pecuniary injuries, including loss of services, support, assistance and loss or diminishment of inheritance resulting from the decedent’s death; and
(v) Loss of nurture, guidance, counsel, advice, training, companionship and education resulting from the decedent’s death.”
This is a departure from the current wrongful death law, which allows for recovery of funeral expenses, medical expenses and pecuniary damages. In contrast, the proposed legislation would permit recovery for “grief or anguish caused by the decedent’s death.” This would be a significant change and would increase the calculus of damages for wrongful death claims. It also introduces a jury question about reasonable compensation for “grief and anguish” in cases that are already emotionally charged.
Section 3(a) states:
“The damages are exclusively for the benefit of the persons for whose benefit the action is brought, which shall be defined as and limited to the decedent’s spouse or domestic partner, decedent’s distributees, as defined by 4-1.1 of this chapter and 5-4.5 of this part, any person standing in loco parentis to the decedent, and to any person to whom the decedent stood in a position of in loco parentis. An in loco parentis relationship shall be presumed when an adult and minor share or have recently shared a household. The finder of fact shall determine which of those persons for whose benefit the action is brought, as defined in this paragraph, are entitled to damages under this section based upon the specific circumstances relating to the person’s relationship with the decedent.”
This expands who can claim damages on the decedent’s behalf.
Section 5 states that the act “shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all causes of action that have accrued on or after January 1, 2022.”
If the Grieving Families Act Is Signed by the Governor
Assuming the governor signs the legislation as written and does not modify it, it would impact causes of action for wrongful death that accrued on or after January 1, 2022. The assessment of who may recover would move beyond a distributee, and the expansion of potential damages would encompass “grief or anguish caused by the decedent’s death.” These are two significant changes that would expand both who can recover and what they may recover in a wrongful death claim.
There is no discussion in the proposed legislation regarding how to calculate “grief or anguish” damages. This omission leaves that determination to a jury. For insurers and attorneys, this introduces additional challenges, as these cases will likely become more costly to litigate and the potential for higher jury awards will increase.
We will continue to monitor the progress of the Grieving Families Act as it moves to Governor Hochul’s desk.
