Death claim: who can ask for help?

Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Statute: Pennsylvania's Wrongful Death Act (42 Pa. C.S. § 8301) authorizes claims brought by the personal representative for the benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents. If none survive, the action is brought for the estate's benefit. Pennsylvania also recognizes survival actions under 42 Pa. C.S. § 8302, allowing the estate to pursue claims the decedent could have brought had they lived, including pre-death pain and suffering and economic losses accrued between injury and death.

Statute of Limitations: Pennsylvania imposes a two-year statute of limitations from the date of death for both wrongful death and survival claims under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524. Both deadlines run concurrently from the date of death. The discovery rule may toll the survival claim in limited circumstances involving latent conditions. Both actions must be filed together in the Court of Common Pleas.

Recoverable Damages: Pennsylvania wrongful death damages include: medical, hospital, nursing, and funeral expenses; loss of the decedent's expected earnings; loss of services, society, comfort, and companionship; and loss of guidance, counsel, and advice to beneficiaries. The companion survival action covers pre-death pain and suffering, lost future earnings, and economic losses from injury to death. Pennsylvania does not permit punitive damages under the Wrongful Death Act itself but may allow them in the survival action where the defendant's conduct warrants it.

Venue and Procedural Notes: Pennsylvania requires wrongful death and survival claims to be joined in a single action under Pa. R. Civ. P. 2202—filing either alone without the other risks waiver. Pennsylvania applies a modified comparative fault rule with a 51% bar. Philadelphia and Allegheny County Courts of Common Pleas have active mass tort programs for wrongful death cases arising from product liability, pharmaceuticals, and asbestos claims.