Seattle Personal Injury Attorney

Archive for the ‘Wrongful Death’ Category

The parents of a 26 year old developmentally disabled adult sued for wrongful death, alleging a pharmacy refilled their son’s prescription for anti-seizure mediation at a higher than required dosage, and that lowering the dosage approximately two months later resulted in his death.

The trial court dismissed the claim, not because it lacked merit, but because under wrongful death statutes parents can only bring a wrongful death claim for minor children, or for adult children upon whom they rely for support.  The Court of Appeals affirmed, noting that the plain language of the statute and case law precedent compel the result.[1]

Therefore, the parents of adult developmentally developed children may not bring a claim in court, no matter how strong the facts of the case may be. This is true even if the child, though an adult in terms of chronological age, is developmentally disabled and will never be independent.

As always, this short summary is not a substitute for legal advice. You should always consult with an attorney for advice about your circumstances.

Our personal injury law firm did not participate in the lawsuit described in this article. 

 A man was killed and his wife injured when the Harley-Davidson motorcycle he was riding crossed several lanes and collided with a guardrail. The next day the wife received a recall notice informing her that the main circuit breaker on the motorcycle might have a defect that could cause it to “open due to reasons other than for which it was designed,” therefore, causing a “‘quit while riding’ situation.”

 Suit was filed alleging Harley-Davidson was liable under the Washington Products Liability Act.[1] Read the rest of this entry »

A Florida woman is suing debt collectors claiming they caused her husband’s death.  She claims illegal debt collection tactics, such as high frequency calling and calling neighbors, caused so much emotional stress that her husband, who had a heart condition, died as a result.

Her husband had suffered a heart attack and had been airlifted to a hospital. One message left on the couples phone allegedly stated

“”Why don’t you have that helicopter pick you up and bring that payment to the office?”.[1] Read the rest of this entry »

In addition to seeking “actual pecuniary loss” on behalf of statutory beneficiaries Washington has three survival statutes under which a deceased’s injury claim may be brought.  Washington has three wrongful death survival statutes, a general survival statute and two that relate to personal injury claims. Read the rest of this entry »

Wrongful death claims are claims brought on behalf of beneficiaries of the deceased as defined by statute against the negligent defendant whose actions proximately caused the death.  Depending on the facts and circumstances other claims might be brought under the survival statutes.  Both types of claims are often referred to as “wrongful death” claims for convenience. Read the rest of this entry »