Losing a family member because of another person’s wrongful act can create financial losses that continue long after the death. Virginia law allows certain surviving family members to seek damages when a person’s death results from a wrongful act, neglect, or default that would have supported a personal injury claim had the person survived. The decedent’s personal representative brings the claim, rather than the deceased filing an ordinary personal injury claim.
For families considering legal action, Newport News wrongful death lawyers can help determine whether the circumstances meet Virginia’s wrongful death requirements and identify the losses that may be recoverable. The potential compensation is not limited to funeral bills. Virginia law specifically recognizes economic and non-economic losses associated with the death.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim in Virginia?
Virginia Code § 8.01-50 provides the legal basis for a wrongful death action. A claim may arise when someone’s wrongful act, neglect, or default causes a death and that conduct would have entitled the injured person to maintain an action had the death not occurred.
Wrongful death cases can result from many circumstances, including:
- Motor vehicle crashes
- Truck and commercial vehicle accidents
- Medical negligence
- Defective products
- Workplace incidents
- Dangerous property conditions
- Other acts of negligence or wrongful conduct
The person or entity whose conduct caused the death may be liable for damages if the legal requirements are established.
Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim?
Virginia law does not allow every relative to independently file a wrongful death lawsuit. The personal representative of the deceased person’s estate generally must bring the action. Virginia law then distributes the damages among beneficiaries according to its statutory rules.
Virginia’s beneficiary provisions primarily address the surviving spouse, children, and certain grandchildren. Under specific circumstances, parents, siblings, and other relatives who meet statutory requirements may also be beneficiaries. The statute considers factors such as financial support, services provided by the deceased, household relationships, and the presence or absence of closer surviving relatives.
What Compensation Is Available in a Virginia Wrongful Death Claim?
Virginia Code § 8.01-52 identifies several categories of damages that may be awarded. The law states that a court or jury may award fair and just damages, including the following categories.
1. Loss of Income
A wrongful death can eliminate a significant source of household income. Virginia law allows compensation for the reasonably expected loss of the decedent’s income.
Calculating this loss may require examining the deceased person’s earnings, employment history, age, occupation, expected working years, benefits, and other financial circumstances. Expert testimony may be used to establish damages for expected income and other economic losses.
2. Loss of Services, Protection, Care, and Assistance
Income is only one part of a person’s financial contribution to a household. Virginia law also permits compensation for the reasonably expected loss of the services, protection, care, and assistance provided by the deceased.
For example, a parent may have provided childcare, transportation, household assistance, or other services that would otherwise have required significant expense. A spouse may have provided care and assistance that had substantial practical value to the household.
Evidence concerning the person’s responsibilities, family relationships, household contributions, and expected future services can therefore become important when calculating damages.
3. Sorrow, Mental Anguish, and Loss of Companionship
Virginia wrongful death damages also address the personal impact of losing a family member. The statute allows compensation for sorrow, mental anguish, and solace, including the loss of society, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices, and advice provided by the deceased.
These damages are different from lost wages or funeral expenses. They recognize the impact of losing the relationship itself.
4. Medical and Hospital Expenses Before Death
When the deceased person survived for a period after the injury, medical expenses incurred because of the injury may become part of the wrongful death claim. Virginia law expressly permits recovery for expenses associated with the care, treatment, and hospitalization of the decedent that resulted from the injury causing death.
These expenses can include treatment provided between the underlying incident and the person’s death. Medical records and billing documentation can help establish what treatment was provided and how those expenses relate to the fatal injury.
5. Funeral Expenses
Virginia’s wrongful death statute also specifically recognizes reasonable funeral expenses. Families should retain invoices, receipts, contracts, and other documentation for funeral and burial-related expenses. These records can help establish the amount being claimed.
The statute provides that the jury or court specifically states damages for medical and funeral expenses, which are apportioned among the creditors who provided those services according to their respective interests.
6. Punitive Damages in Certain Cases
Punitive damages are different from compensation for financial or personal losses. Virginia law permits punitive damages in a wrongful death action when the conduct involved willful or wanton behavior, or recklessness showing a conscious disregard for the safety of others.
They are therefore not automatically available in every wrongful death case. The facts must support the statutory standard for punitive damages.
How Is Lost Income Calculated?
Calculating future income can be one of the more complex parts of a wrongful death claim. The analysis may consider the deceased person’s historical earnings, career, age, education, employment benefits, expected career progression, and other evidence concerning future earning capacity.
Virginia law states that competent expert testimony is admissible to prove damages for expected loss of income and the loss of services, protection, care, and assistance. The purpose is to establish a reasonable basis for estimating what the family would have received or benefited from had the death not occurred.
How Does Virginia Determine Who Receives the Damages?
Virginia law establishes a statutory order for beneficiaries. Surviving spouses, children, and certain grandchildren are among the primary beneficiaries. Under particular circumstances, parents may qualify, including situations involving regular support or services from the deceased. If certain closer relatives do not survive, the statute provides for other relatives who meet specified requirements, including dependency and household criteria.
Consequently, Virginia law governs the distribution of a wrongful death award rather than the deceased person’s will or the family’s preferred arrangement.
What Evidence Can Support a Wrongful Death Claim?
A strong wrongful death claim requires evidence connecting the defendant’s conduct to the death and documenting the resulting losses.
Important evidence your Newport News wrongful death lawyers may require includes:
- Police or accident reports
- Medical records and hospital bills
- Autopsy or death records when relevant
- Photographs and video footage
- Eyewitness statements
- Employment and income records
- Tax documents
- Information about employment benefits
- Evidence of household services provided by the deceased
- Funeral and burial invoices
- Expert economic testimony
- Documentation of the family relationship and dependency
Preserve evidence as early as possible. Accident scenes change, surveillance footage may be overwritten, witnesses can become difficult to locate, and financial records may require time to obtain.
What Should Families Do After a Wrongful Death?
Families should preserve documents and evidence connected to the death, including medical records, accident reports, photographs, correspondence from insurance companies, employment information, and financial records. They should also avoid discarding physical evidence relevant to the underlying incident.
Insurance companies may contact surviving family members or the estate’s representative while investigators are still working. Review statements, releases, and settlement offers carefully before accepting them, because resolving a claim can affect the family’s ability to pursue additional compensation.
A wrongful death claim also requires identifying every potentially responsible party and determining what insurance coverage or other assets may be available. In a serious accident, this investigation can involve multiple individuals, businesses, insurers, or other entities.