A recent change.org petition created by a grieving mother that lost her motorcycle-riding-son in a Hudson Valley collision on August 11th again highlighted the unbearable injustices faced by family members who lose a loved one due to the negligence of others. Her emotional stress from this tragic loss, as you could imagine, was almost unbearable, and it came upon her and her family so suddenly and unexpectedly. No mother should have to bury a child, and it’s perhaps even more difficult to endure when caused by a stranger’s negligence.
Her own words best describe when an attorney explained the limitations and challenges for her potential legal remedies:
“Upon speaking with a wrongful death attorney, it appears the archaic wrongful death statute in NY, enacted in 1847, leaves little recourse for families like mine that have been devastated and lost loved ones due to the negligent, but not criminal, acts of another. While there may be recovery of minimal economic loss, there is less chance of recovery for any of the heart wrenching grief, emotional turmoil, and mental suffering families go through when experiencing this type of traumatic loss. This attorney asked me to send Gov. Hochul an email with my story asking her to sign the Grieving Families Act.”
Having had to explain this to surviving families in the past, the attorneys at the Kantor Gullo Law Firm are fully onboard with the effort to pass the Grieving Families Act (GFA), 2024 bill number A9232/S8485. When motorcycle riders are killed by those who negligently and recklessly operate vehicles on our roadways, those drivers should not get “off the hook” merely because the rider wasn’t married or didn’t have a child to recover from their loss.
New York is currently tied to a law that was first adopted in 1847, and 48 other states have already modernized their own laws in this regard. If someone that you love is wrongfully killed here, the damages that can be recovered are strictly limited to the economic losses of a parent, child, or spouse. Loved ones cannot recover for grief or anguish, which is basically saying that the loss of love and emotional support for surviving families means nothing. Extended family members, such as siblings, grandparents, or other dependents who do not fit the description of “immediate family member,” can also not recover damages for their loss.
Attorney / Partner Christina Gullo points out, “The Grieving Families Act is overwhelmingly supported by legislators on both sides of the political aisle, and has passed both houses of the New York legislature for the past three years in a row, only to be vetoed by Governor Hochul due to an outpouring of financial pressure from insurance companies, nursing homes, and hospitals.”
So what can you do about it?
Make your voice heard and demand that New York align with the other 48 states that have already modernized their laws this way!
You can sign this mother’s change.org petition by clicking here, but please be advised that “pitching in” on this platform does not give money to “the cause.” Instead, it pays the platform itself for promotion (advertising) of the petition. You can also search for it at change.org using keywords like “New York Grieving Families Act” or use the QR code below:
You can also join a Motorcycle Rights Organization such as our local chapter of ABATE of NY. We were just circulating pre-drafted letters in support of the GFA at Zoar in ’24 and at our 34th Annual Fall Foliage run this past month.
And vote!
