Under Pennsylvania law, there are two types of claims that can be brought when someone dies because of negligence, or carelessness, of someone else. Under Pennsylvania law, we typically file what are called, “Wrongful Death & Survival Actions”. They are two separate claims, but they are combined together in one case. There is a lot of overlap between wrongful death and survival actions, but they involve situations where someone has died as the result of actions of another. Moreover, people who are typically authorized to bring wrongful death or survival action claims are family members of the person who died.
A wrongful death claim is brought on behalf of people who are family members such as parents, spouse, and children who have a right under the law to seek damages because of the death of their loved one. The survival action claim is brought on behalf of the person’s estate, and either a Will or the laws dealing with people who die without a Will determines who has the right to bring that claim. The types of damages in those cases are different and distinct.
What Are The Biggest Challenges In A Wrongful Death Claim?
In many cases, there are serious questions about what how a person died–that person is not here to meet with me and tell me what happened. Typically, we are relying upon other people who are witnesses and, sometimes, the other party in the case. I have even had cases where there are no witnesses to the death. It is often a challenge just to find out what happened, because you do not have the injured person to tell you what happened. Whenever a person dies and we are consulted by their family, we vigorously investigate to find out what happened. This often involves hiring experts, such as accident reconstructionists in a car crash or medical experts in a malpractice case. We try to leave no stone unturned to help our clients learn the truth about how and why their loved one died.
The other thing that is challenging is that the damages in these cases are complicated–there are vagaries under Pennsylvania law regarding who can bring damage claims and what categories of damages can be proven. For example, if you have a young person who is not married and does not have any parents or children, the damages that can be claimed are very different from a married adult with a family dependent upon them. We frequently hire economic experts to project future lost earnings and services to help prove damages. Every case is different, and obviously, when a person dies because of negligent conduct from someone else, the law demands there be some measure of justice for the person who died and his survivors.
What Damages Are Survivors Entitled To In A Wrongful Death Claims?
There are two types of cases that you can bring when someone dies as the result of the actions or inactions of anther–“Wrongful Death” and “Survival” claims. Wrongful death claims are made by spouses, parents, and children. Survival claims are brought on behalf of the estate of the person who died. They are typically brought together in one lawsuit. There are statutes in Pennsylvania that govern those types of cases.
One basic category of damages are claims for any medical expenses that were incurred because of the injuries, funeral expenses, burial expenses, and estate administration expenses.
A second basic category is the amount of money that will compensate family members for any loss of earnings, contributions, or services they would have received from the person who died. For example, if you have a spouse, children, or parents who are dependent upon a person for necessities of life, like food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, then those people can bring a claim for the loss of those contributions.
A third category is lost earnings and earning capacity after deduction for personal maintenance, i.e., money they spent on themselves for basic needs.
A fourth category is to compensate the person’s family for the loss of their society, comfort, and services, and that includes very serious things such as the emotional, and psychologist losses suffered when a person dies. When our client had a spouse, parent, or child who died because of the bad conduct of someone else, they almost universally suffer very profound emotional and psychological losses.
There is a fifth category in wrongful death that deals with compensation to children for things such as guidance, moral upbringing, education, and so forth. In certain cases, that can also be a large amount of money.
A sixth category is money damages to compensate for the pain and suffering of the person who died between the time of their injuries and their death.
Many of these categories of damages are difficult to quantify, but they can be a very large amount of money and the biggest part of a case. We cannot bring a person back, but we can help you make a claim for those losses and try to express and prove those losses in the most effective way possible.
Typically, we will hire someone who has a background in calculating economic losses as an expert witness and present that expert testimony to a jury in a trial. Many cases require medical experts to explain to a jury how a person suffered before they died or how survivors continue to suffer as a result of the death.
What Is The Statute Of Limitations For Wrongful Death Claims In Pennsylvania?
Up until very recently, I would have said it is two years from the time of the event that caused the person’s death. The reason I say “up until recently” is that there is a case pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that was argued in March of 2017. It deals with the question of whether under a statute that is specific to medical malpractice cases called the MCare Act the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the event, or two years from the date the person died. Those can be two different dates.
For example, if a person is the victim of malpractice, and they suffer injuries, but they lived for six months suffering from those injuries, and then die, it may be two years plus those six months. The question is a little bit of a grey area now, but it will be resolved by a decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court at some point in the next several months.
For more information on Wrongful Death Claims In Pennsylvania, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 1-844-334-6654 today.