A wrongful death lawsuit may be filed by immediate family members (spouses, children) but parents, brothers, and sisters of the deceased person can also file it.
While in Florida, a wrongful death lawsuit may be brought by immediate family members such as spouses and children, it is important to know that parents, brothers, and sisters can also file it.
Any blood relatives and adoptive children who are dependent on the deceased family member for services and support are eligible as well.
In general, the people legally dependent on the decedent can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida. Parents are entitled to recover damages, but only when there are no other beneficiaries. Children do not have to be related to the decedent or their natural-born children to be seen as beneficiaries who are entitled to recover compensation. However, if they are not natural born, they must be legally adopted before the person’s death to obtain compensation for anything other than financial losses.
It is worth noting that brothers, sisters, nieces, cousins, nephews, and other blood relatives are never entitled to obtain damages for their emotional losses unless they were financially dependent on the decedent, but these are very rare cases. If a beneficiary of the decedent passes away, the beneficiaries of the beneficiary do not take over the claim. In lieu, the claim dies with the passing away of the beneficiary. If there are no other beneficiaries, this can often end the lawsuit with no one recovering.
The Law Offices of Sean M. Cleary can provide you with quality legal assistance if you lost a family member due to the negligence of another party. Our attorney has over 20 years of professional experience, so he has the necessary resources and knowledge to help you file your wrongful death lawsuit and help you obtain the most favorable outcome for your case.