If someone you love was killed by another person's carelessness, this guide explains, in plain English, who the law allows to bring a case, what a family has to prove, what a case can actually recover, and the deadlines that quietly end claims. It covers fatal crashes involving cars, trucks, buses, and rideshare vehicles, along with other catastrophic events. Talking to us is free, it is private, and you are under no obligation to hire anyone.
By Michael Mangione, Legal Research EditorLast reviewed August 1, 202614 min read
50 states, 50 different statutes Deadlines commonly 2 years Two claims, not one No fee unless you recover Free private case review Independent and attorney vetted 50 states, 50 different statutes Deadlines commonly 2 years Two claims, not one No fee unless you recover Free private case review Independent and attorney vetted
Governing law
State statutes
There is no general federal law of this kind. Each state writes its own act, and the differences are large.
Who may bring it
Close family, or the estate
Spouse, children, and parents come first in most states, sometimes only through the estate's representative.
Filing deadline
Commonly 2 years
Usually measured from the date of death. Some states are shorter, and government defendants can be far shorter.
Number of claims
Usually two
One for the family's own losses, and a separate survival action for what your loved one went through before dying.
Key takeaways
The statute decides who may sue. Not every grieving relative has standing. In Texas, for example, only a surviving spouse, children, and parents can bring the case, and siblings cannot.
There are usually two claims. A death case covers what the family lost. A survival action covers what your loved one suffered and lost before dying. They are proved and paid differently.
The clock starts fast, and it varies. Two years is common, but some states are shorter and a claim against a city, county, or state agency can require written notice within months.
Nothing is owed up front. These cases are handled on contingency, so the lawyer is paid only out of a recovery, and finding out where you stand costs nothing.
Editorial content, not legal advice
This guide is written and reviewed by our editorial team to be accurate and current. It is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Because these rules are set state by state, only a licensed attorney in your state can tell you how they apply to your family. If you are facing an emergency, call 911.
Fatal crashes, by the numbers
Road deaths in the United States have fallen for four straight years. They are still counted in the tens of thousands, and behind each number is a family deciding what to do next.
36,640
people are estimated to have died in U.S. traffic crashes in 2025, the lowest total since before the pandemic.
39,254
people died in 2024, the most recent year with final federal data.
1.10
deaths per 100 million miles driven in 2025, the second lowest rate ever recorded.
39
states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, recorded fewer road deaths in 2025 than in 2024.
U.S. traffic deaths, three years
The trend is down, but the totals remain high. The 2025 figure is a federal early estimate and may be revised.
2023 (final)
40,901
2024 (final)
39,254
2025 (estimate)
36,640
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, annual 2024 data and 2025 early estimate, released April 2026. Bar lengths are proportional to the totals shown.
01 What this kind of lawyer does
Quick answer
A wrongful death lawyer works out which family members the statute allows to sue, opens an estate when the state requires one, preserves the evidence that proves how the death happened, values losses that stretch across a lifetime, and then negotiates or tries the case against an insurer whose team started working the day of the accident.
Most families expect the legal work to be about grief and blame. In practice it is about standing, proof, and time. Those three things decide whether a case exists at all, and they are what the lawyer spends the first months on.
Sorting out who has the right to sue. Every state answers this differently, and the answer is not always the person who was closest to the deceased. Some states let named relatives file directly. Others require the personal representative of the estate to bring one case on everyone's behalf, which means opening probate before the lawsuit can start.
Locking down the proof. Police reports, scene photographs, vehicle data, phone records, employment files, and medical records all decay or disappear. A wrongful death attorney sends preservation letters early so the evidence still exists when it is needed, and hires reconstruction and medical experts while the physical evidence is intact.
Measuring what was lost. This is where these cases differ most from ordinary injury claims. Economists and life care planners are used to document a lifetime of lost income, lost benefits, and lost household services, alongside the harder losses that have no receipt.
The gist
If you are not sure whether your family has a case, that is a normal place to start. We can help you find a lawyer when the facts support it, and say so plainly when they do not.
Bottom line: the real job is to answer three questions early, who may sue, what can be proved, and how long you have, because getting any one of them wrong can end the case before it is heard.
