Who Pays for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Virginia?

Who Pays for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit: The Short Answer

Who pays for a wrongful death lawsuit depends on the facts of the crash. Three different questions get mixed together. Who may be legally responsible for the death? Which insurer may handle the claim? Who may share in any money recovered?

A responsible party may be a driver or another company tied to the vehicle. That party’s liability insurer may then be involved in the claim. Coverage depends on the policy and the facts of the crash.

Losing a family member in a crash is hard. Many families face funeral plans and hard questions in the same week. The answers come in layers, and each layer has its own rules. This page takes them one at a time.

What a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Is and Who Brings It

In Virginia, the family does not file the wrongful death lawsuit. The personal representative does. Virginia law puts it this way: “A Virginia wrongful death action is filed by the decedent’s personal representative within two years of the death (Va. Code §§ 8.01-50(C), 8.01-244(B)), on behalf of the family members the statute protects.”

The action is brought by and in the name of the personal representative of the deceased person. The Virginia wrongful death statute sets out this rule.

Family members are not left out. The statute’s beneficiary rules decide who receives it, and those rules are covered below.

What a Virginia Wrongful Death Claim May Include

Virginia wrongful death damages fall into named categories. The approved wording reads: “Virginia wrongful death damages cover the family’s sorrow, mental anguish and loss of the decedent’s companionship, guidance and care; lost income and services; medical expenses from the injury; funeral expenses; and, for willful or wanton conduct, punitive damages (Va. Code § 8.01-52).”

The damages statute allows the jury or the court to award such damages as it may seem fair and just, and the categories it lists may not be the only ones. Medical expenses cover care, treatment and hospitalization for the injury that caused the death.

Lost income covers what the person could reasonably be expected to earn. Lost services cover the protection, care and help the person gave the family. A lawyer may ask about the household, the work and the daily help the person provided. Those details help show what a particular claim may include.

Punitive Damages and Willful or Wanton Conduct

Punitive damages are separate from the family’s losses. Virginia limits them to specific kinds of conduct. The approved wording reads: “Virginia allows punitive damages for actual malice, or for willful or wanton conduct or recklessness showing a conscious disregard for the safety of others, capped at $350,000 (Va. Code § 8.01-38.1).” The punitive damages statute sets that cap of $350,000.

Whether the facts of a particular crash meet this standard is a question a lawyer may review with you.

Commercial Trucks and Other Possible Responsible Parties

In a commercial truck or vehicle crash, responsibility may reach beyond the driver. A carrier, a freight broker or another company tied to the trip may also be connected to the crash. Federal and state rules may apply to commercial vehicles, so the company relationships and paperwork matter.

Whether any of these parties may be liable depends on relationships and facts a lawyer may need to review.

Who Shares in a Wrongful Death Recovery

Under Va. Code § 8.01-53, the surviving spouse and children of the deceased come first. Parents may qualify in defined circumstances.

If there is no surviving spouse, children of the deceased, or children of any deceased child of the deceased, the statute lists parents, brothers and sisters, and any other relative who is primarily dependent on the decedent for support or services and is also a member of the same household, but no parent whose parental rights and responsibilities have been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction or pursuant to a permanent entrustment agreement with a child welfare agency shall be eligible as a beneficiary under this section. Under Va. Code § 8.01-53(A), when the decedent left children, or children of a deceased child, the decedent’s parents may also share in a wrongful death award if, within 12 months before the death, they regularly received support or services from the decedent for necessaries; when the decedent left a surviving spouse and one or more parents but no child or grandchild, the award is distributed to the spouse and those parents. The group of beneficiaries is fixed when the verdict is entered or when the court sets the distribution.

Insurance may come up here too.

Medicare may also have a role.

When to Talk With a Lawyer About Your Family’s Situation

A family dealing with a crash death may wish to talk with a lawyer about who may be responsible and who may have a claim. Funeral plans, estate paperwork and questions about the crash often arrive at the same time.

You may wish to bring the crash report, medical records and any insurance letters. The firm has offices in Winchester and Harrisonburg and works with families across the Shenandoah Valley, Richmond and Henrico County.