The Kiley Law Firm Blog

Wrongful Death:

PENDING THE GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE – both houses of the NYS Legislature have passed a bill which dramatically changes the present Wrongful Death law.  The Grieving Family Act will expand the definition of a family member to include “close family members”, including but not limited to, spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, grandparents, stepparents and siblings.  Furthermore, families of wrongful death victims will now be able to recover non-economic or intangible damages, which might include: Grief and emotional anguish caused by the victim’s death, loss of love, support, protection, and guidance. 

Click Here to Take Action: Concerned citizens can reach out to Governor Hochul with their thoughts and opinions. Visit www.hopefornyfamilies.com and submit your letter to the governor, today.

Medicaid:

N Y State’s attempted implementation of a “lookback” for community Medicaid benefits that was supposed to become effective January 1, 2021, has now been postponed until March 31, 2024, at the earliest.

Matrimonial Law:

New York’s child support formula for determining the appropriate amount of child support to award in any given case requires the court to apply a statutory percentage based on the combined parental income of both parents. As of March 1st, 2022, the income cap has increased to $163,000.  However, consistent with prior precedent, the trial courts have discretion to base child support upon combined parental income in excess of $163,000.

Remedies for Survivors of Sexual Assault:

On May 24th, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Adult Survivor’s Act into law, establishing a one-year window for survivors to bring claims against abusers without the limits of the statute of limitations.

Increase in the Minimum Wage:

The Minimum Wage Act (Article 19 of the New York State Labor Law) requires that all employees in New York State receive at least $14.20 an hour beginning December 31, 2022. Minimum wage rates differ based on industry and region. On Long Island and in Westchester, the rate went up to $15 per hour.

No More Styrofoam in New York: 

As of January 1, 2022, New York State bans any single-use disposable polystyrene foam food service containers including bowls, cartons, clamshells, cups, lids, plates and trays. Additionally, polystyrene packing peanuts are illegal.

Marijuana Sales

New York legalized recreational use of marijuana to adults over the age of 21 in March 2021; but is still in the process of licensing people to sell it. The cannabis board also advanced proposed regulations for the sale of marijuana, with a focus on public health, product quality and safety and preventing those under 21 from buying cannabis.  Contrary to popular belief, you can’t buy marijuana just anywhere! 

Sport Betting is Legal in New York:

As of January 8, 2022,  the New York gaming commission gave their approval to four operators to start taking online bets from anywhere in the State including from a person’s own living room a bar or from the street.

Landlord-Tenant and Foreclosure Law:

Effective January 15, 2022, Hardship Declarations related to Covid-19 which were previously submitted to the courts will no longer automatically stay eviction proceedings and no new Hardship Declarations may be filed.

Guns:

As of September 1, 2022, New York State made statutory changes in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision declaring New York’s restrictions on carrying concealed weapons unconstitutional.  This law enacted requirements for individuals seeking to obtain concealed carry pistol permits.  These included firearm training, in-person interview, and social media review, among others.  Also, the law outlawed conceal carry in sensitive locations including times square, bars, libraries, schools, government buildings and hospitals.  It also requires permit recertification or renewal every three years 

Robocalls: 

In November 2021, two bills were signed into law addressing robocalls.  The first requires telecommunications providers to block calls from numbers that do not or cannot make outgoing calls. These types of numbers are indicative of ‘spoofing’ schemes in which the true caller identity is masked behind a fake, invalid number.”  The second requires that voice service providers implement the “STIR/SHAKEN” protocols to validate that calls are actually coming from the numbers displayed on the Caller ID.  The STIR/SHAKEN authentication protocol uses cryptography to validate that a call is really from the number it displays, preventing bad actors from illegally “spoofing” phone numbers.

Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Cards:

A bill signed into law on December 23, 2021 makes the falsification of COVID-19 vaccination cards a class A misdemeanor. It also creates a new E felony of third-degree computer tampering for “intentional entering, alteration or destruction of computer material regarding COVID-19 vaccine provisions.”

Mandatory Retirement Plans for Workers in Private Sector Businesses:

As of 2022, private sector businesses in New York must offer a retirement savings plan to their employees.  The new law requires private sector businesses that don’t currently provide their employees with a retirement plan to automatically enroll them in the state’s Secure Choice Savings Plan.

Homeowners’ Insurance and Pets:

A new law now prohibits insurers from refusing to issue or renew, cancel, or charge or impose an increased premium for certain policies based solely on the breed of dog owned.

