Virginia Wrongful Death Lawyers
A Virginia wrongful death claim does not belong to the family in the usual sense. It must be brought by the estate’s personal representative, while state law determines who can receive the recovery. A Virginia wrongful death attorney can identify the proper parties, preserve evidence and build the claim before important deadlines pass.
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Gray Broughton is a veteran-led Virginia trial firm. In a wrongful death case, that means identifying every responsible party, building the evidence the law requires and preparing for trial if the defense will not resolve the case fairly. Some evidence and deadlines can’t wait. When your family is ready, tell us what happened.
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Virginia
Virginia requires a wrongful death claim to be filed by the deceased person’s personal representative, not by individual family members.
The death must result from a wrongful act, negligence or other conduct that would have allowed the person to bring a claim if they had survived. That can include a fatal car crash, a dangerous property condition or care facility neglect.
The representative does not bring the case for personal benefit. Virginia law decides which family members can receive compensation.
In practice, the representative is usually the executor named in a will or an administrator appointed by the circuit court when there is no will. A civil wrongful death case can also proceed even if the death may involve criminal conduct.
Who the law says receives the recovery
The personal representative brings the claim, but Virginia law decides who receives the money.
The first class
The surviving spouse, the decedent’s children and the children of any deceased child. That means a grandchild whose parent died before the decedent, not grandchildren generally. A parent may also share if someone in this class survives and the parent regularly received support or necessary services from the decedent during the 12 months before death.
The second class
If no one in the first class survives, the award goes to the decedent’s parents and siblings, plus any relative who both depended primarily on the decedent for support or services and lived in the same household.
Spouse and parents together
If the decedent left a spouse and parents but no child or grandchild, the award goes to the surviving spouse and those parents.
No qualifying beneficiary
If no one qualifies under any class, the recovery passes under Virginia’s law of intestate succession.
A dependent household relative may also share with the first class or the spouse-and-parents group, so those categories are not always exclusive.
A parent whose parental rights were terminated cannot recover. “Relative” includes a stepchild. A beneficiary may give up a share, which then passes to others in the same class or, if none exist, to the next class. For adoptions finalized on or after July 1, 2024, a child adopted after the decedent’s death can qualify as the decedent’s child if the decedent’s parental rights were not terminated before death.
The beneficiary class and its members are generally fixed at the verdict, or at judgment if the court specifies distribution.
What Virginia law lets a family recover
The jury, or a judge sitting without one, may award what seems fair and just, and § 8.01-52 requires the verdict to include these categories.
Sorrow, mental anguish and solace
Includes society, companionship, comfort, guidance and advice.
Lost income and services
Reasonably expected loss of the decedent’s income, and of the services, protection, care and assistance the decedent provided.
Medical and funeral expenses
Expenses for care, treatment and hospitalization tied to the injury that caused death, plus reasonable funeral expenses.
Punitive damages
Recoverable for willful or wanton conduct, or recklessness showing a conscious disregard for the safety of others.
The medical, funeral and punitive amounts have to be stated specifically rather than folded into a lump sum, and the medical and funeral amounts are apportioned among the creditors who provided the services, so a hospital bill isn’t the family’s money.
Competent expert testimony is admissible to prove the income-and-services category, the statutory hook for an economist. Punitive damages are capped at $350,000 across all defendants combined, and the jury isn’t told about the cap. § 8.01-38.1.
How a recovery is distributed
01
Costs and attorney's fees
The personal representative first pays costs and reasonable attorney’s fees in the order Virginia law requires.
02
Hospital, medical and funeral expenses
Next come the amounts specifically awarded for hospital, medical and funeral expenses.
03
The remainder to the beneficiaries
What remains goes to the statutory beneficiaries, free from the decedent’s debts. If there are no qualifying beneficiaries, the money becomes part of the estate.
The judgment states each beneficiary’s share. Either side may ask the jury to divide the recovery. If the jury does not, the court decides and may hear additional evidence.
A wrongful death settlement also requires court approval, even if no lawsuit has been filed. The court must also bring in or notify the interested parties.
