What the ER or doctor tells you is who was hurt, how, and when death occurred. What the insurance company does with that is look for the one technical rule in New York that can shut family members out: the wrongful death case must be filed by the estate's personal representative, not just any relative.

If there is a surviving spouse, the insurer may say "only the husband can file." That is often misleading. In New York, the spouse does not automatically file in his own name unless he is also the administrator or executor of the estate. In Manhattan, that appointment usually comes through New York County Surrogate's Court. The money can still be recovered for distributees like a spouse or children, but the lawsuit itself is brought by the estate representative.

If there is no will or the family is fighting, that delay helps the insurer. They know the clock is running. A New York wrongful death claim usually must be filed within 2 years from the date of death under EPTL 5-4.1. If the death involved a City vehicle, MTA bus, NYC Sanitation salt truck, or a street defect the City had notice of through 311, a Notice of Claim may be due in just 90 days, with a much shorter lawsuit deadline after that.

If the person lived for any time before dying, there may be two claims, not one. The wrongful death claim covers the family's pecuniary losses: lost income, support, services, parental guidance, and reasonable funeral expenses. A separate survival action belongs to the estate and can seek the person's conscious pain and suffering, medical bills, and other damages between injury and death.

One more thing insurers often leave out: New York generally does not allow loss of consortium damages in a wrongful death claim. That is why they try to narrow the case early and act like only one person matters.