ALBANY, N.Y. (WKBW) — Raelynn Huber was just two years old in 2022 when a car crash ended her life. A driver ran a stop sign in Niagara County, colliding with a car driven by her mother.
Bernadette Smith is Raelynn's grandmother. I spoke to her on what would have been Raelynn's 5th birthday.
"And my daughter called me basically from the scene of the accident, and that's a phone call I hope that no one else ever has to get," Smith. said. "And the most tragic part about it, I believe, is that it was completely avoidable."
"Loving hugs, would sing, dance, smile, you know, just seriously, one of the sweetest little girls you would ever meet," Smith said.
Since her death, Smith has been advocating for the Grieving Families Act. The legislation aims to update the state's nearly 180-year-old wrongful death statute, allowing families to sue for emotional damages.
"So there's no consideration whatsoever in New York State for grief, for anguish, for trauma," Smith said.
But Governor Kathy Hochul recently vetoed the bill for the third time.
"We were, you know, as a family, we just feel like she continuously just kicks us in the stomach. It's cruel on her part," Smith said.
Hochul explained, "While well-intentioned, these changes would likely have resulted in higher costs to patients and consumers, as well as other unintended consequences."
In a joint statement, ECMC, Kaleida Health, and Catholic Health applauded Hochul’s decision, saying it would have significantly increased premiums.
As not-for-profit healthcare institutions that provide high-quality care to hundreds of thousands of Western New Yorkers each year, regardless of their ability to pay for our services, we applaud Governor Kathy Hochul for again vetoing the Grieving Families Act. Seemingly well-intentioned, this legislation, if enacted, would have raised insurance premiums and reserves significantly. The current system protects New Yorkers and patients and holds healthcare providers accountable. It is important to note that this bill was being lobbied and pushed for by trial lawyers, who would have benefited tremendously from its passage.
In other states where similar legislation exists, there are caps in liability. Without these caps, physicians would leave for other states and much needed healthcare dollars would be redirected from patient care to insurance company premiums. We support and look forward to working with policymakers to implement meaningful malpractice reforms that address inequity in the system, protect patients, and protect access to the not-for-profit healthcare system.
"She chose to side with the insurance industry, big corporations," Attorney John Elmore said.
He said the same concerns about insurance costs cited by the governor were raised during the push to pass Lavern’s Law. That legislation gave cancer patients with delayed diagnoses a better chance to fight medical malpractice.
"Lavern’s Law was passed in 2017 despite the insurance industry's projections that the insurance for malpractice cases would go up 15%, the claims would go up tremendously. The number of claims have gone down, and the policies have not gone up," Elmore said.
“And we just really hope that the governor, maybe she could actually think, what would she do if this was her granddaughter?” Smith said.
Hochul also said she remains open to working with lawmakers to find solutions for impacted families. Lawmakers head back to Albany next month.
