FM Washington

The courts have also stated that the surviving parent or sibling need not be wholly or completely dependent on the deceased. Partial dependence has been deemed sufficient. But there must be enough evidence to prove “substantial financial dependence.” The financial dependence must also occur at the time of death, as opposed to having occurred in the past or to occur at some point in the future.

In the case of second-tier beneficiaries, the question of what constitutes substantial financial dependence on the deceased is a factual issue. There are no hard and fast rules here, but usually substantial financial dependence may occur when the deceased was paying or contributing to a portion of the parent’s or sibling’s living expenses. However, the courts have stated that certain services provided by the deceased that one would expect to be provided by a family member may not be enough to show substantial financial dependence. This might include contributing to a common household where all family members reside. The courts have also held that “emotional” dependence is not enough, either. Without evidence of substantial financial dependence, the court will almost certainly dismiss the wrongful death action for failing to comply with the specific terms of the statute.

Washington’s wrongful death statute can produce some very unjust results. For example, take the situation in which the person wrongfully killed is an adult who is unmarried and has no children. Even if the deceased had a close and loving relationship with his/her parents and siblings, the family could not recover damages in a wrongful death action unless they were also financially dependent on the deceased. It is safe to assume that the majority of single adults without children do not financially support other family members. So when a wrongful death occurs in this type of situation, no recovery can be made on behalf of the surviving relatives, no matter how egregious the conduct that led to the person’s death. Even so, the death of an unmarried person with no children is no less painful or devastating to a surviving parent or sibling not receiving financial support than it is to a parent or sibling who was being supported by the deceased.

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See Mitchell v. Rice, 183 Wash. 402, 48 P.2d 949 (1935).

One exception to the “financial dependence” requirement is when the decedent is a minor child. In that situation, the surviving parents may bring a wrongful death action for the destruction of the parent-child relationship. However, to recover damages the parent must show that he or she contributed to the financial support of the child. This is discussed in Chapter __.

See Philippides v. Bernard, 151 Wn.2d 376, 88 P.3d 939 (2004).

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Tags: Death, Laws, Overview, Part, States, Washington, Wrongful

The state of Washington has two main statutes that govern wrongful death actions. There is a general wrongful death statute and one that specifically applies to a parent’s cause of action for the death of a child. In addition, there are statutes that address survival actions (e.g., to recover those damages the deceased could have claimed had the deceased survived). To some extent, these laws may overlap, particularly when a cause of action may include facts to support different theories of liability and different elements of damages. This chapter will address Washington’s general wrongful death statutes.

Under Washington’s general wrongful death statutes, an action may be brought on behalf of the deceased’s estate and for the benefit of certain designated surviving relatives, also called “statutory beneficiaries” (because they are designated by the wrongful death statute). If there are no designated statutory beneficiaries, then the deceased person’s estate may pursue a claim in limited circumstances but only certain economic damages are recoverable (e.g., future lost earnings, medical expenses, etc.).

The Washington legislature created what is called a “two-tiered” system of beneficiaries who may recover damages for the wrongful death of a person. This means that there are two levels of certain designated surviving relatives that have legal authority to recover damages caused by the death of a loved one. In the first tier, the wrongful death action is brought for the benefit of the deceaseddeceased’s surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, and/or children or stepchildren. If these survivors do not exist (i.e., the deceased was single and without children), then the claim may be brought on behalf of second-tier beneficiaries. (See below for examples of second-tier beneficiaries.) If both first-first tier and second-tier beneficiaries exist, then the wrongful death action is limited for the benefit of first-tier beneficiaries only.

In the case of a surviving spouse, that spouse must have been legally married to the deceased at the time of death. Historically, this meant that a surviving cohabitant or domestic partner could not recover damages for the wrongful death of a live-in partner. However, the wrongful death statute was recently amended to allow a surviving domestic partner to maintain a cause of action if the domestic partnership was registered with the state of Washington before the date of death.

The second-tier of wrongful death beneficiaries include surviving parents or siblings, but only if they were financially dependent on the deceased for support at the time of death. The Washington courts have determined that a surviving parent or sister/brother may only recover compensation if they were substantially dependent on the deceased for support. This means that unless the single and childless deceased was supporting a parent or sibling at the time of his or her death then no recovery can be made by any surviving relative.

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Tags: Death, Laws, Overview, Part, States, Washington, Wrongful