State-by-state wrongful-death statutes, eligible filers, damage caps, and educational planning ranges with public-source citations.
Wrongful-death lawsuits exist by statute in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia. They allow specified beneficiaries (or a personal representative on the estate's behalf) to recover damages from a defendant whose conduct caused the decedent's death. Wrongful-death statutes are creatures of state law, so they vary widely on who may file, what damages are available, what caps apply, and how proceeds are distributed. State survival statutes, which preserve the decedent's own pre-death tort claims for conscious pain and suffering, lost wages, and pre-death medical expenses, often run alongside wrongful-death claims. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) publishes civil caseload data through its Court Statistics Project; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes mortality data through the National Center for Health Statistics; and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes occupational fatality data through the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). Together, those public sources frame the wrongful-death landscape.
| Public benchmark | Published value or rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NCSC Court Statistics Project | Aggregates state trial-court civil caseload data, including tort case categories. | NCSC caseload data |
| CDC NCHS deaths data | Publishes detailed mortality counts by cause, age, sex, race, and state. | CDC NCHS Deaths |
| BLS CFOI | Publishes annual fatal-occupational-injury counts and rates by industry, occupation, and event. | BLS CFOI |
| IRS Publication 4345 | Damages on account of personal physical injury or physical sickness are generally excluded from gross income; interest, punitive damages, and certain components remain taxable. | IRS Pub. 4345 |
The following ranges are educational, used to organize calculator output. They are not government averages. Specific case value depends on state law, beneficiaries, decedent income and life expectancy, defendant insurance, comparative fault, and tax allocation.
| Profile | Educational range | How to interpret |
|---|---|---|
| Lower-earner decedent, modest dependent loss | $250,000-$750,000 | State funeral allowance, modest economic loss, limited noneconomic recovery in cap states. |
| Mid-career decedent with dependents | $750,000-$2,500,000 | Dependents, life expectancy, and earnings dominate. |
| High-earner decedent | $2,500,000-$10,000,000+ | Economic-loss models drive value; future earnings, household services, and benefits. |
| Wrongful death with surviving minor children | State-specific minor protections, typically structured | Many states require court approval and structured settlements for minors. |
| Med-mal wrongful death (cap state) | Often constrained by med-mal noneconomic or total cap | States with caps (e.g., Texas $250k professional, California MICRA) compress noneconomic recovery. |
| Government defendant | State Tort Claims Act caps and notice rules apply | Notice of claim deadlines (often 60-180 days) can shorten the time to file. |
The table below summarizes who can file, the deadline, and the cap (if any). It is a research starting point. Confirm specifics with a licensed attorney before relying on a row.
| State | Deadline | Eligible filer | Cap summary | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 years | Personal representative | Damages are punitive only under Alabama doctrine | Ala. Code § 6-5-410 |
| Alaska | 2 years | Personal representative | No general cap; med-mal NE cap applies | AS § 09.55.580 |
| Arizona | 2 years | Surviving spouse, child, parent, guardian, or estate | State constitution prohibits damage caps in PI/death cases | A.R.S. § 12-612 |
| Arkansas | 3 years | Personal representative or heirs at law | No general cap | Ark. Code § 16-62-102 |
| California | 2 years | Spouse, domestic partner, children, certain dependents (CCP § 377.60) | 2026 MICRA wrongful-death NE cap $650,000 (med-mal only); no general cap | CCP § 377.60 |
| Colorado | 2 years | Spouse first year; spouse or children second year | Statutory cap on noneconomic damages applies; verify current figure | C.R.S. § 13-21-201 |
| Connecticut | 2 years | Executor or administrator | No general cap | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-555 |
| Delaware | 2 years | Spouse, parent, children, siblings | No general cap | 10 Del. C. § 3722 |
| D.C. | 2 years | Personal representative | No general cap | D.C. Code § 16-2701 |
| Florida | 2 years | Personal representative on behalf of survivors | No general cap; med-mal caps invalidated | Fla. Stat. § 768.21 |
| Georgia | 2 years | Spouse; children; parents; estate | No general cap | O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1 |
| Hawaii | 2 years | Spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, children, parents, dependents, or personal rep | NE cap $375,000 in many tort actions | HRS § 663-3 |
| Idaho | 2 years | Heirs or personal representative | Indexed NE cap; economic damages uncapped | Idaho Code § 5-311 |
| Illinois | 2 years | Personal representative for surviving next of kin | No general cap; med-mal caps unconstitutional | 740 ILCS 180/1 |
| Indiana | 2 years | Personal representative | Med Mal Act total cap applies; non-med-mal adult-non-dependent cap applies | Ind. Code § 34-23-1 |
| Iowa | 2 years | Estate administrator | NE caps in med-mal subject to exceptions | Iowa Code § 633.336 |
