New York City Wrongful Death Lawyers

The loss of a loved one brings intense grief, not to mention personal and financial hardship. In many cases, however, the death is caused by another person’s negligent acts or omissions. When someone’s irresponsible conduct leads to a person losing their life, eligible survivors have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault party. Pitta & Baione LLP can help.

What Is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Wrongful death results from negligent acts or failures to act, intentional actions, or reckless behavior. Many of the underlying allegations of wrongful death lawsuits (e.g. drunk driving) are criminal in nature, but a civil lawsuit can help loved ones seek monetary compensation, otherwise known as damages.

These are a few of the most common examples of wrongful death lawsuits:

Motor vehicle accidents: Speeding, drunk driving, road rage, following too closely – all of these are actions that unnecessarily endanger lives. While the at-fault driver may be criminally punished, family members of the deceased victim may pursue a separate wrongful death lawsuit in civil court.

Medical malpractice: Doctors and other medical professionals are expected to practice according to an accepted standard of care. When they depart from this standard, for example by unreasonably allowing a disease to progress past the point of treatment, one may file a wrongful death claim.

Product liability: Manufacturers, distributors, and others must take reasonable care that the products they make and sell are safe. Neglecting this duty can lead to loss of numerous lives.

Premises liability: A property owner or manager owes guests a duty of keeping the property reasonably free of hazards. A classic example of a wrongful death claim in this category is negligent security that causes the death of someone who is on the property.

Wrongful Death vs. Survival Action

Unlike a wrongful death lawsuit, a survival action concerns the losses that the victim suffered after the injury but before death. It involves claims that the deceased victim could have made had he or she lived. For instance, a car accident victim may have incurred significant medical bills for weeks, only to then pass away. These expenses, along with the victim’s pain and suffering during the hospital stay, could be raised in the survival action.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

New York law authorizes the personal representative of a decedent’s estate to file a civil action to recover damages resulting from the wrongful death of the decedent. This individual is someone appointed by court and will typically be the surviving spouse, child, or parent.

How Much Can You Sue For Wrongful Death?

The amount of a wrongful death lawsuit payout will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case. Two broad categories of wrongful death damages are: economic (meaning they are objective and relatively easy to calculate) and non-economic (meaning they are subjective in nature). Examples include:

Medical expenses: Suffering a catastrophic accident that leads to death will almost always result in steep medical bills, all of which should be included in the wrongful death claim.

Funeral and burial expenses: Funerals and burial services are costly. Families of loved ones killed due to another’s negligence should not be forced to bear these costs.

Lost wages and benefits: This category accounts for the income and other benefits the decedent would have earned had he or she lived. The calculation can be complex, which is why you need a skilled wrongful death lawsuit attorney to assist you.

Pain and suffering: This is a major category of non-economic damages that accounts for the pain, agony, anxiety, and sheer suffering the victim experienced prior to dying. Although subjective, the amount that is awarded may be significant.

Loss of parental guidance: When a parent is tragically taken from a child, the child loses the emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and moral guidance that the parent would have provided. This loss can be recovered among non-economic damages.

How Long Do You Have To File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

If your loved one died because of someone’s negligent behavior, you need to take action as soon as possible. There is a wrongful death lawsuit statute of limitations that sets a deadline on the personal representative’s ability to file. That deadline is two years from the date of the decedent’s death. If the lawsuit is filed after the statute of limitations expires, the defendant can ask the judge to dismiss the case (barring limited exceptions).

How Much Are Wrongful Death Settlements?

Most wrongful death lawsuits settle out of court. Although each settlement is different and does not guarantee how much your family may receive in your specific case, some recent examples of New York wrongful death lawsuit cases can provide guidance on potential settlement amounts.

Tipped dresser wrongful death settlement: A case involving a tipped dresser that killed a two-year-old girl in western New York resulted in a $7.25 million wrongful death lawsuit settlement. The suit also led to a product recall.

