Navigating the Storm: The Emotional and Financial Impact of Wrongful Death
After losing a loved one, families face an average total financial cost of $12,702 due to their loved one’s passing according to a recent study.[1] That same study showed that 43% of the families impacted by an unexpected death paid for these expenses using a credit card, and another 37% had to take money from their savings or investments to cover it.[2]
Many of these families had to hire real estate professionals such as brokers and appraisers, therapists and social workers for their mental health needs, accountants and financial advisors, and even lawyers.[3] Most people never stop to consider what needs arise when a loved one is killed unexpectedly due to another person’s wrongdoing. They should not have to, but it is a sad fact of life that such professionals are necessitated in the wake of a tragedy.
If one of your loved ones is killed due to another person’s wrongdoing then you may be able to bring a wrongful death claim to recover compensation. That compensation could be the safety net necessary to navigate the storm of that loss.
At Dansker & Aspromonte, our attorneys offer consultations to those seeking to learn about their legal rights at no upfront cost. Contact them today by calling them at (516) 206-6723 or by visiting us at our webpage, which is conveniently linked here.
Understanding the Law of Wrongful Death
New York created wrongful death claims by enacting its wrongful death statute, and, prior to that statute’s enactment, there was no right to bring an action for wrongful death.[4] The right to bring this action is now protected by New York’s constitution, which says that the right to bring a wrongful death claim shall never be abrogated nor shall the amount of damages recoverable be subject to any statutory limitation.[5]
There are four elements of a wrongful death claim, each of which will be addressed below.
The Defendant Must Commit a Wrongful Act Leaving Him Liable for Personal Injury
The first element of a wrongful death claim is that a defendant must commit a wrongful act or omission that, if the decedent had not died, would have left the defendant liable to the decedent for personal injury.[6] Calling the act a “wrongful act” is vague, but that vagueness is intentional. An action for wrongful death will lie in New York based on wrongful conduct including but not limited to:
- Negligence;[7]
- Murder;[8]
- Breach of Warranty;[9]
- Medical Malpractice;[10]
- Product Liability;[11] and
- Strict Liability.[12]
Regardless of the nature of the wrongful act, an action for wrongful death will lie so long as the wrongful act would have left the defendant liable to the decedent for personal injury. Further, any claim brought in a wrongful death claim will be subject to any defense that the defendant could have asserted against the decedent directly.
The Defendant’s Wrongful Act Must Have Caused the Decedent to Die
This element requires a showing of causation on the part of the plaintiff that the defendant’s wrongful act caused the decedent to die and does not depart from the general causation standard in an ordinary personal injury case. [13]
There Must Exist Statutory Distributees Who Survive the Decedent
New York’s wrongful death states that there must be eligible distributees under New York’s intestacy law at the time of decedent’s death in order for a wrongful death claimant to succeed.[14] Those distributees must suffer a pecuniary loss as a result of the decedent’s death.[15]
The distributee’s right to damages vests as a property right when the decedent dies.[16] That right to damages is not extinguished if the distributee dies, gets married, or is adopted by another person so long as they qualified as a distributee when the decedent passed away.[17]
A Personal Representative of the Decedent Must Be Appointed to Bring the Wrongful Death Claim
Under New York law, only a personal representative duly appointed to administer the estate of the decedent in New York or another jurisdiction has the authority to bring an action for wrongful death.[18] The representative’s rule is to receive the wrongful death fund for the benefit of the distributees who sustained the pecuniary loss.[19] While the statutory distributees cannot maintain their own wrongful death claims in their individual capacities, they are entitled to have an administrator appointed to prosecute the wrongful death claim should the decedent’s estate’s appointed executor refuse to bring a wrongful death action on their behalf.[20]
The Emotional Toll: Coping with Loss
The Stages of Grief and Mourning:
According to Harvard Medical School, there are five stages of grief when coping with the loss of a loved one:
- Denial: Denial is the period of grieving in which the person refuses to accept the reality of the situation. Denial is a defense mechanism that helps the human psyche protect itself from the shock of deeply upsetting news, such as the death of a loved one.
- Anger: After a person understands the information they received, they often experience anger. Anger is a natural part of the grieving process, but it can be hurtful or offensive to other people.
- Bargaining: People experiencing grief often come to the third stage, bargaining, in which they will make statements about “what if” or “if only” as they experience the loss of control over what happened.
- Depression: Depression is the fourth stage of grief, and it is the most commonly understood of the stages. Depression is likely inevitable in the context of suddenly losing a loved one.