| Kansas | 2 years | Heirs at law | NE caps invalidated in PI; verify current law | K.S.A. § 60-1903 |
| Kentucky | 1 year | Personal representative | No general cap | KRS § 411.130 |
| Louisiana | 2 years (delictual actions, post Jul 2024) | Spouse, children, parents, siblings (in priority) | Med-mal total cap $500k plus future med | La. Civ. Code art. 2315.2 |
| Maine | 3 years | Personal representative | NE cap on conscious suffering and loss of comfort | 18-C M.R.S. § 2-807 |
| Maryland | 3 years | Spouse, parent, child or other family member dependent on decedent | 2026 NE cap and indexed wrongful-death cap apply | Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-904 |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | Executor or administrator | Statutory minimum recovery; no general cap | M.G.L. ch. 229, § 2 |
| Michigan | 3 years | Personal representative | Indexed NE cap (med-mal); no general cap | MCL § 600.2922 |
| Minnesota | 3 years | Trustee for next of kin | No general cap | Minn. Stat. § 573.02 |
| Mississippi | 3 years | Personal representative or wrongful-death beneficiaries | NE cap $500,000 (med-mal); $1M (general PI) verify | Miss. Code § 11-7-13 |
| Missouri | 3 years | Spouse, children, parents, sibling/grandparent/representative | Indexed NE cap (med-mal) | RSMo § 537.080 |
| Montana | 3 years | Personal representative | NE cap $250,000 (med-mal) | MCA § 27-1-513 |
| Nebraska | 2 years | Personal representative | Total cap (med-mal qualified providers) | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-810 |
| Nevada | 2 years | Heirs or personal representative | NE cap $590,000 (med-mal 2026) | NRS § 41.085 |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | Administrator | No general cap | N.H. Rev. Stat. § 556:12 |
| New Jersey | 2 years | Personal representative for next of kin | No general cap; pecuniary loss only under Death Act | N.J.S.A. § 2A:31-1 |
| New Mexico | 3 years | Personal representative | Med-mal qualified-provider cap | N.M. Stat. § 41-2-1 |
| New York | 2 years | Personal representative | Pecuniary loss only; no general cap | EPTL § 5-4.1 |
| North Carolina | 2 years | Personal representative | Indexed NE cap (med-mal); exceptions | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-18-2 |
| North Dakota | 2 years | Personal representative | No general cap | N.D. Cent. Code § 32-21-01 |
| Ohio | 2 years | Personal representative | NE cap formula (med-mal); catastrophic exceptions | Ohio Rev. Code § 2125.01 |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | Personal representative | Verify current general PI cap; med-mal landscape changing | 12 O.S. § 1053 |
| Oregon | 3 years | Personal representative | Wrongful-death NE caps had constitutional history; verify current | ORS § 30.020 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | Personal representative; spouse/child/parent | No general cap (MCARE for med-mal) | 42 Pa.C.S. § 8301 |
| Rhode Island | 3 years | Executor or administrator | No general cap | R.I. Gen. Laws § 10-7-1 |
| South Carolina | 3 years | Executor or administrator | NE caps with aggregate cap (med-mal) | S.C. Code § 15-51-10 |
| South Dakota | 3 years | Personal representative | No general cap | S.D.C.L. § 21-5-1 |
| Tennessee | 1 year | Spouse, children, next of kin, or personal representative | NE cap $750k; catastrophic $1M | Tenn. Code § 20-5-106 |
| Texas | 2 years | Spouse, children, parents | NE cap $250,000 (med-mal physician); facility caps | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.002 |
| Utah | 2 years | Heirs or personal representative | Med-mal NE cap; verify current | Utah Code § 78B-3-106 |
| Vermont | 2 years | Personal representative | No general cap | 14 V.S.A. § 1492 |
| Virginia | 2 years | Personal representative | Med-mal total cap $2.70M (Jul 2025-Jun 2026) | Va. Code § 8.01-50 |
| Washington | 3 years | Personal representative | No general cap | RCW § 4.20.010 |
| West Virginia | 2 years | Personal representative | Indexed NE cap with severe-injury enhancement | W. Va. Code § 55-7-5 |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | Personal representative or specified survivors | NE cap $750k (med-mal) | Wis. Stat. § 895.04 |
| Wyoming | 2 years | Personal representative | Constitution prohibits damage caps | Wyo. Stat. § 1-38-102 |
Most state wrongful-death statutes allow recovery for medical, funeral, and burial expenses; loss of financial support and services the decedent would have provided; loss of companionship, society, parental guidance, or consortium; and pre-death conscious pain and suffering through a separate survival claim. State statutes differ on what is recoverable in wrongful-death versus survival, on whether pain-and-suffering of beneficiaries is recoverable, and on whether punitive damages can be awarded for the death itself.
If the defendant is a city, county, state, public hospital, school district, transit agency, or federal agency, special rules apply. Most states have a Tort Claims Act with shortened notice-of-claim deadlines, often 60-180 days from death; failure to comply can bar the claim entirely. Federal claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act require an administrative claim filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2675 before any lawsuit. Verify the controlling statute and notice form with a licensed attorney; do not assume the general wrongful-death deadline applies when a government defendant is involved.
