The New York Wrongful Death
Modernization Act

The Grieving Families Act — informally the New York Wrongful Death Modernization Act — is a proposed amendment to EPTL §5-4.3 that would expand New York's narrow wrongful death damages scheme. Current NY law allows recovery only for the decedent's economic loss (lost earnings, funeral expenses, medical bills). The proposed amendment would add (1) recovery for emotional damages (grief, anguish, loss of companionship), (2) an expanded class of eligible beneficiaries beyond traditional next-of-kin, and (3) an extended statute of limitations. Versions have been passed by both chambers and vetoed by Governor Hochul in 2022 and 2023. A 2026 reintroduction is in committee as of May 15, 2026.

EPTL §5-4.3 dates to 1847 and has not been substantively expanded since. New York is the only state that limits wrongful death damages strictly to pecuniary (economic) loss — no recovery for emotional anguish, loss of companionship, loss of guidance, or loss of love. Every other state allows at least some non-economic recovery. The practical effect: a NY family whose loved one had no documented income (a stay-at-home parent, an elderly retired grandparent, a child) often recovers nothing under §5-4.3 beyond funeral and medical expenses, even when liability is clear and the loss is profound.

Three categories of change. First, emotional damages: spouses, parents, and adult children would be able to recover for grief, anguish, and loss of companionship — categories now barred entirely. Second, expanded beneficiaries: under §5-4.3 as it currently reads, only the next-of-kin defined in EPTL §4-1.1 can recover; the proposed amendment extends to additional close relations including siblings and life partners with documented dependence. Third, extended SOL: the proposed amendment would extend the wrongful-death statute of limitations from 2 years to 3.5 years, aligning with the general personal-injury SOL under CPLR §214.

Not as of May 15, 2026. Versions of the bill have passed the Senate and Assembly in 2022 and 2023; both versions were vetoed by Governor Hochul. The 2026 iteration is part of a renewed legislative push, supported by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, organized labor, and several victims'-rights coalitions. The Governor's veto memos cited concerns about insurance-premium impact, particularly on hospitals, school districts, and municipalities — concerns that the 2026 bill drafters have attempted to address through revised effective-date and beneficiary-class provisions.

Governor Hochul's 2022 and 2023 veto memos articulated three principal concerns: (1) the projected impact on liability-insurance premiums for hospitals, school districts, and municipalities — defendants whose premiums are ultimately borne by taxpayers; (2) the open-ended exposure created by an expanded class of beneficiaries before judicial gloss could establish predictable boundaries; (3) the retroactivity question — earlier versions were unclear about whether the new damages would apply to causes of action that had already accrued. Each successive iteration has tightened these provisions; the 2026 version reportedly limits retroactive application and includes phased-in effective dates for institutional defendants.

EPTL §5-4.3(a) provides that damages recoverable in a wrongful-death action are 'such sum as the jury or, where issues of fact are tried without a jury, the court or the referee deems to be fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries resulting from the decedent's death to the persons for whose benefit the action is brought.' The keyword is 'pecuniary' — meaning economic. Subsections then specify funeral expenses, conscious pain and suffering of the decedent before death (recoverable through EPTL §11-3.3 survival action), and interest from the date of death. The proposed Modernization Act would amend subsection (a) to include non-pecuniary damages and expand the beneficiary class.

Florida (Wrongful Death Act §768.21): recovery for emotional anguish, loss of companionship, and the entire net accumulations of decedent's estate. New Jersey (NJSA §2A:31-5): recovery for pecuniary loss only — but New Jersey courts construe 'pecuniary' more broadly than New York does, allowing recovery for loss of services, guidance, and care. California (Code Civ. Proc. §377.60): broad recovery for loss of love, companionship, affection, society, comfort, and care. Texas (Wrongful Death Act §71.004): recovery for mental anguish, loss of companionship, loss of inheritance. New York is alone in limiting recovery to strict economic loss.

Almost certainly not retroactively in the way most plaintiffs would want. NY constitutional doctrine generally disfavors retroactive application of statutes that impose new damages liabilities on defendants whose conduct predated the statute. The 2026 bill drafters have addressed this directly: under the current iteration, claims accruing before the effective date stay under EPTL §5-4.3 as it currently reads; claims accruing after take the expanded framework. This means timing-of-death matters significantly. Families whose decedents passed before the effective date will not benefit from the expanded damages; those whose decedents pass after will.

Three things. First, do not delay filing — the existing 2-year SOL under EPTL §5-4.1 is absolute and does not depend on the reform's passage. Second, document the relational impact even though it is not yet recoverable; if the Act passes with a partial-retroactivity provision, contemporaneous documentation will be the evidence base for amended pleadings. Third, plead the survival action under EPTL §11-3.3 in parallel with the wrongful death claim — survival actions allow recovery for the decedent's own conscious pain and suffering before death, which IS recoverable under current law and is the most-overlooked damages theory in NY wrongful-death practice.

Bill numbers for the Grieving Families Act / Wrongful Death Modernization Act change each legislative session. The current iteration is in committee; companion bills in the Senate and Assembly can be tracked at nyassembly.gov and the New York Senate site. We update bill-number references in the status section above as the legislation moves through the Judiciary, Codes, or Rules committees. For a free, case-specific assessment of how the existing or proposed framework would apply to your family's situation, call (516) 750-0595.