Wrongful Death Lawyer in New York City
For families who lost someone to another's negligence, in NYC and on Long Island
Wrongful Death
Yassi Law P.C. represents families in New York City and on Long Island in wrongful death cases, after a death caused by someone else's carelessness: crashes, construction and workplace accidents, defective products, unsafe property and medical errors. Attorney Reza Yassi handles each case himself, on a contingency fee, and the first consultation is free.
How we help families after a wrongful death
Reza Yassi moves early to preserve the evidence, identifies the responsible parties and their insurers, and deals with the insurers so the family does not have to. Wrongful death is a core part of the firm's New York personal injury practice, and the firm takes fewer cases on purpose.
The firm handles deaths caused by:
Falls and building defects on unsafe buildings and property
Medical malpractice
Nursing home neglect
Negligence by the City, NYCHA, the MTA, a school district or the State, which have short notice deadlines
The first weeks matter most. Camera footage can be recorded over and a vehicle repaired or sold.
What is wrongful death? A civil claim, not a criminal one
In New York, a wrongful death is a death caused by someone's wrongful act, neglect or default, where the person who died could have sued over the injury had they lived (EPTL 5-4.1). A death that no one is legally responsible for does not support a claim.
A wrongful death case is a civil lawsuit for money; only a separate criminal case, brought by a prosecutor, can lead to jail. The civil case can go forward whether or not anyone is charged, and a criminal case can give the family extra time to sue.
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in New York
Only the estate's personal representative can file, and only if the person left distributees, the close relatives who would inherit without a will (EPTL 5-4.1). That is an executor named in the will or an administrator, appointed by the Surrogate's Court. Family members do not sue in their own names, though one of them is often appointed.
The Surrogate's Court can issue limited letters that allow the lawsuit but bar any settlement or collection until a court approves (SCPA 702). If the will's executor refuses to sue and the relatives are not taking part in running the estate, they can have an administrator appointed instead (EPTL 5-4.1).
The money goes to the distributees, not to whoever the will names (EPTL 5-4.4), in the order set by EPTL 4-1.1:
A spouse and children; a grandchild takes the place of a child who died earlier.
Parents, if there is no spouse and no descendant. Parents also share when the person left a spouse but no descendants (EPTL 5-4.4).
Brothers and sisters and their descendants, if there is no spouse, descendant or parent.
Then grandparents, aunts and uncles, first cousins and their children.
Shares are not equal by default: the court sets each distributee's share by that person's own financial loss after a hearing (EPTL 5-4.4). The same court decides whether a parent who abandoned or failed to support the person before age 21, or a spouse who abandoned or failed to support them, is disqualified (EPTL 4-1.4; EPTL 5-1.2). An unmarried partner is not a distributee.
Wrongful death vs. survival action: two claims in one case
Most New York death cases include two claims, brought together by the same representative. The wrongful death claim pays the family for its financial losses. The survival claim is the injured person's own claim, which does not end at death and passes to the estate (EPTL 11-3.2).
The survival claim recovers the person's conscious pain and suffering between the injury and death, if they were aware of it, shown through EMS and hospital records, witnesses and the time that passed. It also recovers the person's own losses before death, such as lost pay and medical bills.
Wrongful death damages: what a family can recover
Wrongful death damages cover the family's financial (pecuniary) losses from the death, plus certain expenses, interest and, in some cases, punitive damages (EPTL 5-4.3). They can include:
Lost earnings and support the person would have given the family
The value of household help, such as childcare, cooking, repairs and caregiving
Loss of a parent's or grandparent's guidance
Inheritance the family would likely have received
Medical, nursing and funeral expenses paid or owed by the family
Interest from the date of death
Punitive damages, where they would have been available had the person lived (EPTL 5-4.3(b))
New York does not pay for grief, loss of companionship or loss of love and affection. The Court of Appeals confirmed that limit in Gonzalez v. New York City Housing Authority, 77 N.Y.2d 663 (1991).
A person who earned no paycheck, such as a child, a stay-at-home parent or a retiree, can still support a claim through the value of what they provided.
