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A4451Assembly2017-2018 Session

Let Families Sue for Trauma

Official title

“Relates to actions commenced by immediate family members within the zone of danger for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress”

Sponsor Charles LavineAD-13Affects Legal
Status
In Assembly Committee
Judiciary
Impact
6/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Judiciary

What's happening

This bill allows immediate family members in the zone of danger to recover damages for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Why it matters

  1. Expands legal rights for close relatives. Immediate family members (including spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent) who are present in the “zone of danger” during a traumatic event now have a clear legal right to pursue damages for emotional distress, even if they weren’t physically injured.

  2. Addresses emotional harm as a standalone injury. The bill recognizes psychological or emotional harm as a legitimate basis for compensation, reflecting a broader understanding of trauma and its effects on family members who witness or are closely connected to the incident.

  3. Potentially increases liability for defendants. By allowing more individuals to bring emotional distress claims, this legislation could result in higher financial exposure for those who commit negligent or intentional acts that cause traumatic incidents, such as in cases of accidents or violence.

  4. Could affect settlement and insurance practices. The change may lead to more claims being filed following traumatic events, impacting how insurers, employers, and other parties assess risk and handle settlements involving families of victims.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Let Families Sue for Trauma

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Charles Lavine

Assembly Member · Assembly District 13

Chair, Judiciary

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to judiciary
  2. Referred to judiciary

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

4451

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

February 2, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to recovery by certain persons for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new section 11-108 to read as follows:

§ 11-108. Recovery by certain persons for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress. In addition to any other right of action or recovery otherwise available under law, an immediate family member within the zone of danger may recover damages for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress. For the purposes of this section, "immediate family member" shall mean a spouse, parent, child, sibling or grandparent.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD07880-01-7

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.