Losing a family member in a preventable accident is devastating. While nothing can undo that loss, holding the responsible party accountable can bring a measure of justice — and provide the financial security your family deserves. At Gorayeb & Associates, our New York wrongful death lawyers have spent over 40 years fighting for grieving families, recovering more than $2 billion in verdicts and settlements. Hablamos español. Contact us today for a free consultation.
New York wrongful death cases are among the most complex and emotionally demanding in civil litigation. They require careful coordination of multiple legal claims, expert witnesses, government records, and financial analyses — all while your family is grieving. At Gorayeb & Associates, we handle every aspect of the case so that you can focus on your family. We have represented families in wrongful death cases involving construction accidents, motor vehicle collisions, premises liability, and defective products throughout New York City and the surrounding counties. Our bilingual staff is here to guide you through the process in English and Spanish, from your first call through the resolution of your case.
When a family comes to us after losing a loved one, they need more than legal representation — they need a team that understands what is at stake and has the track record to prove it.
Gorayeb & Associates has recovered over $2 billion for injured construction workers across New York, including multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements in cases involving the same types of accidents that cause fatal injuries on job sites every year — scaffolding collapses, falls from heights, falling objects, crane incidents, and building demolitions.
Our senior litigation team has over 40 years of experience fighting for New York families. Every wrongful death case is handled personally by our attorneys — you will never be passed off to a paralegal.
What sets our firm apart in wrongful death cases:
A wrongful death claim allows the family of a person killed by another's negligence, recklessness, or intentional act to seek financial compensation through the civil courts. In New York, this right is established under the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL 5-4.1).
Under New York law, a wrongful death action may be brought when:
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in New York?
Only the personal representative (executor or administrator) of the deceased's estate may file the lawsuit on behalf of eligible distributees, which typically include:
If you are unsure whether you qualify to file, contact our office for a free consultation. We will evaluate your situation at no cost and with no obligation.
It is also important to understand that a wrongful death lawsuit is entirely separate from any criminal prosecution. Even if a district attorney decides not to bring criminal charges — or even if a defendant is acquitted in a criminal trial — a surviving family may still pursue a civil wrongful death action and potentially recover full compensation. The civil standard of proof (preponderance of the evidence) is significantly lower than the criminal standard (beyond a reasonable doubt), and civil courts may reach a different outcome than criminal courts on the same underlying facts. Many families of New Yorkers killed in preventable accidents have successfully recovered damages through the civil system, even when no criminal case was brought.
New York's wrongful death statute (EPTL 5-4.3) limits recovery to economic — or pecuniary — losses. Financial experts calculate these to ensure the full scope of your family's loss is presented to the court or insurance company. Recoverable damages may include:
Because New York courts require these losses to be proven with economic evidence, our firm works with financial and vocational experts to calculate and present the full value of your claim.
One important distinction under New York law: unlike many other states, New York does not permit recovery for grief, emotional distress, or the loss of companionship in a wrongful death claim. These limitations make it even more crucial to collaborate with attorneys who understand how to quantify and present economic losses to their fullest extent. Our legal team has the experience to ensure no recoverable category of damages is overlooked or understated — including lost household services, lost inheritance, and the present value of future income streams. Where permitted, we also pursue a companion survival action on behalf of the deceased’s estate to recover damages for conscious pain and suffering before death.
You have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim in New York under EPTL 5-4.1. Missing this deadline will permanently bar your family from recovering any compensation, regardless of how strong your case is.
Key deadlines and exceptions:
Acting quickly matters beyond the deadline. Evidence disappears. Witnesses’ memories fade. Surveillance footage is overwritten. Accident scenes are cleaned up. The sooner our investigators get to work, the stronger your case will be.
Families should also be aware that multiple statutes of limitations may apply to a single fatal accident. A wrongful death claim under EPTL 5-4.1, a survival action for the deceased’s own pain and suffering, a products liability claim against a manufacturer, and a labor law claim under Section 240 or 241(6) may each carry different procedural requirements and timelines. Our attorneys will identify every applicable claim and ensure nothing is missed due to a technical deadline.
If you are unsure whether your deadline has passed or which exceptions may apply, contact us immediately for a free case evaluation.
Wrongful death cases often involve multiple parties whose negligence contributed to the fatal accident. Potentially liable parties include:
Our legal team conducts a thorough investigation to identify every responsible party — because holding all liable parties accountable directly affects the compensation your family can recover.
In construction fatality cases, liability is rarely limited to a single party. A subcontractor may have removed a safety barrier. A property owner may have ignored prior violations. An equipment manufacturer may have supplied a defective product. Our attorneys are experienced in tracing responsibility across complex chains of contractors, owners, and vendors — and in using New York’s strict liability statutes to hold each of them accountable for the role they played in your loved one’s death.
