New York Wrongful Death Accident Lawyers

Wrongful Death Car Accident | Wrongful Death Truck Accident | Wrongful Death Motorcycle Accident | Wrongful Death Bicycle Accident | Wrongful Death Pedestrian Accident | Wrongful Death Distracted Driving Accident| Wrongful Death Rideshare Accident| Wrongful Death Self-Driving Car Accident

A construction worker falls from scaffolding on a job site in Buffalo. A drunk driver crosses the centerline on the Long Island Expressway, killing a father of three. A nursing home resident in Rochester dies from preventable bedsores and dehydration. These families share one devastating question: what happens next? 

When negligence takes a life, New York law allows certain family members to hold the responsible party accountable through a wrongful death lawsuit. But the process moves fast, the rules are strict, and insurance companies can start positioning their defenses within days.

William Mattar, P.C. represents families across New York State who lost loved ones in fatal accidents. Our wrongful death accident lawyers focus on building strong cases while families focus on grieving, healing, and moving forward.

FREE CASE EVALUATION

Why Choose William Mattar, P.C. for Your New York Wrongful Death Case?

Losing a loved one in a fatal accident creates immediate legal and financial pressures that most families aren't prepared to handle. Insurance companies contact you within days, and the statute of limitations starts running from the date of death. Questions about who can file, what damages are recoverable, and how to prove negligence demand answers while you're still processing the loss.

Our wrongful death lawyers handle cases throughout New York State, from initial investigation through settlement or trial. We work with accident reconstruction experts, economists, and medical professionals as warranted to build comprehensive claims that reflect the full scope of your family's losses. 

We handle wrongful death claims involving:

• Wrongful death car accidents
• Wrongful death truck accidents
• Wrongful death motorcycle accidents
• Wrongful death bicycle accidents
• Wrongful death pedestrian accidents
• Wrongful death distracted driving accidents
• Wrongful death rideshare accidents
• Wrongful death self-driving car accidents

Every wrongful death case we handle begins with a free case evaluation. We operate on a contingency fee basis, which means your family pays no attorney's fees unless we recover compensation. 

With offices across the state, we provide local representation backed by more than 30 years of experience handling motor vehicle accident cases. Call us at (844) 444-4444 to speak with a New York wrongful death attorney about your case. Phones are answered 24/7.

What is Wrongful Death Under New York Law?

Category	Summary
Legal Basics	Wrongful death is caused by negligence; only the estate’s representative can file.
Compensation	Covers financial losses (income, funeral, services), not emotional damages.
Additional Claims	Survival action may recover pain and suffering before death.
Deadlines	Typically 2 years from the date of death (with exceptions).
Key Risks	Insurance companies act fast and may offer low settlements early.
Legal Support	Lawyers handle the case on contingency, managing investigation and claims.

Wrongful death occurs when someone's negligence, recklessness, or intentional conduct causes another person's death. New York's wrongful death statute allows specific family members to recover compensation for the financial losses they suffer because of that death.

Wrongful death lawsuits operate in court and focus on financial compensation for the family. This differs from criminal charges. Prosecutors may charge a drunk driver with vehicular manslaughter, for instance, but that criminal case doesn't necessarily provide financial recovery to surviving family members.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Only the personal representative of the deceased person's estate can file a wrongful death lawsuit in New York. This person is appointed by the court to manage the deceased's legal and financial affairs. 

The personal representative files the lawsuit on behalf of the estate and the family members who suffered financial losses because of the death. This structure prevents multiple lawsuits by different family members, so there is one coordinated legal action that addresses all wrongful death damages.

Who Benefits From a Wrongful Death Recovery?

New York law directs wrongful death compensation to specific family members based on their relationship to the deceased and the financial losses they suffered:

• Surviving spouses — Can recover for lost financial support, including income that covered mortgage payments, childcare, and daily living expenses
• Minor children — Can recover for lost parental earning capacity, financial support, and parental guidance
• Parents — May recover compensation if they lost an adult child who contributed to household expenses

The wrongful death statute focuses on economic losses rather than emotional suffering. However, New York law provides a separate survival action that may address pain and suffering the deceased experienced before death.

What is a Survival Action in New York?

New York recognizes a separate legal claim, a survival action, that runs parallel to wrongful death cases. While the wrongful death claim compensates family members for their losses after the person died, the survival action compensates the estate for losses the deceased person suffered before death.

If your loved one survived for hours, days, or weeks after the accident and experienced conscious pain and suffering, the survival action seeks damages for that suffering. Medical expenses incurred before death, lost wages during the time between injury and death, and pain and suffering during that period also get addressed through the survival action rather than the wrongful death claim.

The same personal representative files both actions, and they often proceed together as part of one coordinated case. Many families pursue both claims simultaneously to address the full scope of losses.

Damages Available in New York Wrongful Death Cases

New York's wrongful death statute limits recovery to pecuniary losses: financial harm that can be calculated and proven. The law examines what financial contributions, support, and services the deceased provided, and what is the economic value of losing those contributions.

• Lost financial support — The deceased person's income, benefits, retirement contributions, and other financial support they would have provided to surviving family members, calculated based on future earning capacity adjusted for raises, promotions, and inflation.
• Funeral and burial expenses — Reasonable funeral, burial, or cremation costs, which often exceed $10,000 and represent immediate financial burdens families face in the days after a death.
• Loss of household services — The economic value of childcare, home maintenance, transportation, cooking, and other domestic contributions the deceased provided, particularly when surviving family members must now hire help or reduce work hours to cover these responsibilities.
• Loss of parental guidance — When a parent dies, children lose guidance, education, training, and nurturing that contributes to their future success and earning capacity, which courts recognize as compensable harm.