Gabby Petito wrongful death settlement: The family of New Yorker Gabby Petito filed a wrongful death claim against the parents of Brian Laundrie, the man who admitted to killing Petito before committing suicide. The lawsuit was settled and a judge awarded the Petito family $3 million.

Disney Plus wrongful death lawsuit: Amy Tangsuan, a doctor at NYU, died after an allergy attack she suffered while eating at a Disney Springs Raglan Road restaurant. Disney initially attempted to have the case dismissed due to arbitration language included in its Disney Plus app, for which Tangsuan’s husband had signed up. The company abandoned this strategy and the lawsuit is still pending, seeking in excess of $50,000.

These wrongful death lawsuit examples illustrate the wide range of potential claims and settlements that are available. Although exact numbers are uncertain, nationally the wrongful death lawsuit average settlement is between $500,000 and $1 million. An experienced wrongful death attorney will work hard to help you receive the maximum amount of wrongful death compensation possible.

Who Gets the Money In a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Wrongful death damages are distributed in different ways. Generally, pain and suffering damages are first given to the estate but thereafter distributed in accordance with the decedent’s will (or New York intestacy laws in the absence of a will). Other damages will usually be allocated by a jury award. A surviving spouse, for example, may be awarded a certain amount for loss of companionship resulting from the wrongful death. Ultimately, the damages are reserved exclusively for the benefit of the decedent’s distributees, those individuals entitled to inherit under New York’s estate laws.

How To File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The basic steps in a wrongful death lawsuit are:

Appoint a representative: The only person who can bring a wrongful death lawsuit is a personal representative of the victim’s estate. A personal representative is appointed by the court during probate.

Hire an attorney to review your case: An experienced wrongful death lawsuit attorney will conduct an objective and thorough examination of the unique facts and circumstances in your case. The goal is to give you an idea of your legal options and the approximate value of your claim.

Identify the responsible parties: Next, your lawyer will make a list of potential defendants based on the evidence, with more to possibly be added as the case progresses.

Investigate the death: Although police and other officials may investigate the death, at Pitta & Baione, we conduct our own investigation by talking to witnesses, observing the accident scene, reviewing accident reports, and much more.

Collect the evidence: Through our investigation, we will begin to gather the evidence needed to support the allegations of the wrongful death lawsuit and the amount of damages demanded. A formal process known as discovery may also be used to obtain additional evidence.

Prepare arguments for court: We understand what evidence should be presented to increase the likelihood of prevailing in a wrongful death claim. Where possible, courts use a standard called the Noseworthy doctrine, which lowers the burden of proof in wrongful death claims because the decedent is not available to describe the incident that caused their death.

Negotiations and trial: Ideally, the wrongful death case will settle out of court through mediation, arbitration, or another alternative dispute resolution means. However, if the defendant or their insurance company or lawyers refuse to negotiate in good faith, we are prepared to take your case to trial.

How Can a New York City Wrongful Death Lawyer Help Me?

When you retain Pitta & Baione LLP for your wrongful death lawsuit, we bring to bear our legal skill and knowledge of the laws and rules governing wrongful death trials. We understand the immense grief that you and your family are experiencing, which is why our compassionate team will counsel you from beginning to end.

Additionally, we can assist with the complex nuances that often arise in these cases, such as compensation for children, deaths that occur out of state, and handling combative insurance companies. We are not afraid to demand justice for you, whether it be through out-of-court settlement negotiations or a trial.

Call an Experienced Wrongful Death Attorney | Seek Justice and Closure

When it comes to wrongful death cases, you need a tough but caring advocate to stand up for your family and walk with you through this difficult chapter of your life. While it is impossible for a wrongful death claim to bring back your family member, the compensation you receive can ease the pain and financial burden.

We have recovered millions for wrongful death victims and have in-house probate practice to make the process easier on the victim’s families. Call the New York City wrongful death lawyers of Pitta & Baione LLP to get started.