Our law firm was recently contacted by a woman whose parent was killed in an accident. Her uncle told her that she could not sue for the wrongful death of her parent because she was an adult child and that only he had a claim. This was absolutely wrong.
An adult child can sue for the wrongful death of a parent.
In fact, the adult child will in most cases get more of the money recovered from the lawsuit than the brother (uncle of the adult child) of the deceased. In some cases, the brother of the deceased would get none of the money. This may be why the uncle tried to prevent the adult child from making a claim.
Money won in a verdict (trial) or settlement is generally distributed to the family members by court order. This order states the amount of money available to distribute and the percentage that each family member should receive. In most cases, a surviving spouse gets the most money, with the children getting most of the remaining money. Many factors are looked at to determine how much, if anything, each family member receives.
You Can Get a Free Consultation with a Lawyer to Get Answers
The uncle referred to above told the adult child that a lawyer had told him she did not have a wrongful death claim. Wisely, she contacted our law firm.
Our lawyers have represented many, many families like yours. Contact them for a free consultation about your legal rights.
