BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — State lawmakers are urging Governor Hochul to give more help to people who lost family members in the Tops mass shooting and other acts of violence.
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes is calling on the governor to sign the "Grieving Families Act."
New York's wrongful death law only values a person's life based on their paycheck.
This act would allow courts to consider grief and loss when determining how much a family gets.
This bill would allow the family members of a wrongful death victim to be compensated for emotional tolls.
It would extend the time permitted to bring a wrongful death action to court by one year and six months, as well as permit close family members to file, such as a spouse, domestic partner, children, parents, and siblings.
It would allow the family to claim compensation for funeral expenses, loss of companionship, loss of education, or even inheritance.
The senate and the assembly passed the bill, and it is now up to Governor Hochul to sign it into law.
Families who lost loved ones in the Tops mass shooting have struggled with accessing compensation through insurance companies and this bill would help change that.
“Our mother's life mattered, all of our loved one's lives mattered, and to have them looked at something less than based on whether they worked or not, it's outrageous, it's discriminatory and it's wrong,” said Garnell Whitfield, who lost his mother on May 14th during the Tops mass shooting.
Critics say this law would result in rising insurance premiums and inflated damage awards.
Governor Hochul has until Dec. 31 to sign the bill into law.