02 Do you need a lawyer?
Quick answer
Almost every family that loses someone to another party's negligence does need a lawyer. A death case cannot be handled the way a fender bender is handled, because standing, probate, and lifetime damages are all in play at once. If an insurer has already contacted you, or there is any dispute about how the death happened, talking to a wrongful death lawyer early costs nothing and usually changes the outcome.
There are situations where a family genuinely does not need to litigate, and an honest lawyer will tell you so. Here is a straightforward way to see which side of the line you are on.
Legal help almost certainly matters if
A company, a commercial driver, or a government agency was involved.
An adjuster has called, asked for a statement, or offered a quick payment.
Fault is disputed, or more than one vehicle or party was involved.
Your loved one supported others financially, or left minor children.
Family members disagree about who should be in charge of the case.
It may be simpler than you think if
No one else was at fault, and no insurance claim is being disputed.
The only issue is a life insurance payout, which is a different process.
Everything is covered by a workers' compensation death benefit alone.
A single insurer has already accepted responsibility in writing.
Illustrative example
A widow is called by the at-fault driver's insurer three days after the funeral and asked to sign a short form so the company can "close the file." The form is a release. Signing it can end every claim the family has, including the children's. A free review before signing would have flagged that in minutes.
Not sure whether your family has a case? A private review will tell you, at no cost.
You can start a free case review whenever you are ready. There is no cost, no obligation, and if your situation does not call for a lawyer we will tell you that directly.
State by state
Fifty states. Fifty different statutes.
03 Who can file a wrongful death claim
Quick answer
Only the relatives a state's wrongful death statute names may sue. Most states start with a surviving spouse and children, then parents, and some then reach siblings or grandparents. A few states require the personal representative of the estate to file a single case for everyone. Being close to the person who died does not, by itself, create the right to sue.
This is the question that surprises families most, and it is the first thing a lawyer checks. Three real statutes show how differently states handle it.
Named beneficiaries
Texas limits it to three relationships
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.004
The action exists for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased. Siblings and grandchildren have no standing at all. If none of those individuals has filed within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator must bring it instead, unless all of them ask that it not be filed. Read the statute
Estate first
Florida routes everything through probate
Fla. Stat. § 768.20
The case must be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who recovers for the benefit of the survivors and the estate together. Individual family members cannot file on their own. In practice that means opening an estate in probate court before the lawsuit can begin, which takes time families often do not realize they need. Read the statute
Wider circle
California reaches dependents too
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60
The case may be asserted by the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and the issue of deceased children, or by those who would inherit by intestate succession, or by the personal representative on their behalf. It also reaches a putative spouse, stepchildren, and parents if they were financially dependent on the person who died. Read the statute
Two practical consequences follow. First, an unmarried partner, a close friend, or a sibling may have no legal standing no matter how devastating the loss, which is painful but is what the statutes say. Second, most states treat the case as a single indivisible action, so the family generally cannot file competing lawsuits. Sorting out who leads, and how any recovery is divided, is part of the work.
A quiet trap
Filing in the wrong name can be fatal to the case. If a state requires the personal representative to sue and a family member files individually, the defense will move to dismiss, and by the time it is corrected the deadline may have passed. This is one of the most common ways a valid case is lost on paperwork rather than facts.
04 Two claims, not one
Quick answer
A fatal accident usually produces two separate legal claims. The death action belongs to the surviving family and covers what they lost. The survival action belongs to the estate and covers what the person who died experienced and lost between the injury and the death. They are proved separately, paid separately, and can even go to different people.
Families are often told they have "a lawsuit," singular. Understanding that there are two makes the rest of the process much easier to follow, and it explains why some of the money goes to heirs through the estate and some goes directly to statutory beneficiaries.
Comparison of the death action and the survival action
What differs
The death action
The survival action
Whose loss
The family's own loss
The loss suffered by the person who died
Who brings it
Statutory beneficiaries, or the estate on their behalf
The estate, through its personal representative
Typical damages
Lost support, lost services, loss of the relationship, funeral costs
Pre-death medical bills, lost earnings, and in many states conscious pain and suffering
Where money goes
To the named beneficiaries
Into the estate, then out under the will or intestacy rules
Creditor exposure
Usually shielded from the decedent's debts
Estate assets can be reachable by creditors
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Whether the survival action can include the pain your loved one endured is entirely a matter of state law, and it can change. California is the clearest recent example of how quickly the ground moves.