One of the least understood and, therefore, overlooked options for automobile insurance is the one that provides uninsured and underinsured liability coverage.  It is listed on the policy declarations page under the heading “UM/SUM.”

Uninsured Motorist coverage “UM” is mandated by New York State.  It protects the driver and passengers of a vehicle who are injured by uninsured negligent drivers.  Each car insured in New York State must have, at minimum, the basic “$25K/$50K” coverage.  That is, a maximum of $25,000.00 per injured person and a maximum of $50,000.00 to be divided among all injured persons.

Confused?  Here’s how it works.  If a thrice-convicted drunk driver forgets to pay his auto insurance premium and kills a forty-year-old father of four by rear ending him into a concrete divider, the man’s wife can recover $25,000.00 from his own insurance company under his basic UM coverage.

However, if one of his children is also in the car suffers a head injury and is permanently brain damaged, he too can recover $25,000.00.

But if a second child is in the backseat and sustains bilateral comminuted “tib/fib” fractures, his wife and the two children will split $50,000.00.  And not a dime more.

“Wow,” you might wonder, “how can this family be financially protected from such an unfathomable tragedy?”  That’s where “Supplemental Underinsured Motorist” coverage helps.  If Dad has a $300K/$500K liability policy with DoRight Insurance Company, he can purchase SUM coverage up to the same amount as his liability coverage.  Then if the driver has no insurance or a policy with lower liability coverage, his own insurance company will indemnify him for the difference between the two policies.  So, if Dad was alone in the car, his wife could recover $275,000.00 from DoRight.  And if two or more people were in the vehicle, they will split $450,000.00 between them.

Purchasing UM/SUM coverage for the same limits as your liability insurance makes sense.  It’s the only way to protect yourself against uninsured and underinsured drivers.  And who wouldn’t want to protect himself and his loved ones as much as he protects a stranger?  Besides UM/SUM coverage is cheaper than a ten-dollar whore at a French seaport and UM/SUM claims are not “charged against” the owner’s policy.

So . . . why doesn’t every owner buy the maximum coverage?  There are several reasons:

(1)        IGNORANCE.  Many people just don’t understand how automobile insurance works.

(2)        STUPIDITY.  Some drivers ignore the advice of well-informed and well-intentioned insurance brokers (most are in this category) who recommend that they purchase the maximum UM/SUM.

(3)        AVARICE.  A few sleazy insurance brokers know that there is little profit to be made selling UM/SUM coverage and try to lure customers by selling policies with the cheapest premiums.

(4)        SLOTH.  A few other brokers are too lazy to bother scrutinizing the policy or explaining to the customer how SUM works and why it is so important.

Don’t fall victim to one of these sins.  Examine your insurance policy.  If you have the maximum UM/SUM coverage, pat yourself on the back, praise your insurance broker or thank your lucky stars. If you don’t have the coverage, wake up, get smart and find a good broker.

When the negligence of a person or entity causes the death of another, the estate of the deceased may bring a lawsuit for “wrongful death.” In many ways these lawsuits are the same as any other personal injury action. Both suits require the plaintiff to prove that the defendant was liable . . . for negligent or intentional acts. Both suits entitle the victim or his or her heirs to recover damages for economic loss and pain and suffering. But what happens when the deceased victim is unemployed and dies instantly at the scene of the accident? The New York wrongful death law does not give the decedent’s loved ones the right to recover money damages. Sounds a bit unfair in the abstract, but put it into context and think how truly unfair it is. So we’ll call our victim “Grandma.”

Grandma lives with her cancer-stricken daughter, disabled son-in-law and their six autistic children. She’s retired and living on social security. But she’s still active and vital. She bakes a perfect pumpkin pie, helps out with the kids homework, pitches in to cook and clean and still has something left on her curve ball. She’s loved by all. One day she walks to Waldbaum’s to buy a quart of milk and some Fig Newtons for the kid’s after-school snack. She carefully looks both ways as the stoplight shines its steady green beam upon her. As she takes measured steps through the crosswalk, she is struck by a speeding drunk driver smoking a crack pipe. Grandma dies instantly.

Should Grandma’s family be compensated? The New York State legislature says “No!” Strictly applying the wrongful death law, Grandma’s family is not entitled to compensation. Because she was retired, her estate suffered no loss of income. And because she died instantly, she didn’t suffer pain. The law provides no remedy.

As he drank the hemlock, Socrates philosophized “the law is hard, but the law is the law.” If you don’t like it, write to your legislators and tell them to change the law. Grandma’s family will thank you.