Wrongful death claims and survival actions
If the death resulted from that same injury, the pleadings are amended so the case proceeds as a wrongful death action, and there is only one recovery for the same injury. § 8.01-56. A filed suit also doesn’t abate because a defendant dies, dissolves or otherwise ceases to exist.
| Wrongful death claim | Survival action |
|---|---|
| Compensates the statutory beneficiaries for their own losses. | Carries forward the claim the injured person already had. |
| Brought by the personal representative when the death resulted from the injury. | Revived in the name of the personal representative when a plaintiff dies while a suit is pending. |
If the injured person compromised the claim and accepted payment for it before dying, the personal representative can’t bring a wrongful death action on that same injury. § 8.01-51.
The filing deadline
A wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed by the personal representative within two years of the person’s death.
If a timely case ends without a decision on the merits, the time it was pending generally does not count against that deadline, and a new action may be filed during the time that remains. A voluntary nonsuit follows a different refiling rule and is not treated the same way.
The two-year clock does not stop while a family decides who should serve as personal representative, which is one reason to address that issue early.
A wrongful death claim against a health care provider also generally requires a supporting expert opinion by the time the defendant is served, unless the alleged negligence is something a jury can understand without expert testimony. Virginia changed its deadline rules in 2025, so the current deadline and any exceptions should be confirmed with counsel.
Contributory negligence and the beneficiaries
If the defense proves the person who died was negligent in a way that proximately caused the collision, that finding can bar the wrongful death claim, because Virginia does not compare the parties’ fault (Va. Model Jury Instructions 6.000 and 6.050, official reference, not binding law).
One rule belongs to wrongful death cases alone: a beneficiary’s own negligence can bar that person from sharing in the recovery while the rest of the class still recovers (Va. Model Jury Instruction 9.110). Last clear chance is a narrow exception (Instructions 7.030 and 7.040).
Talk to a wrongful death attorney in Virginia today
A conversation can help you understand what Virginia law makes of what happened. Someone listens, asks whether a personal representative has been appointed, and explains whether the firm may be able to help. That conversation doesn’t commit you to filing anything, and contacting Gray Broughton doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship. Call 804-669-9899.
Recent Case Results
The results below come from other cases the firm has handled. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not predict what another claim will do.
$10,000,000
Gray Broughton represented a seven-year-old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury and lost his right leg above the knee after his family’s car was rear-ended by a pick-up truck hauling a utility trailer. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $10,000,000 shortly after filing suit. The client’s net proceeds were structured to ensure that he can be compensated for life. He is a tremendous young man who has overcome daunting odds. We wish him all the best for his future.
$1,250,000
Gray Broughton represented an attorney who suffered a traumatic brain injury after his car was struck by a commercial vehicle. After missing a year of work and undergoing intensive therapy, he was able to make a full recovery and return to work. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $1,250,000 shortly before depositions.
$750,000.
Gray Broughton represented an 83-year-old woman who slipped and fell on a restaurant floor. The fall broke her right shoulder in three places; it also broke her right hip. Through his investigation, Gray Broughton was able to prove that the restaurant had not been mopping its floors properly and knew that its floors were abnormally slick. Gray Broughton settled her case two months before trial for $750,000.
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Important: This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes vary based on the specific facts of each case.
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Frequently asked questions
Only the personal representative of the estate can file the lawsuit, not individual family members. The representative brings the case on behalf of the statutory beneficiaries, not for personal benefit.
Yes, potentially. If there is no surviving spouse, child or child of a deceased child, Virginia law allows the decedent’s parents and siblings to recover. Another relative may also qualify, but only if that person both lived in the same household and depended primarily on the decedent for support or services.
The judgment states each beneficiary’s amount or share, and either side can ask the jury to decide how the recovery is divided. The personal representative first pays costs, attorney’s fees and any allocated medical or funeral expenses. The remaining money goes to the beneficiaries and generally is not subject to the decedent’s debts.
A wrongful death compromise requires court approval whether or not a lawsuit has been filed. The court convenes the parties in interest, or has them given notice, before approving the terms. That protects beneficiaries when several people share the recovery.
A wrongful death claim compensates the statutory beneficiaries for their own losses. A survival action carries forward a personal injury claim the decedent had already filed. If the death resulted from that same injury, the case proceeds as a wrongful death action and there is only one recovery.
A wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. If a timely earlier case ended without a decision on the merits, that time may not count against the deadline. The clock does not stop while a personal representative is being appointed, and Virginia changed these rules in 2025, so the deadline should be confirmed with counsel.