Recent change
California just narrowed survival damages again
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 377.34; Senate Bill 447 (2021)
From January 1, 2022 through the end of 2025, California estates could recover a decedent's pre-death pain, suffering, and disfigurement in a survival action. That window closed on January 1, 2026, and the statute reverted to its older form. Cases filed by December 31, 2025 keep those damages. Cases filed after do not, regardless of when the injury or death occurred. Analysis of the sunset
Bottom line: ask any lawyer you speak with to explain both claims and who receives each one. A clear answer is a good sign. A vague one is not.
Burden of proof
The family proves the case. Grief is not evidence.
05 What the family has to prove
Quick answer
A family bringing a case for a death must prove four things: that the defendant owed a duty of care, that the duty was breached, that the breach was a proximate cause of the death, and that the survivors suffered losses the statute recognizes. The standard is a preponderance of the evidence, which means more likely than not, and it is a lower bar than a criminal case.
Because the standard is lower, a case can succeed even when no one is charged with a crime, and even when a prosecution ends in acquittal. The two systems ask different questions and use different burdens.
Duty. The defendant owed a legal obligation to be careful. Drivers owe it to everyone on the road. Employers, property owners, and manufacturers owe versions of it too.
Breach. They failed to meet that obligation, by speeding, by skipping a required inspection, by hiring someone they should not have, or by selling something unsafe.
Causation. The breach was a substantial factor in causing the death, not merely something that happened nearby. This is where strong cases are most often lost.
Damages. The survivors suffered losses the statute allows them to recover, which must be documented rather than assumed.
The third element deserves attention, because it is the one families underestimate. Being present at a tragedy is not the same as legally causing it, and courts enforce that distinction even when the human cost is enormous. It is why a good wrongful death lawyer spends months on reconstruction and records before ever discussing a number.
Landmark case
Presence at the scene is not causation
Werner Enterprises, Inc. v. Blake, No. 23-0493 (Tex. June 27, 2025)
A pickup carrying a mother and three children lost control on an icy interstate, crossed a wide median, and struck an oncoming tractor-trailer. A seven year old died and his sister was left permanently paralyzed. A jury returned roughly 90 million dollars against the carrier and its driver. In 2025 the Texas Supreme Court reversed and rendered judgment for the defendants, holding that the truck driver's speed, while below the limit, only furnished the condition that made the harm possible and was not a substantial factor in causing it. Case coverage
The gist
That case is worth knowing for two reasons. It shows how much weight causation carries, and it shows that headline verdicts are not the same as money in a family's hands. Large awards are frequently reduced, appealed, or erased entirely.
06 What a case can recover
Quick answer
A wrongful death claim typically recovers measurable economic losses such as lost financial support, lost benefits, lost household services, and funeral and burial costs, plus non-economic losses such as the loss of a parent's guidance or a spouse's companionship. Some states also allow punitive damages for extreme conduct. There is no meaningful national average.
Value is built, not looked up. Two deaths with identical facts can be worth wildly different amounts depending on the person's age and earnings, who survived them, which state's law applies, and how much insurance exists across every responsible party.
Categories of recoverable loss and how each is proved
Category
What it covers
How it is proved
Lost support
Income and benefits the family would have received
Tax records, employment history, and an economist's projection over a work life
Lost services
Childcare, home maintenance, caregiving, and everything else that person did
Household testimony plus replacement cost analysis
Final expenses
Funeral, burial or cremation, and medical bills before death
Invoices and provider billing records
Relationship losses
Companionship, guidance, comfort, and society
Testimony from family, friends, teachers, and colleagues
Punitive damages
Punishment for conduct beyond ordinary negligence
Available only in some states, and only on clear evidence of egregious conduct
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
State law can also take categories off the table. Florida, for example, keeps a provision in its act that bars parents of an unmarried adult child, and adult children of a deceased parent, from recovering non-economic damages when the death was caused by medical negligence. A repeal passed both chambers in 2025 and was vetoed, and a further repeal passed the state House in January 2026 without clearing the Senate, so the provision remains in force. It is a reminder that where a death happened can matter as much as how.
Be careful with calculators
Any site quoting an average settlement for a death is guessing. Published averages mix minimum-policy cases with catastrophic ones and tell you nothing about your family. What actually drives value is the strength of the causation evidence, the documented lifetime losses, and the total insurance available across every responsible party.
The first weeks
Some of what proves a case disappears within days.
