Florida law does not let just anyone file a wrongful death claim. It has to be filed by one specific person, the personal representative of the estate, acting on behalf of the family rather than by any individual family member directly.
Most families learn this while trying to work out what to do after losing someone, which adds confusion to an already difficult situation. A St. Petersburg wrongful death lawyer at Shapiro Delgado sorts out that process from the start: who is legally able to act, what deadlines apply and what the claim can recover.
Our team works out of Sarasota and Palmetto. A St. Petersburg wrongful death attorney from our office can walk you through what Florida law requires, step by step. Call (941) 954-4000 to talk through what happened and what comes next.
A wrongful death claim exists whenever someone else’s negligence, recklessness or intentional act causes another person’s death. That definition covers far more than most people expect, including fatal car and motorcycle crashes, medical errors, falls on unsafe property, boating accidents and defective products that never should have reached a store shelf.
The underlying legal theory is often identical to what would have applied if the person had survived. What changes is who can bring the claim and what the law allows them to recover.
Both are governed by Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, a set of statutes separate from ordinary personal injury law. Which framework applies matters early, since the two paths involve different paperwork and different deadlines.
Under Florida Statute 768.20, the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate is the only party who can bring a wrongful death lawsuit. That representative is usually named in a will, or appointed by the probate court when no will exists.
This surprises people who assume a surviving spouse or adult child can file on their own behalf. Instead, the personal representative brings a single claim for the benefit of all eligible survivors and the estate together.
Every potential beneficiary has to be named in the complaint, along with their relationship to the person who died. Leaving one out can complicate the case later, which is why this part matters from the beginning.
The requirement exists partly to prevent competing lawsuits from the same grieving family over the same death, which could otherwise create conflicting judgments or an unfair race between relatives.
Florida Statute 768.21 lays out specific categories of damages, and not every survivor qualifies for all of them. A surviving spouse can generally recover for lost companionship and protection, along with their own mental pain and suffering. Minor children can recover for lost parental companionship, guidance, and their own mental pain and suffering.
The estate can separately recover the deceased person’s lost earnings and lost future earning capacity between the injury and death, along with medical and funeral expenses paid by a survivor.
These categories overlap in a single case, and sorting out which survivor qualifies for which is one of the more technical parts of building the claim. A misallocation at the outset can lead to disputes long after a settlement is reached.
None of these categories are automatic. Each one must be documented and linked to the specific survivor claiming it. That is why the personal representative usually works closely with a personal injury attorney rather than sorting through the statutory categories and paperwork alone.
If you are not sure which categories apply to your family, call (941) 954-4000 and we will walk through them with you.
Yes, and this catches families off guard more than almost any other part of the statute. Florida law treats a child under 25 at the time of death as a minor child for these purposes, regardless of legal adulthood.
A child 25 or older can recover for lost companionship and mental pain and suffering only when there is no surviving spouse. When a spouse survives, that category is not available to them.
A more restrictive rule applies to deaths caused by medical negligence. Florida law limits noneconomic damages, meaning compensation for grief and loss of companionship rather than financial loss, when an adult child’s parent dies from medical malpractice, and when a parent’s adult child dies the same way.
This provision has been the subject of repeal efforts in the legislature. Because it directly affects what a family can recover, we confirm its current status before advising on any medical negligence claim.
This rule frustrates families who assume any negligent death is treated the same way under Florida law. It is not. Knowing where the medical negligence exception applies can change what a case is worth before any negotiation begins.
If the person who died left a will naming an executor, that person typically also serves as the personal representative for the wrongful death claim. Without a will, the probate court appoints someone, usually a close family member who petitions for the role.
This process runs alongside the wrongful death claim rather than instead of it, and the two can move forward at the same time. Families sometimes assume probate has to finish before a claim starts. That is not accurate, and the assumption costs time when evidence connected to the death needs preserving quickly.
Disputes over who should serve arise occasionally, especially in blended families or where there was estrangement from the person who died. Florida law gives priority to a surviving spouse, then adult children. A probate court resolves disagreements when the family cannot agree.
