Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit and What Damages Are Available?

Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things to endure, and especially if that loss is because of another person’s carelessness. A wrongful death lawyer can guide your family through the process of bringing a claim here in Baltimore, MD.

What Does a Wrongful Death Claim Do?

When a person dies as a result of someone else’s negligence, Maryland law allows certain surviving family members to seek compensation for the loss of the deceased’s income, fellowship, and care. 

This type of claim differs from a survival action, which is where the estate of the deceased brings a claim for losses the deceased themselves suffered before their passing. A wrongful death claim focuses on the harm the death is causing and has caused to the survivors. 

Who Can Bring a Claim?

The spouse, children, and parents of the person who died are eligible to benefit from a wrongful death action, and these individuals have the first right to bring the action. There are exceptions if a family member is responsible for the death, but otherwise spouses, children, and parents are always the ones who benefit from a wrongful death action. The law treats a child born outside of marriage as the child of the mother and of the father only if paternity was established legally before the death. 

If no spouse, child, or parent survives the deceased, the right to bring a claim passes to secondary beneficiaries. These can be any blood or marriage relatives who depended on the deceased for support. Grandparents, siblings, or other kin might qualify in that situation, but again, they can only bring a claim and benefit from it if there’s no one in the primary group of spouse, children, and parents. 

What Damages Are Available?

First, the family can claim damages for their economic, or monetary, losses. These include the lost income the deceased would have provided had they lived, lost household services, and any medical, funeral, or burial expenses. There are no caps on this: whatever can be shown to have been lost may be recovered. 

But the family can also get non-economic damages. This is compensation for the personal losses like mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of society, companionship, comfort, protection, care, attention, advice, counsel, training, guidance, or education. There are caps on these damages. The cap was set in 1994 at $500,000 and increases by $15,000 every year in October. In Oct of 2025, the cap was $965,000 for a single claimant. If there are two or more claimants, the total for all non-economic damages can’t be more than 150% of that single-claimant amount. 

Talk to a Wrongful Death Lawyer in Baltimore, MD Approaches These Cases

If someone’s negligence has caused the death of someone close to you, call the Law Offices of Elan B. Rafael in Baltimore at 410-826-4763 today or request a consultation online. You’ll always speak directly with Elan Rafael in consultation about the facts of your situation and the options available under Maryland law. 

Tags: personal injury attorney, Personal injury law, Wrongful death
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