07 What to do in the first weeks
Quick answer
Get certified copies of the death certificate, request the official reports, keep every bill and receipt, decline recorded statements, avoid signing anything from an insurer, and speak with a lawyer before any deadline or evidence issue becomes a problem. None of this has to happen on the first day.
You are grieving, and the legal system does not pause for that. These six steps are the ones that protect a family's options while they deal with everything else.
1
Get certified copies of the death certificate
Order more than you think you need, usually ten or more. Insurers, banks, employers, and the probate court will each want an original, and reordering later slows everything down.
2
Request the official reports
Ask for the police or crash report, and where one exists the coroner or medical examiner report. Note the agency, the report number, and the investigating officer's name while it is easy to get.
3
Preserve what still exists
Save photographs, dashcam or doorbell video, text messages, and the vehicle itself if it has not been released. Ask the tow yard in writing not to repair, sell, or scrap it.
4
Do not give a recorded statement
An adjuster may call within days sounding sympathetic. You are not required to give a recorded statement, and early words spoken while grieving are routinely used later to reduce what a family is paid.
5
Keep every document and receipt
Funeral invoices, medical bills, pay stubs, benefit statements, and travel costs all become evidence. One folder or one phone album is enough. Do not throw anything away.
6
Talk to a lawyer before you sign anything
A free consultation tells you who may file, what the deadline is in your state, and whether an estate needs to be opened. It costs nothing and it commits you to nothing.
08 Deadlines that quietly end cases
Quick answer
The statute of limitations is set by state law and is commonly two years from the date of death, though some states run it from the date of injury and a few use whichever period is longer. Claims against a government body are the sharpest trap, because many require written notice within a few months. Miss the deadline and the merits stop mattering.
A wrongful death attorney checks two clocks at the first meeting. One is the filing deadline. The other is the evidence clock, which is often shorter and is the reason lawyers move quickly on preservation even when the lawsuit is a year away.
Week 1
The insurer opens its file
Investigators may photograph the scene and interview witnesses before the funeral. Their version of events is being written now.
Weeks 2 to 6
Notice deadlines can hit
If a city bus, a county truck, or a state agency was involved, a formal written notice of claim may already be due. Some are as short as 60 or 90 days.
Months 1 to 3
Physical evidence disappears
Vehicles are repaired or sold for salvage, surveillance video is overwritten, and skid marks and debris are long gone.
Months 3 to 6
Probate becomes the bottleneck
In states that require the estate to file, appointing a personal representative can take weeks or months, and the lawsuit cannot proceed without it.
Year 1 to 2
The filing deadline arrives
Two years is the most common period. Once it passes, a court will usually dismiss the case no matter how strong the evidence is.
How much this varies
Louisiana rewrote its clock twice in two years
La. Civ. Code arts. 2315.1, 2315.2 and 3493.1
Louisiana used a one year prescriptive period for nearly two centuries. A 2024 act moved general tort claims to two years, and a 2025 amendment changed the death and survival articles to run for one year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer, with medical malpractice deaths handled separately. If a rule that old can change twice in two years, it is not safe to assume anything about your own state. Read the article
Bottom line: do not rely on a number you read online, including this one. Confirm the deadline that applies to your family with a lawyer licensed in the state where the death occurred.
09 How the law got here
Quick answer
For most of legal history a family had no civil remedy at all when a relative was killed. The right to sue was created by statute, beginning with England's Fatal Accidents Act in 1846 and New York's statute in 1847. Because each state then wrote its own version, the rules still differ sharply from one border to the next.
Every right a family has today was either granted by a legislature or won in a courtroom. The sequence below explains why there is no single national answer to any of the questions above.
1808
The old rule
An English court holds in Baker v. Bolton that in a civil case the death of a human being cannot be complained of as an injury. No claim exists.
1846
Parliament creates the remedy
The Fatal Accidents Act, known as Lord Campbell's Act, gives a dead person's family a statutory right to sue for the first time.
1847
America follows
New York passes the first American statute of this kind. Other states copy it one by one, each with its own list of who may sue.
1886
The Supreme Court holds the line
In The Harrisburg, the Court rules that general maritime law provides no remedy for a death, leaving maritime families dependent on state statutes.
1970
Moragne overrules it
A unanimous Court recognizes a maritime remedy and calls the old rule a relic of primitive English legal history.
