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

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