Is the Grieving Families Act law in 2026?
No. The Legislature has passed versions of the bill, and Governor Hochul has vetoed them, most recently Senate Bill S4423 on December 5, 2025. None has become law, and the current text of EPTL 5-4.3 still limits wrongful death damages to financial losses. The bill would let families recover for grief and loss of companionship.
Do not wait for the law to change: the deadlines run under current law, and a missed deadline can cost the whole claim.
How much is a wrongful death case worth in New York?
A New York wrongful death case is worth the family's provable financial loss from the death, plus what the person suffered before dying, limited in practice by the insurance and assets available. There is no average or formula; the main factors:
The person's age, health, earnings and likely future earnings
The household help, care and guidance they gave, and who depended on it
Whether they were aware of their injuries before death, and for how long
How clear the defendant's fault is, and whether the person who died shared any fault
The insurance policies and other assets available
Shared fault usually reduces the award rather than barring it: under CPLR 1411(a), the award is reduced by the share of fault blamed on the person who died.
A 2026 change matters in fatal crashes: in an action filed on or after May 26, 2026, CPLR 1411(b) bars a personal injury claim covered by no-fault (Insurance Law article 51) if the injured person was more at fault than all the defendants combined. It may reach the survival claim. Its text names only personal injury, not wrongful death, and the courts have not yet settled whether it also reaches the wrongful death claim. Motorcycle crashes generally fall outside no-fault.
Who pays? Usually the liability insurance of those responsible, such as a driver's auto policy, a building owner's or contractor's policy, or a hospital's malpractice coverage.
Statute of limitations for wrongful death in New York
The main deadline is two years from the death, but others can be shorter, and missing one usually ends that claim.
Wrongful death claim: two years from the death (EPTL 5-4.1).
Criminal case against the same defendant over the same event: at least one year after it ends (EPTL 5-4.1(2)).
Survival claim: usually three years from the injury (CPLR 214(5)), with at least one year after the death if that time had not run out (CPLR 210(a)).
Medical malpractice: the survival claim has two years and six months from the malpractice or the end of continuous treatment (CPLR 214-a), plus the same one-year rule. The wrongful death claim exists only if the person could still have sued when they died (EPTL 5-4.1), so a malpractice deadline that had already passed defeats it too.
The City of New York and other public bodies: a sworn notice of claim within 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e), counted from the representative's appointment for the wrongful death claim but from the injury for the survival claim. Against a city, county, town, village, fire district or school district, the wrongful death suit is due within two years of the death and the survival suit within one year and 90 days of the injury (General Municipal Law § 50-i). Most public authorities and public benefit corporations, such as the MTA and NYC Health + Hospitals, follow the same rule for the wrongful death claim: a § 50-e notice and suit within two years of the death (Public Authorities Law § 2980 and § 2981). The survival suit against them is generally due within one year and 90 days under each body's own statute, and some bodies, such as the Port Authority, follow their own notice and filing rules, so have the deadline checked right away.
The State of New York: claims go to the Court of Claims. For the wrongful death claim, file the claim and serve it on the Attorney General, or serve a written notice of intention to file one, within 90 days of the appointment, and file the claim within two years of the death (Court of Claims Act § 10(2)). For a survival claim based on negligence, the same steps are due within 90 days of the injury, and the claim within two years of it (§ 10(3)); an intentional-tort claim has only one year (§ 10(3-b)).
Because the survival notice runs from the injury, start the Surrogate's Court process right away. A court may allow a late notice of claim in its discretion, but never beyond the time to sue (General Municipal Law § 50-e(5)). Read more about the notice of claim against the city or another public body.
How a wrongful death case works, step by step
A New York wrongful death case starts in Surrogate's Court with the appointment of a representative, usually goes to State Supreme Court for the lawsuit, and ends with a court order approving any settlement and dividing the money.
Free consultation. Reza Yassi reviews the death certificate, records and any will, and tells the family whether the firm can take the case.
Estate appointment in the Surrogate's Court, handled by estate counsel the firm works closely with.
