Maryland Wrongful Death Lawyers

A wrongful death civil case is a legal action brought under the Maryland wrongful death statute. The case is brought on behalf of the survivors (e.g., surviving spouse, children, parents, etc.) of a decedent on their own behalf for the loss of their loved one.

The estate of the victim also has another independent claim under Maryland law called a survival action. In Maryland, unlike some other jurisdictions, a survival action is made by the personal representative of the estate on behalf of the victim’s estate for the recovery of damages for injury to a fatally injured person. This includes medical bills, funeral expenses, and most importantly, non-economic damages for pain and suffering felt by the victim.

When people are killed by the wrongful act of another person, their close relatives should have the legal right to seek compensation for both the economic loss caused to them by the death as well as the emotional distress of losing someone they love.

Yet, historically, civil actions for death were not recognized as claims in Maryland. Under the old common law, when a person was killed as a result of the wrongdoing of someone else, any personal injury claim that could be made for the accident terminated with the victim’s death.

Today, Maryland, like every state, has a statute that gives surviving family members a cause of action even after death. Our Maryland wrongful death attorneys seek compensation on behalf of the victim’s family for medical malpractice, motorcycle, car, and truck accident claims, and deaths caused by defective products.

There is a cap on wrongful death claims in Maryland (described more fully here). There is no cap, however, on economic damages in a wrongful death case. If the victim was providing for his or her family, there is a loss of future earning capacity – what the victim would have earned in compensation if the defendant did not negligently kill the victim.

Our law firm handles a lot of cases where the victim was providing for a spouse and children. This can drive up the trial and settlement value of a wrongful death case.

Under Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 3-904(g)(1), the statute of limitations on wrongful death claims in Maryland is three years from the date of the decedent’s death. There are exceptions to this rule, but this is the applicable limitations period in the great majority of wrongful death cases in Maryland.

Theoretically, the statute of limitations in a wrongful death case can be waived either before or during litigation. Practically, this rarely happens. You need to assume that your deadline for filing is three years in a Maryland wrongful death lawsuit.

Yes, a wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought by surviving family members seeking money damages for the loss of their loved one.

Most wrongful death malpractice cases will take between one and two years to resolve, either through an out-of-court settlement payout or a trial. A truck accident wrongful death lawsuit usually takes less time than a medical malpractice lawsuit. Car accident death claims can take one to two years, but auto accident death cases often resolve much more quickly.

If the plaintiff dies during a wrongful death lawsuit, the plaintiff’s estate takes over the claim. If the defendant dies, the estate can be substituted as well. Typically, if the defendant dies it has little impact on how the claim proceeds.

A wrongful death lawsuit is a special type of personal injury claim that can be brought when someone dies, and another party is legally “at fault” for the death because of negligence or an intentional act. Wrongful death claims are regular tort claims like negligence or medical malpractice that are brought on behalf of a person who dies.

Wrongful death claims are a relatively new legal development (last 150 years). Traditionally, under common law, only the injured party themselves had standing to sue. If that person died as a result of their injuries, the negligent party escaped liability. Wrongful death statutes were enacted in all states to correct this unfairness.

In most states, the plaintiff in a wrongful death lawsuit is the deceased person’s estate or members of the decedent’s immediate family (e.g., spouse, children, parents). Only the deceased’s estate or certain close family members have legal standing to file the wrongful death lawsuit. Any verdict or settlement distribution in death cases goes to these family members or heirs to the victim’s estate.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Maryland?

In Maryland, if someone’s wrongful actions result in another person’s death, the law allows the deceased person’s family to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. This law mainly benefits the deceased’s spouse, parents, and children. If the person who died was married, the law allows for compensation for financial losses and also for emotional suffering, such as mental anguish, loss of companionship, comfort, and protection, as well as loss of marital, parental, or child care, attention, advice, training, and education, as applicable, which we call loss of consortium.

A wrongful death claim is just a tort claim brought on behalf of a deceased person. There is no extra level of proof required for a wrongful death claim. To prove wrongful death the plaintiff just needs to establish the elements of the underlying tort claim (usually negligence). This involves proving the basic elements of negligence:

• Duty of Care: plaintiffs must establish that the defendant owed some duty of care to the deceased. For example, another driver has a duty to follow the rules of the road and drive safely.
• Breach: wrongful death plaintiffs must prove that the defendant’s actions (or inactions) breached the duty of care (e.g., ran a red light).
• Causation: plaintiffs must also prove that the defendant’s breach of their duty of care was actually what caused the wrongful death.

Wrongful death lawsuits are based on the same tort law claims as other personal injury lawsuits. The vast majority of wrongful death lawsuits are based on claims of negligence or malpractice (which is a special type of negligence). Wrongful death can also be grounded in intentional actions like murder. If someone is murdered, their estate can sue the murderer for wrongful death under assault and battery theories.

My Spouse/Child Did a Ton of Things for Me and My Children. Is There Any Way to Get Compensation for These Losses?

The value of what Maryland law refers to as “household services,” such as cleaning, cooking, and childcare, is considered part of the survivors’ pecuniary loss. These services can be included in both economic and non-economic damages when determining compensation in wrongful death cases.

Can You Get Damages for the Loss of Expected Inheritance?

While some states recognize the loss of expected inheritance as a valid claim for economic damages, Maryland law leans in the opposite direction. A federal court interpreting Maryland law found that such a claim is too speculative to succeed, meaning it generally does not allow recovery for a prospective inheritance in wrongful death cases.

Do We Need to Tell Estranged Family Members of the Claim?

Yes, all potential beneficiaries must be named as plaintiffs in a wrongful death action under Maryland’s wrongful death statute. A claim cannot be settled unless every party with a potential interest has been included or a good faith effort has been made to notify them. This ensures that the rights of all beneficiaries are addressed, even estranged family members.

How Does the Jury Decide How Much to Award for Your Claim?

Juries follow specific instructions when determining damages:

• Economic Losses: These include financial support and the value of services the deceased provided or was expected to provide. The jury may consider the deceased’s current and future earning capacity to estimate how much the surviving spouse or family would have received.
• Non-Economic Losses: This includes emotional pain, mental anguish, and the loss of companionship, care, and guidance. Unlike economic damages, these losses are more subjective, leaving the jury to use their personal life experiences to assign a value.

While economic losses are calculated objectively, non-economic losses like pain and suffering are more uncertain. Different juries may assign widely varying amounts for similar cases, leading to unpredictable verdicts.

No. The proceeds of any settlement you receive in a wrongful death lawsuit will not be treated as taxable income. Under the tax code, payments received as compensation for pain and suffering related to physical injury are not taxable. Wrongful death settlements are considered compensation for personal injury and are therefore not treated as income for tax purposes. There are certain rare exceptions to this rule.

Yes. If you receive proceeds from a wrongful death lawsuit settlement, you will be required to report that money on your tax returns. However, the settlement proceeds will probably not be taxable.

Liability for wrongful death is covered by auto insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and professional malpractice insurance. Business liability policies also provide general coverage for wrongful death.Liability insurance does cover wrongful death when it results from intentional conduct.  But if a business is responsible for not protecting its customers, that is a potential negligent security lawsuit.

A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit so the defendant does not go to jail if they lose. Many of our law firm’s clients understandably find this frustrating. Someone who intentionally or recklessly causes the death of another person can be criminally prosecuted by the state.

Our wrongful death lawyers see this in our practice, mostly in DWI cases. However, this is a separate proceeding that is not necessarily related to any wrongful death action.

Each state has a statute of limitations for wrongful death claims. In Maryland, a wrongful death claim must be filed within 3 years of the date of death.