Serving Scranton and Lackawanna County
Serving Scranton and Lackawanna County
A wrongful death claim is brought when someone dies because of another party’s negligence or wrongful act. Pennsylvania splits that into two separate claims, decides who is allowed to bring them, and gives the family a fixed period to act. This page sets out who can file, what can be recovered, and the deadlines that apply.
A few lines is enough to start. Nothing you send here creates a lawyer-client relationship.
If your deadline is close, call the office rather than sending a form.
Pennsylvania’s Wrongful Death Act allows an action when a person dies because of another party’s wrongful act, neglect, unlawful violence or negligence. The right of action exists for the benefit of the deceased person’s spouse, children or parents, and it is normally the personal representative of the estate who brings it on their behalf.
What is often missed is that two separate claims arise from the same death. The wrongful death claim compensates the family for what they have lost. The survival action carries forward the claim the deceased person held before dying, and belongs to the estate. They are pleaded together, valued separately, and distributed under different rules.
The practical work early on is evidential. Vehicles get repaired, scenes are cleared, equipment is returned to service and witnesses become harder to find. Where the death followed a period in hospital, the medical record has to show the connection between the injury and the death. Cases arising in Lackawanna County are heard locally.
A death caused by another party. The conduct has to be wrongful, and it has to be what caused the death. That covers negligence on the road, unsafe premises, defective equipment and medical negligence alike.
The right person bringing it. The action is for the benefit of a spouse, children or parents, and is filed by the personal representative of the estate. If no action is brought within six months of the death, the procedural rules allow a beneficiary to commence it instead.
Loss capable of being valued. Financial support the family would have received, the value of services and guidance provided, and the expenses the death made necessary. Each is proved with records rather than assertion.
The wrongful death claim recovers what the family has lost: financial support, the value of services, society, comfort and guidance, together with reasonable hospital, nursing, medical, funeral and estate administration expenses caused by the death. Those proceeds pass to the beneficiaries rather than through the estate.
The survival action recovers what the deceased person lost: conscious pain and suffering between injury and death, and the earnings they would have made, less the cost of their own maintenance. Those proceeds do pass through the estate, which affects tax and creditors. Getting the split right matters as much as the total figure.
Pennsylvania generally allows two years to bring an action for a death caused by wrongful conduct, running from the date of death. The survival action carries its own two-year limit. Separately, if the personal representative has not filed within six months of the death, a beneficiary may commence the action. Calculating the correct date can involve further rules, so it is worth confirming early rather than assuming.
If yours is not here, the answer is usually a short phone call rather than a long page.
Wrongful death claims are taken on a contingency basis: a percentage of what is recovered, and nothing if there is no recovery. The arrangement is put in writing before any work begins. Where the court has to approve a settlement, for example because a beneficiary is a minor, the fee is approved with it.
The action is for the benefit of the deceased person’s spouse, children or parents, and is normally brought by the personal representative of the estate. If the personal representative has not filed within six months of the death, the procedural rules allow a beneficiary to commence it in the representative’s name. Where nobody in that group survives, a survival action may still be available to the estate.
The wrongful death claim compensates the family for their loss, including support, services, guidance and the expenses the death caused. The survival action carries forward the claim the deceased person held, covering their conscious pain and suffering and lost earnings. They are usually filed together, but the money is distributed differently and the estate route carries tax and creditor consequences.
Often yes. Pennsylvania applies a modified comparative fault rule: recovery is reduced by the deceased person’s share of responsibility, and is barred only if that share is greater than the other parties’ combined. Insurers argue this point hard, which is a reason to get the evidence secured before it is lost.
It depends on whether liability is disputed and whether the estate is already open. A straightforward claim against an insurer that accepts responsibility can resolve in months. A contested case, or one involving medical negligence, takes considerably longer. We will tell you early which yours looks like.
Most cases settle without a trial. Family members are usually deposed at some stage, and a court approval hearing may be needed to distribute the proceeds. If the case does go to trial, you will be prepared for it well in advance rather than on the day.
A single attorney takes responsibility for each case and remains the point of contact throughout. A short conversation is usually enough to tell you whether there is a claim worth pursuing and what the next step is.
Office address to be supplied, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Nothing sent through this site creates a lawyer-client relationship.