Investigation. The medical examiner's report, EMS records, video and witness accounts are gathered and preserved, and the responsible parties and their insurers identified.
Notice of claim, if a public body is involved.
Lawsuit, usually in New York State Supreme Court, or in the Court of Claims against the State (Court of Claims Act § 10).
Settlement or trial. Many cases settle; one that does not goes to trial.
Court approval (a compromise order). The court approves the settlement, the attorney's fee and expenses, and has the money placed in an interest-bearing escrow account that pays approved medical bills, funeral costs and liens (EPTL 5-4.6).
Distribution. On a petition for allocation and distribution, usually in the Surrogate's Court, the wrongful death money is divided among the distributees by each one's financial loss (EPTL 5-4.4).
What a wrongful death lawyer costs, and how to choose one
Wrongful death cases are handled on a contingency fee: no fee unless money is recovered, and in most fatal accident cases the fee is one-third of the net recovery. For a death caused by medical malpractice, the fee follows the sliding scale in Judiciary Law § 474-a, which starts at 30% and falls in steps to 10% on amounts over $1,250,000.
The fee and the handling of case expenses are set out in a written retainer agreement, and when a pending lawsuit settles, the court approves the fee as part of the compromise order (EPTL 5-4.6).
No ranking can tell you which lawyer is right for your family. Ask questions specific to a death case:
Who will handle the Surrogate's Court appointment, and who will seek the court's approval of any settlement?
How will the lawyer prove what the person went through before death and what the family lost financially?
Is the fee in writing, and does the lawyer try cases that do not settle?
Reza Yassi handles each lawsuit himself and works closely with estate counsel on the appointment; learn more about Reza Yassi.
Guides on this topic
How a wrongful death case is valued when the person had no income: what a case is worth when the person who died was a child or retiree.
Conscious pain and suffering: how a survival claim preserves damages: how the estate proves and recovers what the person went through before death.
Fatal medical malpractice: why the wrongful death deadline is shorter than you think: how the two-year wrongful death clock and the malpractice clock interact when a medical error caused the death.
Frequently asked questions
Can siblings sue for wrongful death in New York?
Siblings do not sue in their own names, though a sibling can be appointed representative. Brothers and sisters share in the money only if the person left no spouse, no children or other descendants, and no parent (EPTL 4-1.1), and each share depends on that sibling's financial loss.
Are wrongful death settlements part of the estate?
Not the wrongful death part. That money goes to the distributees according to their financial loss, not under the will (EPTL 5-4.4). Money from the survival claim, for the person's own pain and suffering, belongs to the estate.
How long do wrongful death cases take?
Often two years or more. The estate appointment comes first, then the lawsuit, and the court must approve any settlement and its division before money is paid.
Do most wrongful death cases settle?
Many do, often after the lawsuit is filed and the evidence is exchanged. A settlement of a pending lawsuit needs a court compromise order (EPTL 5-4.6), so the family's agreement alone does not finish it.
Are wrongful death cases hard to win?
The family must prove the defendant's fault and that it caused the death, and insurers often contest both. Shared fault usually reduces the award rather than barring it (CPLR 1411(a)). In a no-fault crash case filed on or after May 26, 2026, a new rule may bar recovery if the person who died was more at fault than all the defendants combined (CPLR 1411(b)). It may reach the survival claim, and courts have not yet decided whether it reaches the wrongful death claim.
How do I file a wrongful death lawsuit in New York?
First, the Surrogate's Court appoints an executor or administrator, usually a family member. That representative files the lawsuit within two years of the death (EPTL 5-4.1), usually in New York State Supreme Court; a claim against the State of New York goes to the Court of Claims. If the city or another local public body or authority is responsible, a notice of claim is usually due within 90 days of the appointment (General Municipal Law § 50-e), and for the survival claim within 90 days of the injury; against the State, the claim or a notice of intention is due within 90 days of the appointment (Court of Claims Act § 10(2)).
If you lost a family member in New York City or on Long Island, call Reza Yassi at (646) 992-2138 or contact the firm for a free consultation. He meets families in person, by phone or by video.
