How Do You Divide a Wrongful Death Settlement in Indiana?

Wrongful death cases can be very difficult for families to endure. If and when damages are finally awarded, your attorney can help you figure out how everything will be distributed among surviving family members.

Who files a wrongful death case in Indiana depends on the identity of the deceased person. In cases involving a deceased adult, a personal representative must file the case. Often, this person is named in the deceased person’s will. If the deceased person is a child, their parents or a legal guardian may file the case directly. In cases of adults, damages are often for the benefit of surviving spouses and children, while in cases involving children, it is the parents who receive damages. In cases where more than one party receives damages, the court or jury will determine how much each person receives. Usually, damages are awarded in proportion to each person’s loss. Damages in wrongful death cases may be quite large and include financial losses and non-economic injuries, among others.

For a free, confidential assessment of your claims, contact our Indiana wrongful death lawyers at Wruck Paupore by calling (219) 322-1166.

People Who Can File Wrongful Death Claims in Indiana

Not everyone who loses a loved one may file a wrongful death claim. Who can file a case depends on whether the deceased person is an adult or a child. Typically, wrongful death cases are limited to close family members, although other relatives might be included if no other immediate family members exist.

Wrongful Death of an Adult

According to I.C. § 34-23-1-1, when an adult person is the victim of a wrongful death, a personal representative may file the case on behalf of the deceased person’s estate. The personal representative might be named in the deceased person’s will or other legal documents. In many cases, spouses, parents, or other close family or friends are named as personal representatives. In other cases, the deceased person’s attorney might be named as the personal representative. If no representative is named or the deceased person dies without a will, our Indiana wrongful death lawyers can help you have the courts appoint a personal representative.

Cases must be filed within 2 years of the deceased person’s passing. This might seem like plenty of time to get a legal claim off the ground, but time moves faster than one might think. By the time a funeral is over, and your family has taken time to mourn, months might have gone by. Speak to an attorney as soon as possible.

Wrongful Death of a Child

In tragic cases where the deceased individual is a child, different rules apply. According to I.C. § § 34-23-2-1(b)-(c), a child is defined as an unmarried person younger than 20 or an unmarried person younger than 23 who is enrolled in a postsecondary school (e.g., university, college, trade school). A wrongful death claim for a child may be filed by the parents jointly or by either one of the parents naming the other as a codefendant. In cases of divorce or where the parents are unmarried, the parent with custody of the child may file the case. If there are no parents, a legal guardian may file the case.

How Courts May Divide Damages in Indiana Wrongful Death Cases

When damages are divided, damages for reasonable hospital, funeral, and burial expenses go to the decedent’s estate to pay for such services. In cases of adults, the remainder of any damages may be for the exclusive benefit of the deceased person’s surviving spouse and dependent children or dependent next of kin, if they have them.

In cases where there is no spouse or dependent next of kin, Indiana code § 34-23-1-2(h) requires the court or jury that awards damages to more than one person to specify the amount of damages awarded to each person. Damages are usually apportioned according to each person’s loss.

According to I.C. § 34-23-2-1(i), damages for the wrongful death of a child may be awarded to both parents jointly, the parent with custody of the child if the parents are unmarried or do not share custody, or a custodial grandparent if the child’s parents are deceased or otherwise not entitled to damages.

Parents or grandparents who are shown to have abandoned the child while they were alive are not entitled to recover any damages. This may be a crucial point in cases where absentee parents tried to claim damages.

Damages You Can Claim in an Indiana Wrongful Death Case

Damages in a wrongful death case for a deceased adult person are described under I.C. § 34-23-1-2. Families may claim the value of medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses related to their loved one’s passing. These costs might be quite substantial, especially if your loved one received extensive medical care before succumbing to their injuries.

Next, you can claim the lost earnings of the deceased person. Families are often reliant on the income of the deceased person. Without them, the financial stability of the household might be in jeopardy. These damages might be quite high if your loved one was a high-income earner.

While non-economic damages are available, plaintiffs may not claim damages for grief or punitive damages. However, you may claim damages for the loss of love, companionship, and consortium. The amount of damages available depends upon whether the deceased adult had a spouse or any dependent children. In those cases, these damages are uncapped and can be in whatever reasonable amount a jury determines them to be. In cases where there are no dependents or spouse, but other persons allowed to recover such as adult children, non-economic damages may not exceed $300,000.

In cases involving the death of a child, available damages are explained under I.C. § 34-23-2-1(f). Plaintiffs may recover for the loss of the child’s services, love, and companionship, the payment of hospital, funeral, and burial expenses, reasonable psychiatric care of surviving parents, uninsured debts of the child, including those the parents might be obligated to pay on behalf of the child, and the costs of administration of the child’s estate, including attorney’s fees.

Speak to Our Indiana Wrongful Death Attorneys to Get Your Claims Started Today

For a free, confidential assessment of your claims, contact our Indiana wrongful death lawyers at Wruck Paupore by calling (219) 322-1166.