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The third time was not the charm for a billing pushed by both the New York state Assembly and Senate to address the state’s 178-year-old wrongful death statute.
New York is only on par with Alabama in terms of how the wrongful death statute is enacted, while 48 other states have taken to amending theirs.
Attorney Terry Connors, who has seen more than his fair share of courtrooms seeking compensation for everything leading up to and including wrongful death, says there’s a clear frustration across communities about a third veto of the “Grieving Families Act” this past weekend.
"This veto is as illogical as it is disappointing," said Connors.
The state Assembly and Senate have brought the bill before Gov. Kathy Hochul on three occasions now and was vetoed every time. It’s a rare case in American politics where caucuses sporting more than 200 elected officials agree.
"How often do you experience a situation where a law enacted any state, take any state throughout the country, and it comes in unanimous from both sides of the Legislature? That’s unheard of," said Connors. "We have a statute in place right now, 178 years old, discriminates against the poor, discriminates against the young [and] discriminates against the old. Why should we have a statute like that in place?”
A memo from the governor with the latest veto cites substantial reshaping of the legal framework for wrongful death actions and a slew of expansions for classifications that would help those families seek compensation.
Suggestions Hochul’s office have made include capping some of those categories and exempting the health care industry — something Connors understands, but takes issue with.
"The only question to ask when those types of rebuttals are put forward as to why this statute should not change, is that it might impact insurance premiums," he said. "How have the other 48 states been able to combat that? How have the other 48 states not had that experience? We have precedent here."
The bigger axe Connors and others have to grind is an advocacy for families they’re fighting for, like the 2022 Buffalo mass shooting victims of whom Connors represents a majority of the families.
"They want this passed because it’s the right thing to do,” said Connors. “They never talk about the monetary issues here. All they say is, ‘my mother, my grandmother, should not be devalued.’”
So the bill will be sent up a likely fourth time with a potential two-thirds majority in each body to override a veto, not something that has been outwardly campaigned for just yet.
"It’s direct. It’s real. It’s right here in our community," said Connors.
From the perspective of Connors and other lawyers, it certainly would help them go after any entities involved in wrongful death actions, but they will have to continue to have conversations with officials in the Assembly and Senate to see if that bipartisan support can hit those supermajorities.
One of the bills sponsors, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, told Spectrum News 1 he believes the governor and supporters are actually in agreement the statute does need attention, but how the negotiations or talks for addressing it down the line are remain to be determined.
