If you’ve lost a loved one in a Pennsylvania drunk driving accident then you are likely suffering an unimaginable loss. Your thoughts rightfully turn to what happens next – how can you begin to recover from your loved one’s death?
For many families, their recovery includes filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Pennsylvania law generally requires that one lawsuit be filed on behalf of the decedent’s estate. For the first six months after your loved one’s death, the right to file the lawsuit rests with the executor or administrator of your loved one’s estate. If after six months the executor or administrator of the estate has not filed a lawsuit, then the case may be brought by anyone who has a legal claim to damages. (See PA Code Chapter 2200).
Whether you have a legal claim to damages depends on all of the facts of the case including, but not limited to, the decedent’s family relationships, financial support or dependency, and age.
If you know the spouse, significant other, parent, child or sibling of someone who was killed by a Pennsylvania drunk driver, then we encourage you to share this page with that person so that he or she can gain a better understanding of whether a wrongful death case is possible.