IRS Publication 4345 explains that damages on account of personal physical injury or physical sickness are generally excluded from gross income under IRC § 104(a)(2). That exclusion typically extends to wrongful-death damages tied to a decedent's physical injury. Punitive damages and interest on the recovery are generally taxable. Some states allow only punitive damages in wrongful-death actions (notably Alabama), which raises distinct tax issues. A qualified tax professional should review allocation, settlement language, and IRS Form 1099 reporting.
Almost all states require a marital, parental, or estate relationship. A fiance generally cannot file unless the state recognizes domestic-partner or putative-spouse standing. Confirm with a licensed attorney.
State intestacy law identifies heirs, and the probate court appoints an administrator who can file the wrongful-death suit if state law authorizes the personal representative as filer.
State law governs. Some states limit or prohibit punitive damages in wrongful-death; others allow them. Punitive awards are generally taxable.
It depends. Wrongful-death proceeds typically pass to designated beneficiaries outside probate, while survival proceeds typically belong to the estate. State law controls.
Yes. Younger decedents typically have higher economic-loss models due to longer expected work-life and consumption tables.
Causation defenses are common. The "eggshell plaintiff" rule generally still applies, but liability and damages can be contested.
Yes. Many wrongful-death claims resolve via demand and settlement before filing. Court approval is often required where minors or incapacitated beneficiaries are involved.
Yes. Consult a licensed attorney experienced in wrongful-death litigation in the relevant state and a qualified tax professional for allocation.
Cite the underlying state wrongful-death statute and the controlling case law for any specific proposition. Cite NCSC for caseload context, CDC for mortality data, BLS for occupational fatalities, and IRS Publication 4345 for tax treatment. The educational ranges on this page are for calculator context, not predictions of any particular case. Specific case value depends on state law, beneficiaries, decedent profile, defendant insurance, comparative fault, lien amounts, and tax allocation.
Wrongful-death verdict and settlement values span an enormous range because state law treats the death itself as a separate cause of action and because the recoverable damages categories differ from state to state. In some states, the surviving family can recover noneconomic damages such as loss of companionship, society, parental guidance, and consortium; in others, the statute permits only "pecuniary loss," meaning measurable economic loss to the survivors. This pecuniary-only model historically applied in New York and New Jersey for adult survivors, although modern decisions have expanded the range of pecuniary loss recoverable to include lost services and lost guidance. The result is that two functionally identical fact patterns can produce dramatically different settlement outcomes in two different states.
Economic-loss models also drive variation. A young high-earner with dependent children typically presents the largest economic-loss claim, because lost future earnings, household services, employer-provided benefits, and post-retirement pension or Social Security loss all multiply over many remaining work years. A retiree with no dependents typically presents a much smaller economic-loss claim, with most value coming from noneconomic categories where the state allows them. A licensed economist or vocational expert is often retained to compute economic loss in significant cases.
Defendant insurance and collectability change settlement value too. A claim against a well-insured commercial defendant with multiple coverage layers produces different leverage from a claim against an uninsured individual. Where multiple defendants exist (for example, a commercial-truck wrongful death with the driver, motor carrier, and broker), the available coverage stack expands the settlement universe. Where the death involves a hospital or other Tort Claims Act defendant, statutory caps and notice requirements compress recovery.
State caps on noneconomic damages are another major variable. In Texas, for example, a medical-malpractice wrongful-death claim against a physician faces a $250,000 noneconomic cap, while a non-malpractice defendant has no such cap. In Tennessee, the noneconomic cap is $750,000 (or $1,000,000 in catastrophic cases) and applies broadly. In Maryland, the indexed wrongful-death cap is higher than the basic noneconomic cap and rises annually. In Wyoming and Arizona, state constitutions prohibit damage caps in PI and death cases. Identifying the controlling cap framework is essential before evaluating settlement value.
State law determines how recovered wrongful-death proceeds are distributed. In some states, proceeds are paid to the personal representative for distribution among statutorily designated beneficiaries (often spouse and children). In others, proceeds bypass probate and pass directly to listed beneficiaries. Where a survival claim is filed alongside a wrongful-death claim, survival recoveries usually flow into the estate and follow probate distribution rules, which means survival proceeds can pay creditors before reaching heirs. Wrongful-death proceeds typically do not pay general creditors, although Medicare/Medicaid liens and ERISA liens may still attach.
Where minor beneficiaries are involved, court approval of the settlement is usually required, and structured-settlement protections (such as a guardianship account, annuity, or restricted account until the minor reaches the age of majority) are common. Probate courts impose their own procedural requirements; counsel handling a wrongful-death claim must coordinate with probate or surrogate's court to ensure that distribution order is signed before disbursing funds.