Putnam County lawmakers urge governor to veto Grieving Families Act

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CARMEL – Five of the nine-member Putnam County Legislature have signed onto a letter to Governor Hochul urging her to veto the Grieving Families Act, which amends the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law in relation to payment and distribution of damages in wrongful death actions.

The local lawmakers – Chairman Neal Sullivan, Toni Addonizio, Ginny Nacerino, Carl Albano, and Amy Sayegh – say the proposed law “is vague in many critical aspects and has the potential to adversely affect the availability and affordability of medical professional liability insurance. That will prompt even more doctors, nurses, and health care professionals to leave our state, exacerbating an already significant employment crisis.”

They wrote that the bill would extend the statute of limitations from two years to 3 ½ years, “likely increasing the volume of wrongful death lawsuits.”

They said that extension “may also lead to injustices, with litigants unable to properly defend claims brought years after the alleged wrongful acts because documents and/or witnesses are no longer available.”

The legislators said the state’s healthcare infrastructure “cannot bear the burden that this law would impose,” saying New York is “by far the costliest state in the nation for medical liability.”




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