2025
Causation tightens in Texas
The Texas Supreme Court reverses a large verdict in Werner Enterprises v. Blake, narrowing when a commercial defendant is legally responsible for a fatal crash.
2026
California narrows survival damages
The temporary window allowing pre-death pain and suffering in survival actions closes on January 1, reducing what many estates can recover.
Landmark case
The rule that death was not actionable is finally abandoned
Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., 398 U.S. 375 (1970)
A longshoreman was killed aboard a vessel in Florida waters. His widow sued, and the lower courts dismissed the death claim under The Harrisburg. The Supreme Court reversed and overruled that decision, holding that a maritime remedy for a death does exist. The opinion is still the clearest judicial statement that the old bar had little justification except in primitive English legal history. Read the opinion
Choosing counsel
Who you hire changes what happens next.
10 If your loved one was partly at fault
Quick answer
A case usually survives even when the person who died was partly to blame. Most states apply comparative negligence, which reduces the recovery by the share of fault assigned to them rather than erasing it. A small number of states bar recovery once that share crosses a threshold, and a very small number bar it entirely for any fault at all.
Insurers raise this early and often, because every percentage point they assign to your loved one is money they do not pay. It is also an argument families find deeply painful, since it asks them to defend someone who is not there to explain themselves.
Two things are worth knowing. First, the allocation is a question of evidence, not opinion, and reconstruction experts routinely shift it. Second, the rule that applies is set by the state whose law governs the case, which is not always the state where the family lives.
Illustrative example
A motorcyclist is killed when a delivery van turns across his lane. The insurer argues he was speeding and offers very little. Downloaded vehicle data and a reconstruction show the van driver never looked. Fault is apportioned, and the family still recovers the large majority of the case's value.
Bottom line: do not accept an insurer's version of who was at fault, and be careful about giving any statement before you understand how fault is measured where you are.
11 How to choose a wrongful death lawyer
Quick answer
Look for a wrongful death lawyer with real trial experience in fatal cases rather than general injury work, an active license with no unresolved discipline, the resources to fund experts against a well funded defense, written contingency terms, and comfort handling the probate side when your state requires it.
Many firms advertise these cases. Fewer have tried one. These five things separate a practice that can carry a death case from one that will quietly push a family toward a fast, small settlement.
Fatal case experience specifically. Ask how many death cases they have handled and how many they have taken to verdict. The answer should be specific.
An active, clean license. Verified good standing with the state bar, and no unresolved discipline. You can check this yourself in every state.
Resources to fund the case. Reconstruction, economists, and life care planners cost real money, and the firm advances it. Small firms sometimes cannot.
Probate capability. If your state requires an estate, ask who opens it and whether that work is billed separately.
Direct access to the lawyer. You should be able to reach the attorney handling the case, not only an intake line or a case manager.
12 Questions to ask, and red flags
Quick answer
Ask who is allowed to file under your state's statute, whether an estate has to be opened, what the deadline is, how many fatal cases the firm has taken to verdict, and exactly what the fee agreement says about costs if you lose. Walk away from a guaranteed number, pressure to sign the same day, or fee terms that are not in writing.
A consultation goes both ways. Bring these questions to any wrongful death attorney you meet, and pay attention to whether the answers are specific or evasive.
Under my state's statute, who is allowed to bring this case, and who receives the money?
Do we need to open an estate, and who handles that work?
What is the filing deadline, and is any notice deadline running right now?
How many fatal cases have you handled, and how many have you tried to verdict?
What evidence needs to be preserved this month, and who is doing it?
What is your contingency percentage, and who pays case costs if we lose?
What are the genuine weaknesses in our case?
Who will I actually speak to, and how quickly?
Walk away if you hear
A promised number. No honest lawyer can predict what a case is worth at the first meeting. Pressure to sign today. A real firm gives you time to read the agreement and to grieve. No written fee terms. Percentages and case costs belong in writing. Vagueness about standing. If they cannot explain who may file in your state, they have not read the statute. Anyone who contacts you first. Unsolicited approaches to a grieving family are restricted in most states for good reason.
How we vet every lawyer
We do not connect families with just anyone. Before we do, the attorney has to clear a checklist built for fatal and catastrophic cases. Every one of these has to be true.
Active, discipline-free license
Verified good standing with the state bar, with no unresolved discipline on record.