- Acceptance: Acceptance is considered the fifth and final stages of grief, referring to the period when the grieving person comes to terms with accepting the reality of his or her loss. At this stage, the grieving person is able to focus on celebrating the life of their lost loved one and move forward.[21]
Mental Health Challenges
People experiencing bereavement are undergoing one of the most harrowing experiences that a person can face, with shock, anguish, loss, anger, guilty, regret, anxiety, fear, loneliness, depression, and depersonalization all falling among the sentient states that they often describe feeling.[22] While depression is stage of the grieving process, that does not mean that it is normal to feel that way forever.
If feelings of depression last longer than a year and continue to cause significant stress or impairment of the grieving person’s day-to-day functions then that person may be experiencing “prolonged grief disorder.”[23] Prolonged grief disorder is a diagnosable medical condition that must be appropriately managed.[24]
Impact on Family Dynamics
While certain factors will affect how a family functions after a family member’s death, the loss of a family member is traumatic and will undoubtedly impact that family.[25] The structure of a family inevitably changes after a member of the family dies, but there is a positive association between families that show openness after the death of a loved one and their ability to effectively cope and function as a family.[26]
What follows are a few examples of the impact of the loss of a family member in particular situations:
- After the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse is at a drastically increased risk of health-related problems, though this negative effect is abated by talking with and confiding in close friends;
- Elementary-school aged children who lose a parent report sadness and anger and that they experience happiness in a different way;
- The death of a sibling has been shown to have detrimental effects on the surviving siblings’ relationships with their peers, their study habits, and their grades, though these effects subside with time;
- The loss of a child is often seen as the most severe loss, with many parents who lose a child reporting a loss of their social networks of other parents, and parents who lose a child have a measuredly lower health-related quality of life when compared to parents who have not lost a child; and
- Adult children who lose a parent experience physical and psychological effects, and it is associated with the increased use of alcohol.[27]
Financial Implications: Weathering the Economic Storm
Families’ financial situations are drastically altered after losing a loved one, even when the deceased person did not earn an income. Losing a primary breadwinner can be utterly destabilizing for them. Beyond the immediate loss of income, those families face the following expenses:
- Real Estate Brokers/Appraisers: Families who lose a loved one spend thousands of dollars on a real estate broker or appraiser after the death of their loved one, with high-income families spending $10,300 and low-income families spending $5,600.[28]
- Lost Hours: Winding down a loved one’s affairs is an unexpectedly long process that takes families an average of 13 months to complete, with them spending an average of 420 hours working on estate affairs to complete it.[29]
- Legal Costs: Families experiencing sudden losses also had to pay for lawyers, which cost high-income families an average of $7,530 and low-income families an average of $3,800.[30]
There are sources of compensation available to these families, but some of them are not accessible to families with average or below-average means. The best available source of compensation is life insurance, but the proceeds of that insurance may not be available to low or moderate-income families. Government assistance programs are often inadequate to help them as well, leaving a wrongful death lawsuit as their best and possibly only option.
The Legal Process: Understanding Your Rights
Filing a wrongful death lawsuit is a lengthy endeavor involving many complicated legal procedures. The best first step anyone looking to file a wrongful death claim should take is to contact a seasoned wrongful death litigator with knowledge of the law and experience in the courts.
Once this is done, the families must determine if the administrator of the decedent’s estate is willing to file a wrongful death suit on their behalf, and if not, who the administrator of the suit should be to fulfill the obligation of the having a personal representative bring the suit. The wrongful death attorney should advise the family closely on this issue.
After retaining a wrongful death attorney, the family should expect to have continued meetings and discussions with that lawyer as the lawyer investigates the case. Likely, the attorney will ask the decedent’s families for many different types of documentation and may ask probing questions. These probing questions are part of the investigation and are not at all meant to harass the family.
Available Resources: Finding Support and Guidance
Available Government Programs & Financial Assistance
There are government programs available to assist people who have recently lost a loved one. While these programs cannot fully compensate for the family’s loss, the federal government has created a website for families dealing with the sudden loss of a loved one. All the family needs to do is fill out a survey, and the website will tell them about the benefits to which they might be entitled. That website is linked here.
New York’s Human Resources Administration Office of Burial Services (the “OBS”) offers assistance to people who need financial assistance in covering funeral expenses for deceased low-income residents of New York City. The OBS pays a maximum of $1,700 towards the cost of a funeral bill for the decedent’s final disposition. Their website is linked here.
Support Groups & Counseling Services
New York City has posted a list of available support groups for people experiencing grief, which is linked here. Among the available services are resources and support for bereaved families and children, information on complicated grief, and services for Jewish citizens going through bereavement.
As previously stated, there is an increased risk of alcohol abuse amongst adults who lose a parent. To combat that, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) offers information on grief and bereavement for psychiatric practitioners.
Legal Resources Available
As previously stated, families who lose a loved one will often need to hire a lawyer for several reasons, one of which is to bring a wrongful death claim. Quality legal services are expensive, but they can be had at affordable rates if an attorney is willing to take the case on a contingency basis.
