wrongful death action

wrongful death action
wrongful death action n: an action that is brought by and in the name of the personal representative (as a spouse or parent) of one who dies a wrongful death and that seeks damages for the benefit of the survivors or the estate of the decedent compare survival action
◇ A wrongful death action is intended to compensate for injury to beneficiaries and not the injury to the decedent. The right to bring such an action is defined by statute.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

wrongful death action
n. A lawsuit brought alleging damages from a wrongful act, default, or negligent behavior that resulted in the aforementioned's demise. Such action may be brought by the executor or administrator of the decedent's estate, as well as his or her surviving family, claiming deprivation of economic benefit that would have been had in the way of income or services had the decedent survived. Wrongful-death laws are different from survival statutes, which provide for legal action to sue for mental anguish, medical expenses, pain and suffering, or lost wages springing from the act leading to the death. Both statutes, however, circumvent the common law rule that death extinguishes civil law suits. There is a wrongful death statute in every state in the United States.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.

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  • wrongful-death action — n. A lawsuit brought alleging damages from a wrongful act, default, or negligent behavior that resulted in the aforementioned s demise. Such action may be brought by the executor or administrator of the decedent s estate, as well as his or her… …   Law dictionary

  • wrongful death — n: a death caused by the negligent, willful, or wrongful act, neglect, omission, or default of another sought damages for the wrongful death of their murdered daughter Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • Wrongful death claim — Wrongful death is a claim in common law jurisdictions against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. Under common law, a dead person cannot bring… …   Wikipedia

  • wrongful death — noun a death that results from a wrongful act or from negligence; a death that can serve as the basis for a civil action for damages on behalf of the dead person s family or heirs • Hypernyms: ↑death, ↑decease, ↑expiry * * * noun, pl ⋯ deaths… …   Useful english dictionary

  • wrongful death — An action provided by constitution or statute to recover from one whose wrongful act, neglect or default has resulted in the death of another person. 22 Am J2d Dth § 2 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • wrongful death statute — noun A statute that provides relief from the common law rule that the death of an individual cannot be the basis of a cause of action in a civil suit …   Wiktionary

  • wrongful — Injurious, heedless, unjust, reckless, unfair; it implies the infringement of some right, and may result from disobedience to lawful authority. Buhler v. Marrujo, 86 N.M. 399, 524 P.2d 1015, 1019. See also tort @ wrongful abuse of process See… …   Black's law dictionary

  • death — The cessation of life; permanent cessations of all vital functions and signs. Numerous states have enacted statutory definitions of death which include brain related criteria. For example, many states have adopted, sometimes with variations, the… …   Black's law dictionary

  • death — The cessation of life; permanent cessations of all vital functions and signs. Numerous states have enacted statutory definitions of death which include brain related criteria. For example, many states have adopted, sometimes with variations, the… …   Black's law dictionary

  • action — Conduct; behavior; something done; the condition of acting; an act or series of acts. Term in its usual legal sense means a lawsuit brought in a court; a formal complaint within the jurisdiction of a court of law. Pathman Const. Co. v. Knox… …   Black's law dictionary

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