ALERT – S1766 – Wrongful Death is up in Senate Budget THIS THURSDAY

Legislation scheduled to be heard Thursday, December 5 would expand wrongful death remedies to include intangible emotional components like mental anguish.  A recent study demonstrated the expansion would cost the state economy almost a billion dollars, and impose massive new risk and increased insurance premiums on all New Jersey residents.

The existing Wrongful Death Act works well and already provides for fair and predictable compensation.  It includes both pure monetary damages like lost financial support, as well as less tangible but quantifiable losses like lost assistance, care, training, advice, counsel and even companionship

Changing the scope of wrongful death remedies to include purely emotional damages, like mental anguish and pain and suffering, would introduce considerable uncertainty, making cases more difficult to settle, with new risk and higher insurance premiums falling on all New Jersey residents. 

Please contact Alida Kass if you would like to discuss further. 

NJCJI will be opposing the legislation on Thursday.