The attorneys at Dansker & Aspromonte offer consultations to prospective clients at no cost to the client. They have a remarkable track record of successful advocacy on behalf of their clients, resulting in excellent settlement values. If you are in need of legal help after losing a loved one then reach out to the attorneys at Dansker & Aspromonte to schedule your free initial consultation by calling (516) 206-6723 or by contacting them through their webpage linked here.
Conclusion
The emotional and financial impact of losing a loved one can devastate families. While there are resources available to the families, many such families are unaware of their availability. These families can find themselves in dire financial straits.
If you have lost a loved one due to the wrongful act of another person then reach out to the attorneys at Dansker & Aspromonte. Their attorneys cannot bring your loved one back, but they will use their steady counsel and dedicated advocacy to get you every penny you can collect. Healing is hard, but the attorneys at Dansker & Aspromonte are here to get you back on track.
[1] The Cost of Dying: Examining the True Impact of Bereavement in America, Empathy (2022), Empathy-Cost-of-Dying-Report-030322.pdf (ctfassets.net).
[2] The Cost of Dying: Examining the True Impact of Bereavement in America, Empathy (2022), Empathy-Cost-of-Dying-Report-030322.pdf (ctfassets.net).
[3] The Cost of Dying: Examining the True Impact of Bereavement in America, Empathy (2022), Empathy-Cost-of-Dying-Report-030322.pdf (ctfassets.net).
[4] Action by Personal Representative for Wrongful Act, Neglect, or Default Causing Death of Decedent N.Y. EPTL § 5-4.1 (2024).
[5] N.Y. Const. Art. 1, § 16.
[6] Chamberlain v. City of White Plains, 986 F.Supp.2d 363 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).
[7] Cauverien v. De Metz, 188 N.Y.S.2d 627 (1959).
[8] McDonald v. McDonald, 597 N.Y.S.2d 159 (1993).
[9] Greco v. S.S. Kresge Co., 277 N.Y. 26 (1938).
[10] Coursen v. New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, 499 N.Y.S.2d 52 (1986).
[11] Ploof v. B.I.M. Truck Service, Inc., 384 N.Y.S.2d 521 (1976).
[12] Sullivan v. Dunham, 161 N.Y. 290 (1900).
[13] Chamberlain v. City of White Plains, 986 F.Supp.2d 363 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).
[14] N.Y. EPTL §§ 4-1.1.; N.Y. EPTL §§ 5-4.5.
[15] Chamberlain v. City of White Plains, 986 F.Supp.2d 363 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).
[16] Alberino v. Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center, 450 N.Y.S.2d 857 (1982).
[17] Alberino v. Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center, 450 N.Y.S.2d 857 (1982).
[18] N.Y. EPTL § 5-4.1.
[19] Central New York Coach Lines, Inc. v. Syracuse Herald Co., 277 N.Y. 110 (1938).
[20] N.Y. EPTL § 5-4.1.
[21] Fisher, Jennifer, 5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one, Harvard Health Publishing (Dec. 12, 2023), https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one.
[22] Zisook & Shear, Grief and bereavement: what psychiatrists need to know, Word Psychiatry (June 2009), Grief and bereavement: what psychiatrists need to know – PMC (nih.gov).
[23] Fisher, Jennifer, 5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one, Harvard Health Publishing (Dec. 12, 2023), https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one.
[24] Fisher, Jennifer, 5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one, Harvard Health Publishing (Dec. 12, 2023), https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one.
[25] Glatt, Amber, A Death in the Family: The Differential Impacts of Losing a Loved One, Canadian Journal of Family and Youth (2018), https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cjfy/index.php/cjfy/article/view/29344/21347.
[26] Glatt, Amber, A Death in the Family: The Differential Impacts of Losing a Loved One, Canadian Journal of Family and Youth (2018), https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cjfy/index.php/cjfy/article/view/29344/21347.
[27] Glatt, Amber, A Death in the Family: The Differential Impacts of Losing a Loved One, Canadian Journal of Family and Youth (2018), https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cjfy/index.php/cjfy/article/view/29344/21347.
[28] The Cost of Dying: Examining the True Impact of Bereavement in America, Empathy (2022), Empathy-Cost-of-Dying-Report-030322.pdf (ctfassets.net).
[29] The Cost of Dying: Examining the True Impact of Bereavement in America, Empathy (2022), Empathy-Cost-of-Dying-Report-030322.pdf (ctfassets.net).
[30] The Cost of Dying: Examining the True Impact of Bereavement in America, Empathy (2022), Empathy-Cost-of-Dying-Report-030322.pdf (ctfassets.net).