The basis of a Wrongful Death Action is to compensate the loved ones of the deceased for the losses they suffered as a result of the death. The following are examples of the types of damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death action:
If your loved one has passed as the result of another’s negligence or unlawful violence and you think you may have a claim for wrongful death or a survival action, call the wrongful death attorneys at The Justice Firm. We can thoroughly evaluate your case and answer any questions you or your other family members may have.
*There is no attorney-client relationship with our office by submitting an application. The attorney-client relationship occurs upon the execution of the retainer agreement sent by our office. Additionally, the statute of limitations continues to run and is not protected by just submitting application.
The simplest answer is that both wrongful death and survival actions have a statute of limitations of two years. However, the two year clock may begin at the same or different times.
Wrongful Death
The Statute of Limitations begins to run on the date of death. There are no exceptions.
Survival Action
In a Survival Action, the Statute of Limitations begins to run on the date of injury. There is one exception to this and that is known as the discovery rule. This means that the Statute of Limitations begins to run on the date the decedent discovers his or her injury. One example of this might be a medical malpractice action. If a doctor misdiagnoses cancer and the decedent later discovers it was cancer all along, the clock would begin to run on the date decedent discovers that he/she was previously misdiagnosed.
A Survival Acton is based on the pain and suffering of the loved one following the accident until the time of death. This can mean several seconds, hours, days, or even months. The injured person, had he or she survived, would have had a claim for his pain and suffering. Once he passes, the cause of action passes to his survivors who in essence, “step into the decedent’s shoes” to bring the claim on his or her behalf.
The personal representative of the deceased is the proper plaintiff in a Survival action.
The damages recoverable in a Survival Action are: The pain and suffering of the decedent from the time of accident until death, the loss of gross earning power from the date of injury until the death, the loss of earning power from the time of death through his estimated working life-span
