Reaction is pouring in after the story of the little boy, Micah McManus died at Albany Med Pediatric ER.

It’s giving lawmakers another reason to put pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would help grieving families, like Micah’s.

The young boy’s mother, Keri-Sue said her 3-year-old died after spending 17 hours at the hospital. Now, she’s filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Grieving Families Act would change New York State’s wrongful death law that’s been around for nearly 200 years – and no changes have been made since it was written by the 11th U.S. President, James Polk in 1847.

The sponsor of the Grieving Families Act is Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan) could help tons of families, not just ones with money. He said as the current statute stands, the law only supports the death of a loved one if they were the breadwinner of the family.

“It’s stories like Ms. [Keri-sue] McManus’ that could really move the needle,” Sen. Hoylman-Sigal said. “It does truly put in stark terms why we need to pass the Grieving Families Act.”

If a loved one dies as a result of a wrongful death, the wrongdoer is only accountable for the lost income of the person who passed away.

Sen. Hoylman-Sigal said that is not fair. Especially for families who have lost a child, like Micah; who did not make money and was certainly not the breadwinner.

Micah died of a pulmonary embolism, a treatable condition, at Albany Med in November 2022. Keri-sue said she had taken Micah to the ER twice before that day in, and to the pediatrician a handful of times. Each time, Keri-sue said she felt like nobody was taking her seriously.

The Grieving Families Act is designed to give families the compensation they deserve for any loved one’s death.

It has bipartisan support, but it’s been vetoed twice by Hochul. The Governor previously told lawmakers the act was too vague in certain areas and needed some clarity.

Senator Anthony H. Palumbo (R-Long Island) said one of those clarifications was the definition of “close family” and how they could benefit from the act, if passed. It was previously left undefined, but it’s now explained as a spouse/domestic partner, child, parent, or grandparent.

“Allow those close family members, and close family members only, to recover from emotional loss, for guidance/lack of guidance, emotional support, love, companionship—the survivor’s pain and suffering. There is no pain and suffering under the current state of law,” Sen. Palumbo said.

The act would also extend the statute of limitations on filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Instead of 2.5 years to file suit from the date of death, the victim’s family has three years.

Both Sen. Palumbo and Sen. Hoylman-Sigal said they have met many of Hochul’s concerns and hope the Grieving Families Act gets signed on its third go around.

“We, as a society, don’t just value an individual’s worth based on how much money they make but that’s exactly what our law in New York does,” Sen. Hoylman-Sigal said.

“It takes some moxie and political fortitude for the Governor to say, ‘I’m going to do it. I think this is where it should be,’ and this is the right thing to do for those family members of the victims of negligence,” Sen. Palumbo said.

NewsChannel 13 reached out to Hochul’s office. Her team said Hochul will review the newest legislation and that is all they had to say about it.