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Losing someone you love because of another person’s carelessness is devastating enough without also being forced to untangle an unforgiving legal system. Missouri law gives certain surviving family members the right to hold a negligent party accountable — but it does so through two distinct legal actions: a wrongful death claim and a survival action.
In this blog we’ll define each of these terms and clarify who is legally allowed to sue, what losses the law will compensate, and how recovery gets distributed among the people left behind.
What Is a Wrongful Death Action?
When someone passes away as a result of another party’s negligence, certain surviving family members or a court-appointed representative can pursue compensation on behalf of the deceased. Unlike a personal injury claim, a wrongful death action doesn’t compensate the deceased, it compensates the survivors for the losses they’ve suffered because of that person’s death.
Proving a Wrongful Death Claim in Missouri
Wrongful death claims can arise from almost any situation where someone else’s carelessness costs a life, including car accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice, workplace accidents, defective products, etc.
Regardless of how the death occurred, Missouri law requires the same basic elements to hold the responsible party accountable: that they owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach directly caused the death and the resulting damages. Proving these elements is where an experienced wrongful death attorney makes the difference between a claim that gets dismissed and one that gets results.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Missouri?
Missouri law establishes three categories of people who have the right to sue on the decedent’s behalf:
- Spouse, children, the surviving lineal descendants of any deceased children, or the parent of the deceased are the people that have the right to sue. The children and parents can be natural, adopted, legitimate, or illegitimate.
- If there are no persons in category one, then the siblings of the deceased or the siblings’ descendants can sue.
- If there are no people in either category, a plaintiff ad litem (a representative appointed by the court, often at the request of the deceased’s heirs or estate) can be authorized to bring the claim on their behalf.
When it comes to the compensation recovered, it isn’t split evenly by default. How it’s distributed among the eligible survivors depends on the circumstances of the case, which is one of many reasons families benefit from having an attorney manage the process rather than navigating it alone.
Missouri’s Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Claims
In Missouri, the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is three years from the date of death, or two years if the death resulted from medical malpractice. Missing this deadline can permanently bar your right to recover, so it’s critical to speak with an attorney as soon as possible after a loved one’s death.
The damages available in a wrongful death claim include:
- Medical bills
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Lost wages the decedent would have earned
- Loss of future financial support
- Loss of services the decedent provided to the household
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium (for spouses)
- Emotional suffering
- Loss of guidance, instruction, and support
What Is a Survival Action?
When someone dies as a result of another party’s negligence but doesn’t pass away immediately from the injury, a survival action allows the deceased’s estate to recover the losses the deceased personally suffered in the time between the incident and their death.
A survival action isn’t a claim brought by individual family members for their own losses, it belongs to the deceased’s estate. Typically, the deceased must not die immediately from their injuries for a survival action to be available, but in Missouri, only a short period of survival is required before the claim exists.
Who Can File a Survival Action in Missouri
A survival action is generally brought by the personal representative of the deceased’s estate, rather than by surviving family members directly. Any recovery becomes part of the estate and is distributed according to Missouri probate law, rather than going straight to specific family members the way wrongful death damages do.
The damages available in a survival action include:
- Medical expenses accrued from the incident up until death
- Lost income up until death
- Pain and suffering and emotional distress experienced up until death
Differences Between Wrongful Death Claims and Survival Actions
The difference between wrongful death claims and survival actions lie with whom the legal claim benefits, the type of damages pursued, and how the damages are distributed to either the estate of surviving family members.
If the deceased died immediately from an incident, a wrongful death claim will likely be the only appropriate remedy. If the deceased died days after the incident from their injuries, then a wrongful death and survival action may be pursued. The surviving family members can recover for their own losses stemming from the death of the deceased in a wrongful death claim but can recover for the deceased’s losses before the deceased died.
| Wrongful Death Claim | Survival Action | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can file | Spouse, children, parents, or (absent those) siblings/descendants, or a court-appointed plaintiff ad litem | The personal representative of the deceased’s estate |
| What it compensates | The survivors’ own losses resulting from the death (loss of companionship, financial support, etc.) | The losses the deceased personally suffered between the incident and death |
| Who receives the recovery | Distributed among eligible surviving family members | Becomes part of the estate, distributed under Missouri probate law |
| Statute of limitations | 3 years from the date of death (2 years for medical malpractice) | Generally the same: 3 years from the date of death (2 years for medical malpractice) |
Both actions can apply in the same case because if someone dies not long after an incident and because of that incident, someone can file both claims to receive their own individual loss from the death and the loss of the deceased until they passed away.
Assistance with Your Wrongful Death or Survival Action Claim
An experienced attorney does more than file paperwork. They investigate the incident, identify every liable party, calculate the full value of your losses, and build the case needed to hold the responsible party accountable.
At Cantor Injury Law, we’ve spent years fighting for grieving families across Missouri and Southern Illinois, and we know how to pursue wrongful death claims and survival actions to get our clients the full compensation they’re entitled to. If someone you love has passed away due to another party’s negligence, don’t wait to get answers. Contact Cantor Injury Law today at 314-628-9999 or reach out online for a free consultation, and let us handle the legal fight while you focus on your family.
