Wrongful Death Calculator — All
50 States

Standing to sue in a wrongful death case is defined by state statute, not common law. All states allow surviving spouses and children to file. About half of states also allow parents to file when a child dies. Some states extend standing to siblings, domestic partners, or financial dependents. A handful of states (like California) allow the personal representative of the estate to file on behalf of all statutory beneficiaries. In states with narrow standing rules, a parent may be barred from suing for the death of an adult child — check your state's specific statute.

Recoverable damages typically include: economic losses (the deceased's projected future earnings, loss of financial support, value of household services), non-economic losses (loss of consortium, companionship, guidance, love), and in some cases punitive damages if the conduct was egregious. Some states allow recovery for the survivors' grief and mental anguish; others limit recovery to purely economic losses. Funeral and burial expenses are recoverable in virtually all states. The estate may separately pursue a 'survival action' to recover damages the deceased suffered before death (pain and suffering, medical bills).

Several states cap non-economic damages in wrongful death cases, though the amounts and structures vary significantly. States like Maryland ($845,000 in 2024), Massachusetts ($500,000 per spouse/parent/child beneficiary), and Virginia ($2.575 million) impose caps. Some states (like California and Texas) have no cap on compensatory damages in wrongful death cases but cap punitive damages. In medical malpractice wrongful death cases, separate med-mal caps often apply. Caps rarely apply to economic damages like lost earnings.

A wrongful death claim is brought by surviving family members or statutory beneficiaries for their own losses — loss of financial support, companionship, and guidance going forward. A survival action is brought by the deceased's estate for the harms the deceased suffered before death — pre-death pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages between the injury and death. These are separate legal claims. Some states allow both; others have merged them into a single action. Most states with both allow them to be combined in the same lawsuit but require separate damage calculations.

The statute of limitations for wrongful death cases is typically 2 years from the date of death in most states, though it ranges from 1 year (Kentucky, Louisiana) to 3 years (Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio). Some states start the clock from the date of the injury rather than the date of death. Government entities (cities, counties, states) usually require a separate notice of claim within 90–180 days before a lawsuit can be filed. Missing these deadlines can permanently bar recovery, so acting promptly after a wrongful death is critical.