2006 New York Code - Amount Of Recovery

 
  § 5-4.3 Amount of recovery
    (a)  The  damages awarded to the plaintiff may be such sum as the jury
  or, where issues of fact are tried without a jury, the court or  referee
  deems  to  be  fair  and  just  compensation  for the pecuniary injuries
  resulting from the decedent's death to the persons for whose benefit the
  action is brought.   In every such action,  in  addition  to  any  other
  lawful  element  of  recoverable  damages,  the  reasonable  expenses of
  medical aid, nursing and attention incident to the injury causing  death
  and  the  reasonable  funeral  expenses  of  the  decedent  paid  by the
  distributees,  or  for  the  payment  of  which   any   distributee   is
  responsible, shall also be proper elements of damage.  Interest upon the
  principal sum recovered by the plaintiff from the date of the decedent's
  death shall be added to and be a part of the total sum awarded.
    (b)  Where  the  death  of  the  decedent occurs on or after September
  first, nineteen hundred eighty-two, in addition to damages and  expenses
  recoverable  under  paragraph (a) above, punitive damages may be awarded
  if such damages would have been recoverable had the decedent survived.
    (c) (i) In any  action  in  which  the  wrongful  conduct  is  medical
  malpractice  or  dental  malpractice,  evidence  shall  be admissible to
  establish the federal, state and local personal income taxes  which  the
  decedent would have been obligated by law to pay.
    (ii) In any such action tried by  a jury, the court shall instruct the
  jury  to consider the amount of federal, state and local personal income
  taxes which the jury finds, with reasonable certainty, that the decedent
  would have been obligated by law to pay  in  determining  the  sum  that
  would  otherwise  be  available  for the support of persons for whom the
  action is brought.
    (iii) In any such  action  tried  without  a  jury,  the  court  shall
  consider  the  amount  of federal, state and local personal income taxes
  which the court finds, with  reasonable  certainty,  that  the  decedent
  would  have  been  obligated  by  law to pay in determining the sum that
  would otherwise be available for the support of  persons  for  whom  the
  action is   brought.