N.Y. General Municipal Law § 205-a: Additional right of action to certain injured or representatives of certain deceased firefighters

§ 205-a. Additional right of action to certain injured or

representatives of certain deceased firefighters. 1. In addition to any

other right of action or recovery under any other provision of law, in

the event any accident, causing injury, death or a disease which results

in death, occurs directly or indirectly as a result of any neglect,

omission, willful or culpable negligence of any person or persons in

failing to comply with the requirements of any of the statutes,

ordinances, rules, orders and requirements of the federal, state,

county, village, town or city governments or of any and all their

departments, divisions and bureaus, the person or persons guilty of said

neglect, omission, willful or culpable negligence at the time of such

injury or death shall be liable to pay any officer, member, agent or

employee of any fire department injured, or whose life may be lost while

in the discharge or performance at any time or place of any duty imposed

by the fire commissioner, fire chief or other superior officer of the

fire department, or to pay to the wife and children, or to pay to the

parents, or to pay to the brothers and sisters, being the surviving

heirs-at-law of any deceased person thus having lost his life, a sum of

money, in case of injury to person, not less than ten thousand dollars,

and in case of death not less than forty thousand dollars, such

liability to be determined and such sums recovered in an action to be

instituted by any person injured or the family or relatives of any

person killed as aforesaid.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including sections

fifty-e and fifty-i of this chapter, section thirty-eight hundred

thirteen of the education law, section ten of the court of claims act

and the provisions of any general, special or local law or charter

requiring as a condition precedent to commencement of an action or

special proceeding that a notice of claim be filed or present, every

cause of action for the personal injury or wrongful death of a

firefighter which was pending on or after January first, nineteen

hundred eighty-seven, or which was dismissed on or after January first,

nineteen hundred eighty-seven, because this section was not yet

effective, or which would have been actionable on or after January

first, nineteen hundred eighty-seven had this section been effective is

hereby revived and an action thereon may be commenced at any time

provided that such action is commenced on or before June thirtieth, two

thousand.

3. This section shall be deemed to provide a right of action

regardless of whether the injury or death is caused by the violation of

a provision which codifies a common-law duty and regardless of whether

the injury or death is caused by the violation of a provision

prohibiting activities or conditions which increase the dangers already

inherent in the work of any officer, member, agent or employee of any

fire department.