Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?

Answer:

One interesting question related to wrongful death claims is who can file those types of claims. We were asked recently if a person could file a wrongful death claim on behalf of a sibling. In some situations, that is possible. The first person that usually has priority when it comes to filing a wrongful death claim is the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse can file on behalf of themselves or on behalf of the children, if there are any to the marriage. If there are surviving children and not a surviving spouse, then the children have that first right to the claim. If they are minors, someone can file it on their behalf. If there are no surviving spouses or children, then the claims fall to the parents of the person who tragically and wrongfully lost their life.

The other option is that a person who is in charge of the estate of the deceased person is able to file that claim, and that can often be a sibling or even a friend. In those situations, once the deceased person’s will is put into probate, someone is assigned to be in charge of that estate. That person then has the ability to bring those types of claims. It’s important when setting up those claims to make sure that you have the proper parties identified or you can severely hurt your claim. If you feel like you have a wrongful death case that needs to be evaluated, please give us a call as early in the process as possible so we can evaluate all of the different circumstances and make sure that your case is positioned in the best possible light.