Wrongful Death

RCW 4.20.020 dictates that only people with a very particular relationship to the deceased may bring an action for wrongful death claims. There are two tiers of beneficiaries:

"First-tier" beneficiaries may always bring a claim.

"Second-tier" beneficiaries may only bring a wrongful death claim if:

1. There are no first-tier beneficiaries;
2. They are dependent on the deceased for support; and
3. They are US residents at the time of the deceased’s death.

If you are not a first-tier or second-tier beneficiary, then you cannot be a statutory beneficiary for purposes of a wrongful death claim. Accordingly, you therefore cannot recover damages for a wrongful death.

There are currently 4 categories of first-tier beneficiaries in Washington:

1. Spouses;
2. Registered Domestic Partners;*
3. Children; or
4. Step-children.

These persons may bring a wrongful death action for damages on behalf of the deceased.

*Same-sex marriage:  On June 7, 2012, the bill legalizing same sex marriage came into effect. Accordingly, state-registered domestic partners will automatically become spouses, unless they choose to opt out.

There are currently two categories of second-tier beneficiaries in Washington:

1. Parents of the decedent, or
2. Siblings of the decedent.

Special rules apply where the deceased is a child. These rules become more complex when the child was not a minor at the time of death, meaning they were an "adult child".

Though the loss of a 17-year old child can be just as devastating as the loss of an 18-year-old child to a parent, the law limits the parents’ claims if the child is 18 years or older. 

Under what circumstances can a parent bring a wrongful death action on behalf of their deceased adult child? 

A parent of an adult child who has died may only have standing to pursue a wrongful death action if:

1. There are no first-tier beneficiaries;
2. They are dependent on the child for support; and
3. They were US residents at the time of death.*

What happens if the parents of a deceased adult child cannot establish dependency?

Unfortunately, a parent who has lost a child who is 18 years or older due to the negligence of another party but who is not dependent on their child for economic support is prevented from recovering general damages for the loss of an adult child.

The only claim the parents have in this case is what is known as an "Estate claim". An Estate claim is for the "net economic loss" to the estate of the decedent. Net economic losses that can be made in an Estate claim must fall into one of the following categories:

1. Out-of-pocket expenses for the funeral service;
2. Medical bills incurred prior to death caused by negligent act; and
3. “Net accumulations” to the estate. “Net accumulations” refers to the recovery of the net value to the estate, which is calculated by taking the projected gross earnings of the adult child over their lifetime and offsetting this total against the total estimated cost of consumption of the adult child over their lifetime.

* The same above analysis applies to a sibling of the decedent, if the sibling was dependent on the deceased sibling.

GLP Personal Injury Attorneys has resolved a medical negligence and wrongful death claim against Sono Bello and Dr. Marco Sobrino for the death of a 28-year-old woman, Aura Javellana, for well over $1.8 million. Ms. Javellana died May 27, 2009 as a result of acute lidocaine toxicity from a tumescent liposuction surgery performed the day before. GLP Attorneys proved that Ms. Javellana’s sister and mother were both dependent upon her for support.

With the continued rise in popularity of plastic surgery, the number of office-based surgical procedures and the number of facilities doing these procedures has increased dramatically. A cosmetic surgery facility that does not use general anesthesia falls under the category of “office-based surgery centers”. Most states, including Washington, are woefully lacking in regulations to monitor the safety of these facilities. These facilities are simply not subject to the same state and federal licensing rules as hospitals and other health care facilities. There is no licensing requirement, no inspections, and these facilities are not even required to report deaths. While states are scrambling to get these regulations in place, the public remains largely unprotected and unaware of the potential dangers within these facilities.