What Is the Difference Between Wrongful Death and Survival Action?
If someone tragically passes away under preventable circumstances in Massachusetts, such as a car crash or workplace disaster, surviving family members may have multiple legal outlets available to pursue justice. In Massachusetts, loved ones and the deceased individual’s estate may be able to recover financial compensation through a wrongful death claim and/or a survival action. Understanding the difference between these two types of cases can help you take the appropriate legal action.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit that seeks financial compensation from the person or party at fault for causing a preventable fatal injury. Massachusetts law defines wrongful death as a death caused by negligence, a willful or wanton act, recklessness, or a breach of warranty. Negligence means the failure to use a reasonable amount of care, resulting in injury, harm or death to another person.
In other words, if a preventable act of carelessness or wrongdoing leads to the death of a victim, the person or party at fault may be financially responsible (liable) for related losses and expenses. In Massachusetts, only the administrator of the deceased person’s estate has the right to file a wrongful death claim. This is different from other states in which surviving family members can file. The courts can appoint an administrator or executor if the decedent did not name one in his or her will prior to death.
What Is a Survival Action?
A survival action in Massachusetts is another type of civil lawsuit that may be brought after the preventable death of an individual. A survival action is similar to a personal injury lawsuit in that it aims to reimburse the victim for his or her specific losses. Since the incident resulted in the victim’s death, however, the case is known as a survival action rather than a personal injury claim.
The main difference between a wrongful death lawsuit and a survival action is that the first is meant to benefit surviving family members, while the second is meant to make up for the deceased individual’s losses. A survival action is a tort claim that survives the death of the injured party. Its purpose is to allow the decedent’s estate to claim losses sustained by the decedent as a result of the negligence or wrongful act of the defendant before the victim died.
What Damages Are Available in Each?
A wrongful death claim in Massachusetts can result in financial compensation for several different losses awarded to surviving family members. The compensation, or damages, available are meant to reimburse the family for what they suffered because of the death. Damages may include funeral and burial costs, the income that the decedent foreseeably would have made had he or she not died, and lost services and companionship.
A wrongful death claim can also pay for the conscious suffering experienced by the decedent before death. Finally, a wrongful death claim could pay punitive damages, in some cases. Punitive damages are awarded to punish the defendant for especially wrongful, malicious or negligent acts. If someone intentionally took the life of your loved one, for example, your family may be eligible for punitive damages to penalize the defendant.
A survival action, on the other hand, can result in damages to pay the decedent’s estate for the decedent’s specific losses. These losses may include medical bills leading up to the date of death, any property damage sustained, lost wages from the date of the accident to the date of death, and the victim’s pain and suffering. Damages awarded in both types of cases can go to the deceased individual’s estate to be distributed among beneficiaries.
Speak to an Attorney Today
If you recently lost someone you loved in an accident in Merrimack Valley, please contact our law firm for a free case evaluation. Your family may have grounds to bring a wrongful death claim and/or a survival action in pursuit of justice and compensation.