At Emmanuel Law Firm, the majority of cases we handle involve allegations of wrongful death due to medical malpractice. Potential clients often reach out to us following the death of a loved one due to suspected medical negligence.
When assessing these cases, we identify the potential client’s relationship to the deceased, such as a surviving spouse, child, parent, sibling, nephew, niece or cousin.
This is crucial for determining whether the deceased had qualifying beneficiaries who can file a lawsuit to seek damages under the Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Act, which has strict criteria for defining who is considered a beneficiary.
Potential clients are sometimes surprised to learn they do not meet the requirements to be beneficiaries, preventing them from pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit even if an investigation confirms medical negligence significantly contributed to their loved one's passing.
Pennsylvania’s Wrongful Death Act specifies that the right of action exists only for the benefit of the spouse, children or parents of the deceased. Damages are distributed among beneficiaries in the proportion they would take the decedent's estate under Pennsylvania’s intestacy laws.
If the decedent is not survived by a spouse, children or parents, the personal representative of the estate may recover certain expenses, including reasonable hospital, nursing, medical and funeral expenses, as well as administration costs related to the injuries causing death.
The law also prohibits duplicate recovery of the same damages.
When a potential client was not married to the decedent, we ask whether they had children together. If not, we look for surviving children of the decedent, followed by surviving parents. If none of these relationships exist, we typically decline legal representation.
For more information about wrongful death claims and our firm’s legal services, visit emmanuellawfirm.com.
Emmanuel Law Firm, LLC is part of the Metro Philadelphia Community Connect sponsored content program.
