Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?

Who in the state of Georgia is entitled to bring a wrongful death lawsuit? We recently spoke to a woman who had a family member who died as the result of someone else’s negligence and she had this same question – who in her family is the proper person to actually bring a wrongful death case? In Georgia, that question is answered pretty specifically by statute. In Georgia, if someone dies as the result of someone else’s negligence, then the proper person to bring that wrongful death case is the surviving spouse. If the person, however, was not married at the time of their death, then the proper party to bring the suit is their children, if they had any. If the person who died was not married and did not have any children at the time of their death, then it would go up the ladder to the person’s parents, and the parents would be the proper party to bring a wrongful death action.

If you’re watching at home and you’re going through any of these circumstances, I’m very sorry. If you have any further questions about bringing a wrongful death action or anything similar to that, we would be happy to sit down and answer your questions.

Have you lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence and want to know, “Who can file a wrongful death claim?”