Wrongful Death claims arise out of his passing of a loved one as a result of the negligence of a third party. A Wrongful Death Claim compensates those the decedent has left behind, for their loss of the love, companionship, consortium, and support from the deceased. A Wrongful Death claim does not include medical bills incurred by the decedent before their passing so such bills need not be paid out of a Wrongful Death Claim/Recovery.
Under Arizona Law, there exists a single Wrongful Death (W/D) claim arising from your son’s passing, with the claim shared by/belonging to all potential claimants designated by state statute. Under Arizona Law, those individuals that can share in and/or make a W/D claim are:
a)Surviving Children
b)Surviving Spouse
c)Surviving Parents
All of the applicable individuals named above would share in the W/D claim arising from your son’s passing. Their respective shares need not be equal as a W/D claim is based on the individual claimant’s loss of the love, companionship, consortium, and support from the deceased. Generally, a child’s loss is greatest, followed by a spouse, followed by a parent.
However, a spouse could be separated (but not divorced) and so their share would arguably be significantly less. One or both parents could be estranged, so one’s share might not be equal to the other’s share, etc.
Whether a statutory claimant/beneficiary deserves a share is debatable and can be challenged, as can the amount of their share. However, all statutory claimants/beneficiaries have a claim and share in the claim.
An attorney representing one statutory claimant/beneficiary must protect the interests of all statutory claimants/beneficiaries. This means that an attorney cannot settle the claim of his/her individual client to the exclusion of the other statutory claimants/beneficiaries, unless procuring a waiver of their interest in the W/D claim. To do otherwise amounts to malpractice.