Time Waits for No One: The Death of a Litigant

When someone involved in a lawsuit dies, their lawyer and the other side’s lawyer have to deal with a lot of issues. If they don’t handle the situation quickly, they could end up in trouble. If someone involved in a lawsuit dies, the court needs to be informed, and the party’s representative or the other side’s lawyer should let everyone know. Within 90 days, the party who died needs to be replaced with the right person in the lawsuit. If this doesn’t happen, the case may be dismissed. If there are reasons why the substitution couldn’t be made in time, the court might give more time. But if the claim could only be made by the person who died, the case can’t continue. If the person who died was really important to the case, the case can’t go forward without someone to take their place. If someone dies because of someone else’s wrongdoing, their personal representative (like a family member or lawyer) can sue for damages. If the wrongdoer dies, their personal representative can be sued instead. If the personal representative has a conflict of interest, a neutral administrator may be appointed to represent the estate and survivors. In Florida, actions for personal injuries that result in death can be merged into one lawsuit for wrongful death. If someone causes the death of another person, their family can sue for compensation. If the person who died was suing someone for their injuries before they died, the case can still go forward. If the person died because of something else, the case for their injuries can continue. In some cases, the family can ask for compensation for both the person’s injuries and their death. If the person dies while they are still suing, the family can still sue for their injuries and their death. If someone dies before their lawsuit for personal injury ends, the lawsuit stops. Their family can start a new lawsuit for wrongful death within two years. If the person died because of medical malpractice, the two years start from when the malpractice was discovered, not when the person died. The rules for when a spouse can claim for losing their partner are not clear and different courts have different opinions. When the husband died, the person being sued filed a suggestion of death. More than 90 days passed before the person in charge of the husband’s affairs filed a request to substitute a wrongful death claim and filed a separate wrongful death claim. The trial court dismissed the personal injury claim because the request to substitute the death claim had not been filed within 90 days, and dismissed the separate wrongful death claim for splitting the causes of action. The appellate court agreed that the request to substitute was filed too late, but said it was because of the wrong reason. The court also said that the separate wrongful death claim was allowed and did not count as splitting the causes of action.

Another case disagreed with the court’s ruling on whether the wife’s claim for companionship could continue after her husband’s death. This case said that the loss of consortium claim is separate and distinct, but it didn’t say that it could exist without the main claim. This case said that if the main claim was not successful, the consortium claim could not be pursued. This case came about in a strange situation, where the main person in a case died during the trial and the spouse decided to continue with her claim for companionship. It seems that because the person in charge of the husband’s affairs could still pursue the wrongful death claim, the wife did ask the Florida Supreme Court to review the case. There are rules about when a person can sue for wrongful death after someone dies. In one case, a dad filed a lawsuit within two years of his child’s death, and later was allowed to change it to a wrongful death lawsuit when he became the official representative of the child’s estate. In another case, a stepmother tried to sue for wrongful death, but the court said she couldn’t because she wasn’t the official representative of the estate. The court said that the stepmother could still be the representative for the lawsuit even though the original plaintiff had died. It’s important to have good legal help to make sure everything is done correctly when someone dies during a lawsuit. There are rules about how to substitute someone else in for the person who died, and it’s best to include all claims in the original lawsuit. If someone dies during a lawsuit, the court can order someone else to take their place as long as it’s done within 90 days. If someone dies in a lawsuit, there is a rule that says the other party has 90 days to ask for a substitution of the person who died. Courts have said that this rule should be followed, but they might make exceptions if the person didn’t know about the death or had a good reason for being late. Wrongful death in Florida is governed by specific laws. When someone dies due to the negligence of another, their family can file a lawsuit for damages. The statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida is two years from the date of death. Damages for wrongful death caused by medical malpractice are limited by law. It’s important to understand these laws if you’re considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida. The Fourth District Court of Appeals said that tolling for fraudulent concealment applies to the wrongful death statute of limitations. Infinity Insurance Company v. Berges said settlement offers aren’t valid if the person making the offer isn’t appointed as a personal representative or guardian. Other related cases include Retzel and Cunningham. Peters v. Mitchel allowed a claim on behalf of a minor child related to the death of their father, but other cases have had different outcomes. Tom Elligett and Amy Farrior are lawyers who specialize in appeals and are members of Schropp, Buell & Elligett, P.A. in Tampa. They wrote this article on behalf of the Trial Lawyers Section.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/time-waits-for-no-one-the-death-of-a-litigant/