Wrongful death claims in Minnesota are governed by Minn. Statutes, section 573.02. The basic definition of a wrongful death claim is in 573.02, subdivision 1:
“When death is caused by the wrongful act or omission of any person or corporation, the trustee appointed as provided in subdivision 3 [the trustee represents the surviving spouse and the next of kin] may maintain an action therefor if the decedent might have maintained an action, had the decedent lived, for an injury caused by the wrongful act or omission.”
I will use the facts of a wrongful death case I handled as an example. Attorney Fred Pritzker and I represented the husband, children and parents (next of kin) of a 53-year old bicyclist who was killed when she was run over by a semi trailer turning right at a busy intersection in Minneapolis. They had a wrongful death claim because:
- We proved that the truck driver had negligently (wrongfully) made a turn into the bike lane without adequately looking for bicyclists;
- If the bicyclist had lived, she would have had had a personal injury claim for all of the injuries caused by the accident;
- The family suffered financial and other losses because of the death of their loved one.
The theory behind the wrongful death statute is that a wrongdoer should not be able to avoid paying for the harm just because the injured person did not survive.
Minnesota Wrongful Death Trustee
Although the family members are the ones with the wrongful death claims, they are not the parties that file the lawsuit against the wrongdoer(s). Under Minnesota law (573.02, subd. 3), the family has to ask the court to appoint a “wrongful death trustee” to act on behalf of the family. The wrongful death trustee is usually a family member.
As a wrongful death attorney, I work on behalf of the family through the trustee, as required by law. The law requires a trustee because it would be difficult for both the family and the court for there to be multiple lawyers representing individual family members. If a family member feels like a trustee is not doing a good job, that family member can petition the court to have the trustee replaced. I have never had that happen, primarily because the trustees I have worked with (all family members) have done a good job representing the family.
At the end of the Minnesota wrongful death case, the wrongful death trustee divides the proceeds among the spouse and next of kin. This is done with the oversight of the court.
Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations
A family with a wrongful death claim generally has a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit against a responsible party. This limited amount of time is called the statute of limitations is codified in Minn. Stat. 573.02, subdivision 1:
- 3 years after the date of death provided that the action must be commenced within six years after the act or omission;
- 3 years for death from medical malpractice by a physician, surgeon, dentist, hospital or sanitarium, or an employee of a physician, surgeon, dentist, hospital or sanitarium; and
- Indefinitely (no limitation) for a death caused by an intentional act constituting murder.
Compensation
Compensation for families depends on many factors and can be in the millions. All proven financial losses stemming from the wrongful death are recoverable.
Compensation for wrongful death cases is different than personal injury claims because the family can’t recover compensation for pain and suffering. However, the family can recover for loss of companionship and similar losses. It is important to find a lawyer who has won multimillion-dollar cases for families like yours because it takes a significant amount of skill and experience to obtain full and fair compensation.
Attorney Eric Hageman is currently representing several Minnesota families who lost loved ones because of the negligence of others. You can contact him for a free consultation by calling 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submitting our free consultation form (click here now).