What Wrongful Death Claims Don't Include

New York wrongful death law doesn't allow recovery for grief, emotional distress, or loss of companionship suffered by surviving family members. However, the survival action may address pain and suffering the deceased experienced before death, creating a pathway to damages that reflect the human cost beyond pure economics.

New York Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations

New York generally provides two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This deadline is strict, and missing it typically bars the claim permanently. The two-year clock starts on the date of death, not the date of the accident. But every case is unique, and the timeframe can sometimes be much shorter. 

Certain circumstances may shorten or extend the standard two-year deadline. Claims against many government entities require serving a notice of claim within 90 days of the appointment of the decedent’s estate representative (not 90 days from the death).

A New York wrongful death attorney can determine the filing deadline in your case. Speaking to a lawyer early helps families meet these deadlines and preserve evidence that can be crucial to the claim.

Common Causes of Fatal Accidents in New York

Wrongful death claims arise from any situation where negligence causes death. Motor vehicle crashes represent the most common category, but fatal accidents occur in many contexts.

Fatal Car Accidents

Drunk driving, distracted driving, speeding, and other forms of negligent operation kill New York drivers, passengers, and pedestrians daily. Rear-end collisions at highway speeds, head-on crashes from wrong-way drivers, and intersection accidents from drivers running red lights all create wrongful death claims when they prove fatal.

Fatal Truck Accidents

Commercial truck crashes often prove deadly because of the size and weight disparity between tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles. Truck driver fatigue, improper cargo loading, inadequate maintenance, and trucking company pressure to meet unrealistic delivery schedules contribute to fatal collisions on New York highways.

Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists face extreme vulnerability in crashes. A collision that leaves a car driver with minor injuries often kills a motorcycle rider. Left-turn accidents, where drivers fail to see oncoming motorcycles, lane-change crashes, and door-opening incidents all cause fatal motorcycle accidents in New York.

Fatal Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents

Pedestrians and cyclists have no protective shell when struck by vehicles. Crosswalk accidents, hit-and-run crashes, and drivers who fail to yield to vulnerable road users create wrongful death claims when pedestrians and cyclists die from their injuries.

Other Fatal Accidents

Wrongful death claims arise from workplace accidents, construction site incidents, defective products, premises liability hazards, and other negligence-based deaths. If someone's carelessness or recklessness caused your loved one's death, New York law may provide a path to accountability and compensation.

Why Insurance Companies Move Fast After Fatal Accidents

In the days following a fatal accident, insurance adjusters may begin to contact grieving families. They might express sympathy, ask questions about the deceased's income and family situation, and sometimes make quick settlement offers. These early contacts serve the insurance company's interests, not the family's.

Adjusters gather information to limit liability, documenting statements that might later be used to argue comparative fault or reduce damages. Early settlement offers may seem reasonable in the moment, but accepting one ends the claim permanently—you can't reopen negotiations months later when medical bills exceed the settlement amount or when you realize the offer didn't account for years of lost financial support.

Our wrongful death accident attorneys in New York handle communication with insurance companies, protecting families from statements that might harm their claim and ensuring any settlement discussions happen after we fully understand the case's value.

How William Mattar, P.C. Builds Your Wrongful Death Case

You shouldn't have to become an investigator, lawyer, and financial analyst while grieving the loss of a loved one. Our wrongful death attorneys are here to build your claim, from the initial investigation through settlement negotiations or trial.

We Investigate Fatal Accidents Thoroughly

Fatal accidents demand a detailed investigation that goes beyond the initial police response. 

We obtain police reports, but we don't stop there. We can conduct independent investigations to uncover evidence that the initial response may have missed, including surveillance footage, electronic data from vehicles, and testimony from witnesses who weren't interviewed at the scene.

Our team also works with accident reconstruction experts, when needed, who analyze crash dynamics, vehicle data, road conditions, and witness statements to establish exactly how the collision occurred and who acted negligently. 

We Work to Establish Liability

Proving fault in fatal accident cases requires showing the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty through negligent conduct, and that breach caused the death. Our team gathers and presents the evidence that establishes each element.

We Document Your Family's Financial Losses

Wrongful death damages center on pecuniary losses, which means we must prove the economic value of what your family lost. 

We work with financial experts and economists, as warranted, who analyze tax returns, pay stubs, employment records, and industry data to establish the deceased's earning capacity and future financial contributions. We document household expenses, childcare costs, and daily living patterns that show your family's dependence on that income. 

This comprehensive financial analysis ensures insurance companies and juries understand the full scope of your losses, not just the immediate impact.

Giving You Space to Grieve and Heal

You focus on your family during this impossible time. We focus on holding the negligent party accountable and securing the compensation New York law allows.

FAQ for New York Wrongful Death Accident Lawyers

Contact William Mattar After a Fatal Accident in New York

The days after losing a loved one blur together. Funeral arrangements. Family notifications. Insurance calls. Bills that keep arriving. Questions about what happens next. You need space to grieve, but the legal deadlines don't wait.

Our wrongful death attorneys handle cases throughout New York State. We investigate fatal crashes, document financial losses, and build claims that hold negligent parties accountable. You focus on your family. We focus on your case.

Lost a loved one to someone else’s negligence? Call William Mattar., P.C. Contact us 24/7 at (844) 444-4444. The first consultation is free. 

Past performance does not guarantee future results, including financial results or client satisfaction.

FREE CASE EVALUATION