The law that applies to your claim
Westchester County Surrogate’s Court
111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains — in the same complex as the Supreme Court. No wrongful death action can be commenced until this court appoints a personal representative, so the estate petition is the first filing in the case, not the injury claim.
Letters testamentary vs. letters of administration
Which one is issued depends on whether the decedent left a will. With a will, the named executor petitions for letters testamentary. Without one, a distributee petitions for letters of administration, and the court works through a statutory order of priority — spouse first, then children. A contested priority is the single most common reason a Westchester wrongful death case loses months before it has properly begun.
Westchester County Supreme Court
The injury action itself is filed at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as well, and assigned to a justice for all purposes. Any settlement then returns to Surrogate’s Court for approval and allocation among the distributees — a second proceeding that families rarely know is coming. The statutes and damages rules that govern all of this are on our New York wrongful death page.
Running the estate and the claim on parallel tracks
The two-year period in EPTL §5-4.1 runs from the date of death, and it does not pause while Surrogate’s Court appoints a representative. A contested administration, an out-of-state distributee who must be cited, or a missing original will can each consume months of it.
That is why the estate petition and the injury investigation start together rather than in sequence. Evidence — the vehicle, the scaffold, the scene, the hospital chart — is preserved while the appointment works its way through, so the claim is ready to file the day letters issue.
Where these deaths happen in White Plains
I-287 and the Bronx River and Hutchinson River Parkways carry the fatal collisions. The downtown office and residential towers account for the construction falls, which are Labor Law §240 cases when a worker dies from a height. Pedestrian deaths cluster on Mamaroneck Avenue and Central Park Avenue, and deaths following hospital care raise a malpractice question alongside the death claim.
Each has a different first investigative step, and in a city with a police department, a school district, a public hospital and county-maintained roads, identifying which entity was responsible is what decides whether a 90-day notice of claim is in play at all.
When a public entity is involved
The City of White Plains, Westchester County, the school district and the transit operators are each separate entities with their own notice requirements. A notice served on the wrong one is not service.
Where the responsible entity is genuinely unclear at 90 days — which is common where a road is city-owned but county-maintained — notice goes to each candidate rather than to a best guess.
How long you have to act
- Three years from the date of the accident for most negligence claims (CPLR §214).
- Two years for wrongful death (EPTL §5-4.1).
- 90 days to serve a notice of claim where a city, county, school district, transit authority or other public body is involved (General Municipal Law §50-e), with suit generally within one year and 90 days.
The 90-day rule is the one that quietly ends otherwise strong cases. If a public entity may be involved, that is the first thing to check — not the last.
What it costs
Nothing up front. These cases are handled on contingency: there is no fee unless we win, and the consultation is free. You will be told the percentage and how expenses are handled, in writing, before you sign anything.
Common questions
Nobody has been appointed as executor yet.
That is the first step and we handle it as part of the case. It is also why these matters should not wait — the appointment takes time the two-year period does not allow for.
There is no will.
A representative can still be appointed under the intestacy rules, and the claim proceeds. A will is not required.
Can each family member bring their own claim?
No. One action is brought by the estate representative on behalf of the distributees, and Surrogate’s Court approves how any recovery is divided.