Real experience with fatal cases
A documented track record in death and catastrophic injury matters, not general practice work.
Resources to fight
The ability to fund reconstruction, medical experts, and economists against a well funded defense.
Clear contingency terms
Fees and case costs put in writing up front, so a family knows exactly how it works before signing.
Tell us what happened and we will only match you when a case genuinely fits.
Go deeper
Four companion guides that answer the questions families ask next, from standing and case value to how fatal commercial vehicle cases are handled.
MVA Lawyer Network is a nationwide guide. Wherever the death occurred, we can connect your family with an independent attorney licensed in that state.
Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West Coast Mountain West Gulf States Nationwide interstates
State law controls who may sue, how long you have, how fault is shared, and what can be recovered, and those answers change at every border. The deadline in particular, called the statute of limitations, can be as short as one year, and a claim against a government entity often carries a written notice deadline measured in weeks. Because fatal crashes frequently cross state lines, the right venue is not always obvious either. You can start a free case review and a local, state-licensed attorney will sort this out at no cost to you.
Sources and authorities
Every legal and statistical claim in this guide is drawn from primary sources: the statutes themselves, published court decisions, and federal crash data. Nothing here is taken from another firm's summary.
State statutes
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 71.004, beneficiaries and who may bring the action, and § 71.021, survival of the cause of action. Justia.
Florida Statutes § 768.20, parties, part of the Florida Wrongful Death Act at §§ 768.16 to 768.26. The Florida Senate.
California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, persons who may assert the cause of action. Justia.
California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34 and Senate Bill 447, the survival damages window that closed on January 1, 2026. DLA Piper analysis.
Louisiana Civil Code arts. 2315.1 and 2315.2, survival and death actions and their prescriptive periods. Justia.
Louisiana Civil Code art. 3493.1, the two year prescriptive period for delictual actions, Acts 2024 No. 423, effective July 1, 2024. Louisiana State Legislature.
Court decisions
Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., 398 U.S. 375 (1970), overruling The Harrisburg, 119 U.S. 199 (1886). Justia.
Werner Enterprises, Inc. v. Blake, No. 23-0493 (Tex. June 27, 2025), proximate cause and employer liability. Opinion and case file.
Baker v. Bolton (1808) 1 Camp. 493, the common law rule that a death was not actionable, later abolished by statute.
Crash data
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2025 early estimate and 2024 annual traffic fatality data, released April 2026. NHTSA.
NHTSA National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Crash Stats early estimate publication. Crash Stats.
Legislative history
Florida HB 6017 (2025), passed both chambers and vetoed on May 29, 2025, and HB 6003 (2026), passed the Florida House in January 2026. Florida Politics.
Louisiana House Bill 291 (2025 Regular Session), amending arts. 2315.1 and 2315.2. Louisiana State Legislature.
Our editorial standards
How we keep this guide accurate and worth trusting.
01
Primary sources only
Claims cite the statute, the decided case, or the government dataset itself, not another firm's summary of it.
02
Reviewed and dated
The page shows when it was last reviewed and is updated when the law or the data changes, as both did in 2025 and 2026.
03
Editorial, not legal advice
This is general information to help a family make decisions, not advice about a specific case in a specific state.
04
Honest about how we operate
We are an independent referral service, not a law firm, and we may be paid a referral fee by the attorney if you hire through us.
Michael Mangione Verified editor
Legal Research Editor · Founder, The Mangione Group, Inc.
MVA Lawyer Network is edited by Michael Mangione, who has spent more than twelve years working inside contingency-based law firms, building intake departments, designing qualification frameworks, and studying how claims are screened and pursued from the first call through resolution. He built this site to turn dense statutes and real case law into guidance a grieving family can actually use, then connect that family with a lawyer worth their time. Michael is not a practicing attorney and does not give legal advice. Every legal statement on this site is sourced to primary authority, and independent attorneys handle the legal work.
General information, not legal advice. Because these rules are set state by state, talk to a licensed attorney about your own situation.
What is a wrongful death claim?
It is a civil case brought when someone dies because of another party's negligence or wrongful act. It is created entirely by state statute, so who may sue, what can be recovered, and how long you have are all set by the state where the death occurred. It is separate from any criminal prosecution and uses a lower standard of proof.
Who is allowed to bring the case?
