Wrongful Death Beneficiaries in Maryland

When someone is killed in Maryland because of negligence, whether it is a car accident, truck accident, medical malpractice, or a defective product, the law gives certain family members the right to bring a wrongful death claim. This claim exists to compensate the survivors for what they have lost because of the death. It is not about punishing the wrongdoer in a criminal sense.  This is about how civil wrongful death lawsuit beneficiaries are able to bring about accountability. The focus is on the harm suffered by the family, including emotional loss, loss of companionship, and financial support the victim would have provided.

Maryland wrongful death law is entirely statutory. That means the right to sue, and who can sue, is defined by the legislature. Courts strictly follow the categories set out in the statute. If you do not fall within one of those categories, you cannot recover under the wrongful death claim, no matter how close you were to the victim.

Primary Beneficaries

The primary beneficiaries to a wrongful death action are the spouse, parent, or child of a victim. If a primary beneficiary is alive, then a secondary beneficiary will not recover any damages.

Secondary Beneficiaries

If there are no living primary beneficiaries to file suit, then a secondary beneficiary may file suit. But secondary beneficiaries only come into play if there are no living primary beneficiaries. To qualify as a secondary beneficiary, a person must be related by blood or marriage and must have been substantially dependent on the victim.

That dependency requirement is not a minor detail. It is often the central issue. A sibling, aunt, uncle, or other relative must prove meaningful financial reliance on the deceased. Simply having a close emotional relationship is not enough under the statute.

If there is even one living primary beneficiary, secondary beneficiaries cannot recover wrongful death damages.

So secondary wrongful death beneficiaries may recover only if there are no primary beneficiaries, if they are related by blood or marriage to the victim, and were ” substantially dependent” upon the victim.

There is nothing in the Maryland wrongful death statute that provides for any recovery for non-dependent siblings, cousins, nieces or nephews or other relatives. But keep in mind we are only talking about the wrongful death claims here. Negligent death cases also involve a survival action component so often family members who do not recover under the wrongful death claim can recover under the survival action if they were blood relatives or named in the victim’s will.

Unfortunately, if there is no primary or secondary beneficiary, there is no wrongful death claim. It is somewhat rare but we do see some cases where there is not a wrongful death claim because there are no relatives that fall under the categories of potential claimants under the wrongful death statute. But, again, they often have a survival action claim.

How can siblings recover?   In Maryland, a negligent death case usually includes a survival action in addition to the wrongful death claim. The survival action is brought by the estate of the deceased person.

The survival claim seeks damages the victim could have recovered if they had lived. This can include conscious pain and suffering before death, medical expenses, and other losses tied directly to the injury itself. Those proceeds become part of the estate and are distributed according to the will or, if there is no will, under Maryland intestacy law.

So in some cases, family members who cannot recover under the wrongful death statute may still benefit through the survival action if they are heirs or named beneficiaries.

When There Is No Wrongful Death Claim

If there are no primary beneficiaries and no qualifying secondary beneficiaries, there is no wrongful death claim under Maryland law. It is rare, but it happens. In those cases, the survival action may still proceed, but the separate wrongful death claim does not exist.

These distinctions matter. Wrongful death damages compensate the family for their loss. Survival damages compensate the estate for what the victim endured before death. They are different claims, with different purposes and different distributions.

Why Legal Guidance Matters in Wrongful Death Cases

Wrongful death and survival actions are technical and fact-driven. Who qualifies as a beneficiary, whether dependency can be proven, how damages are calculated, and how funds are distributed are all issues that must be handled correctly from the start.

At Miller and Zois, we have a long history of representing families in wrongful death cases involving auto accidents, trucking collisions, medical malpractice, and defective products throughout the Baltimore Washington area. If you believe a family member was killed because of someone else’s negligence, you need experienced and compassionate legal help.

Getting a Wrongful Death Lawyer to Set Things Right

The attorneys at Miller & Zois have a long history of getting an amount of money for victims that acknowledges the value of the loss of a person that was very special to you.

.If you live in the Baltimore Washington area and you have a family member that you believe was killed by the negligence of another driver on the road, by medical malpractice, or as the result of the use of a defective product, you need compassionate legal help. Get a free on line consultation with a lawyer or call us at 800-553-8082.

More on Wrongful Death Claims

• Six Things You Need to Know About Maryland Fatal Accident Claims
• Maryland Cap Pain and Suffering Damages
• Average Values and Sample Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Verdicts and Settlements (and in nursing home cases)
• Maryland Wrongful Death Statute
• More on Wrongful Death in Maryland (more Maryland wrongful death lawsuit information)