Wrongful death claims in our area come from a range of situations, and the setting shapes both the investigation and the insurance structure involved.
Each category involves different evidence and often a different insurance policy or government entity, which is why the first weeks after a death matter for building the case correctly. A nursing home neglect case often turns on staffing records and internal reports that have to be formally requested.
A fatal crash investigation depends on police reports, traffic camera footage and, where available, data recorded by the vehicle. Footage and vehicle data are subject to short retention windows. That is one more reason early legal involvement matters regardless of case type.
Florida generally requires a wrongful death lawsuit to be filed within two years of the date of death, under Florida Statute 95.11. That deadline runs separately from any criminal case connected to the death, and it does not pause simply because a criminal investigation is still active.
One narrow exception exists for deaths caused by murder or manslaughter, which are not subject to the two-year limit.
Claims against a government entity, such as a public hospital or a city vehicle, carry a separate notice requirement under Florida Statute 768.28 that can require action within months rather than years. Missing that window can end a claim before anyone evaluates its merits.
Practical urgency almost always outpaces the legal deadline. Witnesses move away and memories fade. Physical evidence at a crash or fall site gets altered through ordinary maintenance or repair long before two years have passed.
If a government entity may be involved, call (941) 954-4000 now rather than later.
Florida’s comparative negligence rules still apply in a wrongful death case. Under Florida Statute 768.81, if the deceased person is found more than 50 percent responsible for the incident that led to their death, survivors cannot recover compensation at all. Below that threshold, any recovery is reduced by that percentage of fault.
Comparative fault comes up often, particularly in traffic fatalities where the person who died cannot give their own account.
Building an accurate picture of fault through crash reconstruction, witness accounts and available footage becomes one of the most contested parts of the case, precisely because the person who could explain it is not there to do so.
This is one of the clearest examples of why timing matters after a death. Evidence degrades whether or not anyone is looking at it, and a family dealing with grief and immediate logistics has no reason to know that clock is already running.
Adam Shapiro and our team start by sorting out who is legally entitled to file, before anything else moves forward. We coordinate directly with the personal representative and keep survivors informed about where the case stands, without unnecessary legal jargon getting in the way of a clear answer.
If your family is trying to understand what Florida law allows after a loss, that is what an initial call with our office provides. Our Sarasota and Palmetto offices handle these cases the same way regardless of which one you call. Call (941) 954-4000 whenever you are ready.
These are the questions we hear most often from families considering a wrongful death claim in St. Petersburg.
No single survivor can block the personal representative from filing on behalf of the whole family, though disagreements about representation or damage allocation sometimes need to be resolved through the probate court before a claim moves forward smoothly for everyone involved.
The probate court appoints someone, often prioritizing a surviving spouse or adult child who petitions for the role, and an attorney can help identify who is likely to qualify and how to move that appointment forward efficiently without unnecessary delay to the underlying wrongful death claim itself.
Yes. The civil wrongful death claim and any criminal prosecution run on separate tracks with separate standards of proof, and one does not have to conclude before the other begins, though evidence uncovered during a criminal investigation can sometimes strengthen the civil claim as well once it becomes available to the family’s attorney.
No. An initial conversation costs nothing and there is no obligation to move forward afterward. We work on contingency, which means our fee comes out of any recovery rather than out of your pocket, and there is no attorney fee if we do not recover compensation.
Venue, meaning which court hears the wrongful death case, generally depends on where the incident occurred or where the responsible party lives rather than where the family lives. Our office can often still handle the claim depending on where everything took place.
Damages are allocated according to the categories each survivor legally qualifies for under the statute, and disputes over allocation are typically resolved through agreement or, when necessary, court approval before any funds are actually distributed. A written allocation agreement early in the process tends to prevent disagreements from resurfacing after the money has already arrived.
You do not need to have every detail sorted out before reaching out. Contact Shapiro Delgado, and let our team explain plainly what Florida law allows and what the next step actually looks like, whether the case involves a crash, a medical error or something else entirely. Call (941) 954-4000 or reach out online, and we will walk through the situation together at whatever pace makes sense for your family.