Only the people the statute names. Most states begin with a surviving spouse and children, then parents, and some then reach siblings or grandparents. Texas limits it to a spouse, children, and parents. Florida requires the personal representative of the estate to bring one case for everyone. California also reaches a putative spouse, stepchildren, and dependent parents.
How long do I have to file?
The statute of limitations is set by state law and is commonly two years, usually from the date of death. Some states are shorter, some run the clock from the date of injury, and Louisiana now uses whichever of one year from death or two years from injury is longer. Claims against a government body can require formal written notice within a few months, so the practical deadline is often much sooner than the filing deadline.
What does a wrongful death attorney cost?
Almost all of them work on a contingency fee, commonly 33 to 40 percent of what is recovered, written into the agreement. You pay nothing up front and no hourly rate, and the firm typically advances case costs such as experts and records. If there is no recovery, you generally owe no attorney fee. Always ask what happens to case costs if the case is lost.
What is the difference between a death claim and a survival action?
The death claim belongs to the surviving family and compensates their own losses, such as lost support and the loss of the relationship. The survival action belongs to the estate and covers what the person who died experienced and lost between the injury and death, such as medical bills and, in many states, conscious pain and suffering. Both are often filed together.
Can I still sue if no one was criminally charged?
Yes. The two systems are independent. A prosecutor must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while a civil case only requires a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. Families regularly succeed civilly where no charge was ever filed, and even where a criminal case ended in acquittal.
What can the case actually recover?
Typically lost financial support and benefits, the value of lost household services, funeral and burial costs, medical bills incurred before death, and non-economic losses such as lost companionship, guidance, and society. Some states also allow punitive damages where the conduct went well beyond ordinary carelessness. The exact list is set by each state's statute.
Is there an average settlement amount?
No, and any site quoting one is guessing. Published averages mix minimum-policy cases with catastrophic ones. What drives value is the strength of the causation evidence, the documented lifetime losses, whether the person supported dependents, the state whose law applies, and the total insurance available across every responsible party.
Do we have to open an estate before filing?
In some states, yes. Florida requires the personal representative to bring the action, which means opening probate first. Texas allows named beneficiaries to file directly but shifts the duty to the executor if no one has filed within three calendar months. Appointing a representative can take weeks, so it is worth raising at the first consultation.
What if my loved one was partly at fault?
The case usually survives. Most states apply comparative negligence, which reduces the recovery by the share of fault assigned rather than eliminating it. A minority bar recovery once that share crosses a threshold, and a very small number bar it for any fault at all. Insurers raise this early, which is one reason to talk to a lawyer before giving a statement.
How long does one of these cases take?
It varies widely. A clear liability case with limited insurance can resolve in months. A contested case against a well funded defendant often runs a year or more, and longer if it goes to trial and is appealed. Rushing generally favors the insurer, because the full extent of a family's losses takes time to document properly.
Is the money taxable?
Compensatory damages for personal physical injury or physical sickness are generally excluded from federal gross income, while punitive damages and interest are generally taxable. Estate and state tax treatment can differ, and how a settlement is allocated matters. This is a question for a tax professional, and it is worth asking before a settlement is finalised rather than after.
Is what I tell you private?
Yes. What you share in a case review is kept private and is used only to match you with an attorney who fits your situation. One distinction is worth understanding, because most sites will not tell you: true legal confidentiality, called attorney-client privilege, only attaches once you actually have an attorney-client relationship with a lawyer. Submitting a form to a referral service is not the same thing. If that matters to you before you discuss anything sensitive, say so and raise it directly with the attorney.
What does it cost to use MVA Lawyer Network?
Nothing. We are a free, independent referral service, not a law firm, and we do not give legal advice. Requesting a case review costs you nothing and puts you under no obligation. When a situation fits, we connect you with an independent attorney who reviews it directly, and we may be paid a referral fee by that attorney. That fee does not add anything on top of their contingency percentage. You can read more about how we operate.
How do I choose a good wrongful death lawyer?
Look for genuine trial experience in fatal cases rather than general injury work, an active license with no unresolved discipline, the resources to fund reconstruction and expert testimony, clear written contingency terms, and the ability to handle probate if your state requires an estate. It also helps to use a service that vets lawyers before connecting you.
You should not have to figure this out alone.
One short, private form. No cost, no obligation, and no fee unless there is a recovery. Find out where your family stands.
