Everclad Law Group represents distributees of New Yorkers killed by another’s wrongful conduct — in car and truck crashes, construction-site falls, medical malpractice, nursing-home neglect, and defective products. We handle the EPTL §5-4.1 wrongful death case and the §11-3.2 survival action, coordinate Surrogate’s Court appointment, and negotiate liens — so the family does not have to. The call is free, private, and confidential.
A New York wrongful death claim, brought under EPTL §5-4.1, is a civil action commenced by the personal representative of a decedent’s estate to recover the pecuniary losses suffered by the decedent’s distributees as a result of a death caused by another’s wrongful conduct. Distributees are the surviving spouse and children — or, if none, parents, then siblings — in the priority set by EPTL §4-1.1. Family members cannot sue in their individual capacity; only the appointed personal representative may sue.
The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of death — shorter than the general 3-year personal injury statute. A companion survival action under EPTL §11-3.2 runs 3 years for the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering. Claims against any municipal entity (NYC, MTA, NY State, NYCHA, public hospital, school district) require a Notice of Claim within 90 days under GML §50-e. Recoverable damages under EPTL §5-4.3 are limited to “pecuniary injuries” — lost financial support, lost services, lost parental guidance, medical and funeral expenses — plus the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering in the survival action. Everclad Law Group represents wrongful-death distributees across Nassau County, Long Island, and NYC on contingency, with no upfront cost.
Wrongful death cases reach us through many doors. Here are the cases we see most often, and how we approach each one.
Most New York wrongful-death cases arise from motor-vehicle collisions. These matters often involve coordination with the medical examiner’s office, time-sensitive preservation of ELD and dashcam data, and parallel EPTL §5-4.1 wrongful death and §11-3.2 survival action claims for pre-death pain and suffering.
NY’s “Scaffold Law” (Labor Law §240(1)) imposes absolute liability on owners and contractors for fall-from-height deaths. §241(6) covers other construction-site hazards. Worker’s Comp does not bar these third-party claims.
Misdiagnosis, surgical errors, anesthesia accidents, medication mistakes. Statute of limitations is generally 2 years and 6 months from the negligent act under CPLR §214-a, with Lavern’s Law tolling for missed cancer diagnoses.
Falls, bedsores, dehydration, medication errors, wandering deaths. Federal Nursing Home Reform Act, NY Public Health Law §2801-d, and the facility’s own care plans set the standards.
Strict liability against the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer. Failure-to-warn and design-defect theories. Common: vehicle components, machinery, pharmaceuticals, recreational equipment.
NYPD, NYCHA, public hospitals, MTA, NY State DOT, school districts. Notice of Claim within 90 days under GML §50-e is a hard deadline — often falling before the funeral arrangements are complete.
A partner of the firm leads every case, supported by the firm’s resources at each stage so nothing slips between calls.
A licensed New York attorney reviews your case, by phone, video, or at your home or hospital bed. Always confidential.
Personal injury cases often depend on evidence with short retention windows — scene photographs, dashcam, surveillance video, medical records, 911 audio, and timely No-Fault filings. Early review identifies what is available and what each case requires.
Each matter is prepared with the possibility of trial in mind — depositions, expert work, motion practice. Settlement leverage flows from preparation, not from posture.
Where a recovery is obtained, lien negotiation and medical accounting are part of the settlement process before any net distribution to the client.
Credentials, focus, and a boutique structure built so injured New Yorkers never face an insurance company alone. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Two partners lead every matter the firm takes on. You get direct access to the attorney guiding your case, with the team’s resources behind them.
Founding Partner
A courtroom-first lawyer trained at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where he tried cases in front of New York juries. Yoni built Everclad around the principle that case value is driven by trial preparation, and that insurers calibrate offers to the credibility of that preparation.
Partner
Harvard Law School. Over a decade of complex litigation. Joe leads the firm’s complex-litigation work and builds case files prepared for trial from the outset.
A small sampling of the reviews that have made Everclad one of the highest-rated personal injury firms on Long Island.
Unbelievable experience! I thought the process would be draining but they handled it in the most efficient way possible!
I started my case with them and it has been the best decision I have made. I definitely recommend them. It is the best law firm. I am infinitely grateful for their hard work, dedication, responsibility, professionalism, and good assistance.
Amazing law firm! I highly recommend.
The questions we hear most often from families who have lost someone to negligence in New York — answered by attorneys who handle these cases with care, in plain English.
See all 45 FAQs →Under EPTL §5-4.1, a wrongful death claim is a civil action commenced by the personal representative of the decedent’s estate to recover the pecuniary losses suffered by the distributees (spouse, children, parents, siblings, in priority order under EPTL §4-1.1). Recoverable damages include lost financial support, lost services, lost parental guidance, medical and funeral expenses, and — in the companion EPTL §11-3.2 survival action — the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering. Grief and sorrow of survivors are not separately compensable in New York.
Under EPTL §5-4.1, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of death — shorter than the general 3-year personal injury statute. A companion survival action under EPTL §11-3.2 runs 3 years for the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering. Claims against any municipal entity (NYC, MTA, NY State, NYCHA, school district, public hospital) require a Notice of Claim within 90 days under GML §50-e. The personal representative must obtain Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from Surrogate’s Court before filing suit.
Only the personal representative of the decedent’s estate may file a wrongful death case in New York. Family members cannot sue in their personal capacity. Recovery is for the benefit of the decedent’s distributees — spouse and children, or if none, parents, or if none, siblings. Distributees share the recovery in the proportions established by EPTL §4-1.1. Surrogate’s Court oversees both the appointment of the personal representative and the allocation of any settlement.
Under EPTL §5-4.3, damages are limited to “pecuniary injuries”:
Grief, sorrow, and loss of companionship are not separately compensable in New York — though a Wrongful Death Modernization bill expanding this list has been pending for years.
A wrongful death claim (EPTL §5-4.1) compensates the distributees for their pecuniary losses caused by the death — lost support, lost services, lost guidance — and is brought on behalf of the survivors. A survival action (EPTL §11-3.2) compensates the decedent’s estate for the pain and suffering the decedent endured between the negligent act and death — and is brought on behalf of the decedent. The two are usually combined in a single lawsuit but have different statutes of limitations (2 years vs. 3 years) and different damages.
Workers’ Compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against an employer for an on-the-job death, but it does not bar third-party claims against negligent contractors, property owners, equipment manufacturers, or other non-employer defendants. NY’s Labor Law §240(1) (“Scaffold Law”) and §241(6) impose absolute or near-absolute liability on owners and general contractors in construction-site fatality cases. Both tracks typically run in parallel — Workers’ Comp asserts a lien on any third-party recovery, which is negotiated as part of settlement.
The distributees can still recover. New York follows pure comparative negligence under CPLR §1411 — even if the decedent was 99% at fault, the recovery is reduced by that percentage, not barred. This is among the country’s most plaintiff-favorable comparative-fault rules, and it is particularly important in fatal-accident cases where the decedent is not alive to dispute the defense’s narrative.
As soon as you are able. The 2-year wrongful-death statute is shorter than most personal injury claims; the 90-day Notice of Claim for municipal cases is short; and evidence (surveillance video, vehicle data, witness memory, medical records) starts disappearing within days. Surrogate’s Court appointment of a personal representative can take weeks. The initial consultation is free and confidential — and we do not charge a fee unless we win.
Walk-ins welcome by appointment. Home and hospital visits available throughout Nassau, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx.
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