Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida?

Florida Statute 768.19 provides a right of action when a death is caused by a wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty, and the injured person could have maintained an action if death had not occurred. Examples may include fatal motor vehicle crashes, unsafe property conditions, defective products, boating incidents, and other events, depending on the facts. A death alone does not establish liability. The personal representative must still prove the legal claim that the decedent could have pursued and connect that conduct to the death.

Under Florida Statute 768.20, the wrongful death action is brought by the decedent's personal representative. The personal representative seeks recovery for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and the estate, as allowed by the Act. This means a spouse, child, or parent does not ordinarily file a separate wrongful death complaint in an individual capacity. A family member may serve as the personal representative, but that authority comes from the probate appointment rather than from the family relationship alone.

The personal representative is the person or qualified entity appointed to administer the estate. If the decedent left a valid will, the will may nominate a personal representative. If there is no will, Florida probate law provides an order of preference that generally begins with the surviving spouse and then considers a person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs and the nearest heir in degree. The probate court makes the appointment.

The personal representative has responsibilities beyond the wrongful death case, including duties to the estate and interested persons. Because wrongful death proceeds may include separate survivor and estate components, coordination between probate and litigation counsel may be necessary.

Florida Statute 768.18 defines survivors to include the decedent's spouse, children, and parents. It may also include blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters who were partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services. The statute uses a special definition of minor children for the Wrongful Death Act: children under 25 years of age. The law also addresses children born outside marriage and recognizes support in money or in kind. Whether a particular relative qualifies can depend on legal relationships, dependency, and the facts existing before death.

A surviving spouse is a statutory survivor. Florida law permits each survivor to seek qualifying lost support and services. It also allows the surviving spouse to seek damages for loss of companionship and protection and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. The existence of a legal marriage, separation, pending divorce, or disputed marital status can affect the analysis. These issues should be reviewed from official records rather than assumed.

Children may qualify as survivors and may have claims for lost support and services. Minor children may also seek damages for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering. If there is no surviving spouse, the statute extends those companionship and pain-and-suffering categories to all children of the decedent. Family structures can be complex. Adoption, paternity, dependency, and whether a person is legally considered a child of the decedent may need documentation. The statute also contains special restrictions for adult children in medical negligence wrongful death claims.

Parents are included in the statutory definition of survivors. Each parent of a deceased minor child may seek damages for mental pain and suffering. A parent of an adult child may also seek mental pain and suffering when there are no other survivors, subject to statutory restrictions, including specific limits in medical negligence matters. Parents may also have a support-and-services claim if the facts meet the statute. The available damages cannot be determined solely by the decedent's age; the relationships and statutory categories must be reviewed.

A blood relative or adoptive brother or sister may qualify as a survivor when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services. Dependency is fact-specific and may involve housing, caregiving, transportation, financial contributions, or household tasks.

Friendship, emotional closeness, or living together does not by itself create survivor status under the statute. Documentation of the legal relationship and the actual support or services may be important.

The personal representative may pursue certain damages for the estate, including qualifying lost earnings between injury and death, prospective net accumulations in circumstances described by the statute, and medical or funeral expenses that became an estate obligation or were paid on behalf of the decedent. Estate damages are different from a survivor's personal losses. All potential beneficiaries, including the estate, must be identified in the complaint, together with their relationships to the decedent.

Early collection should focus on legal relationships and the practical role the decedent played in the family. Helpful materials may include:

• The death certificate and any available incident or investigative reports;

• The will, trust, prior probate documents, and information about estate assets;

• Marriage certificates, birth certificates, adoption records, and paternity records;

• Tax returns, wage records, pension information, and benefit statements;

• Proof of financial contributions, shared expenses, and dependent support;

• Records of childcare, home maintenance, transportation, and caregiving services;

• Medical and funeral bills; and

• Photographs, messages, calendars, and testimony showing the family relationships.

Families should preserve original documents and avoid distributing or discarding potential evidence before the estate and legal issues are reviewed.

The personal representative owes duties to the estate and must account for all potential wrongful death beneficiaries. Disagreement can arise over the appointment, litigation decisions, settlement allocation, or the identification of survivors. Florida law includes procedures for court approval of certain settlements and protection of minors or legally incapacitated beneficiaries. Independent advice may be necessary when interests differ. A personal representative should not assume that being the filer allows that person to disregard other survivors.

Florida Statute 95.11 generally provides a two-year period for wrongful death actions. Special rules may apply to intentional acts, medical negligence, government defendants, maritime incidents, or other circumstances. Presuit notices or probate steps may also require time. Waiting can make investigation more difficult. Vehicles, products, video, medical records, employment documents, and witness memories may change or disappear. The family can begin gathering information even while the probate appointment is being addressed.

Bring the death certificate if available, the will, names and contact information for close relatives, incident reports, insurance correspondence, photographs, medical and funeral bills, and any information about the decedent's work and household contributions. It is not necessary to have the estate fully opened before asking questions. The initial review can help identify who may qualify as a survivor, who may seek appointment as personal representative, which evidence should be preserved, and whether special deadlines apply.