Building a strong wrongful death case requires acting fast and gathering the right evidence. From the moment you hire us, our team gets to work:
Our bilingual team handles all communications with insurance companies and defense attorneys, so your family never has to.
Time is your family’s most valuable resource after a fatal accident. Insurance companies begin investigating immediately — and their goal is to pay as little as possible, or to avoid paying anything at all. Our investigators move just as quickly, securing evidence before it disappears and identifying every party who may share responsibility. Early action has directly impacted the outcome in many of the cases we have handled.
We also work closely with financial and vocational experts to calculate the full economic impact of your family member’s death — including lifetime earning capacity, the value of household services they provided, and projected retirement and pension benefits. These calculations require specialized expertise; presenting them accurately and persuasively to a jury or insurer can significantly affect what your family receives.
Fatal accidents happen across many settings and industries. Our firm handles wrongful death cases arising from:
If the type of accident that took your loved one is not listed here, contact us. Our firm handles the full spectrum of fatal accident cases throughout New York.
If your loved one died in a workplace accident, New York law provides powerful protections that can significantly affect the value of your wrongful death claim. Understanding these rights — and the legal tools available to enforce them — is an important part of building the strongest possible case for your family.
New York’s Labor Law 240 — known as the “scaffold law” — holds property owners and general contractors strictly liable when a worker dies in a gravity-related accident, such as a fall from scaffolding, a roof, or an elevated platform, or when a falling object strikes a worker below. “Strictly liable” means that a surviving family does not need to prove the owner or contractor was negligent — only that the accident was gravity-related and that the required safety protections were absent or inadequate.
Labor Law 241(6) provides additional protections for construction workers by requiring that job sites comply with specific safety rules outlined in the New York Industrial Code. When a fatality occurs because an employer or property owner violated one of those rules — such as failing to provide adequate floor openings protection, proper ventilation in excavation zones, or guardrails on elevated surfaces — the family of the deceased worker may have a strong claim under this statute.
When a worker dies on the job, federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and the New York State Department of Labor are both required to investigate. OSHA citations issued after a fatal accident can be valuable evidence in a wrongful death lawsuit — they document what safety rules were violated, who was responsible for enforcing them, and whether prior warnings were ignored.
Our attorneys know how to obtain and interpret OSHA inspection records, fatality reports, and enforcement history. We also work with industrial safety experts who can identify violations that OSHA may have missed or that were not cited in the official report. If a third party — such as a subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, or site owner — contributed to the fatal accident, we identify them and pursue every available avenue of recovery on your family’s behalf.
It is important to note that workers’ compensation benefits paid to a deceased worker’s family do not prevent them from also pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against a third party. In many construction fatality cases, both a workers’ compensation claim and a civil lawsuit can — and should — be filed simultaneously. Our legal team can evaluate both paths and explain which combination of claims makes sense for your family’s specific situation.
Our fee comes out of the money we recover for you, not out of your pocket. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.
There is no cost to speak with our team. Contact us today to schedule a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to what happened, explain your legal options, and tell you honestly what we think your case is worth.
We serve families throughout New York City — including the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island — as well as Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, and surrounding areas. Every wrongful death case we take is handled on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless we win. Our firm has the resources to fund complex investigations and expert witnesses from day one, so that financial pressure never forces a family to accept less than their case is worth. Learn how to start your construction accident case. Gorayeb & Associates is also proud to give back to the communities we serve through the Gorayeb Community Center.
★ Lost a loved one in a preventable accident in New York?
Our New York wrongful death lawyers have recovered over $2 billion for families. No fee unless we win.
Hablamos español │ For Construction Accidents, Go with Gorayeb™
You have two years from the date of your loved one's death to file a wrongful death lawsuit in New York under EPTL 5-4.1. If a government entity is involved, a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days. Do not wait — contact an attorney as soon as possible to protect your family's right to compensation.
The personal representative (executor or administrator) of the deceased's estate files the lawsuit on behalf of the eligible distributees — typically the spouse, children, parents, or siblings of the person who died. If an estate has not yet been opened, an attorney can help initiate that process.
New York's wrongful death statute allows recovery for pecuniary (economic) losses, including lost income and future earnings, lost benefits, funeral and burial expenses, loss of parental guidance, and loss of consortium. A survival action filed alongside the wrongful death claim can also pursue compensation for the pain and suffering your loved one experienced before death.
Nothing upfront. Our fee comes out of the money we recover for you, not out of your pocket. If we do not win, you owe us nothing.
A wrongful death claim compensates the surviving family members for their own losses — such as lost financial support and loss of companionship. A survival action compensates the deceased's estate for what the deceased themselves experienced, including pain and suffering between the injury and death. In most fatal accident cases, both claims are filed together to maximize the total recovery.
Yes. Every person in New York has legal rights regardless of immigration status. The law does not require documentation to file a civil claim, and your family's immigration status does not affect your right to compensation. Our firm handles these cases with complete confidentiality.
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