Opinion ID: 1854908
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: New Consolidated Statutory Action for a Death by Wrongful Act

Text: The new statutes, styled the Florida Wrongful Death Act, [14] are a product of the Florida Law Revision Commission [15] and were intended to merge the survival action for personal injuries and the wrongful death action into one lawsuit. Section 768.19 [16] of the new Act provides for a cause of action in wording similar to that of now repealed Section 768.01. Section 768.20, which is substantially different from the predecessor statute, establishes who may bring the action and the manner in which it is brought. This provision is set forth and analyzed in a subsequent part of this opinion. Finally, Section 768.21, here set forth in full, specifies the items of damage recoverable under the new Act: 768.21 Damages.  All potential beneficiaries of a recovery for wrongful death, including the decedent's estate, shall be identified in the complaint, and their relationships to the decedent shall be alleged. Damages may be awarded as follows: (1) Each survivor may recover the value of lost support and services from the date of the decedent's injury to his death, with interest, and future loss of support and services from the date of death and reduced to present value. In evaluating loss of support and services, the survivor's relationship to the decedent, the amount of the decedent's probable net income available for distribution to the particular survivor, and the replacement value of the decedent's services to the survivor may be considered. In computing the duration of future losses, the joint life expectancies of the survivor and the decedent and the period of minority, in the case of healthy minor children, may be considered. (2) The surviving spouse may also recover for loss of the decedent's companionship and protection and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. (3) Minor children of the decedent may also recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. (4) Each parent of a deceased minor child may also recover for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. (5) Medical or funeral expenses due to the decedent's injury or death may be recovered by a survivor who has paid them. (6) The decedent's personal representative may recover for the decedent's estate the following: (a) Loss of earnings of the deceased from the date of injury to the date of death, less lost support of survivors excluding contributions in kind, with interest. If the decedent's survivors include a surviving spouse or lineal descendants, loss of net accumulations beyond death and reduced to present value may also be recovered. (b) Medical or funeral expenses due to the decedent's injury or death that have become a charge against his estate or that were paid by or on behalf of decedent, excluding amounts recoverable under subsection (5). (c) Evidence of remarriage of the decedent's spouse is admissible. (7) All awards for the decedent's estate are subject to the claims of creditors who have complied with the requirements of probate law concerning claims. In summary, the items of damage recoverable under new Section 768.21 allow each specified survivor to recover for (1) loss of past and future support and services; (2) loss of companionship and protection; and (3) his or her own mental pain and suffering from the date of the injury. The personal representative of the estate may recover for medical expenses, funeral expenses, and loss of earnings. In merging the two prior actions, the legislature transferred the items of damage for loss of earnings, medical expenses, and funeral expenses from the survival statute to the new Wrongful Death Act. The claim for pain and suffering of the decedent from the date of injury to the date of death was eliminated. Substituted therefor was a claim for pain and suffering of close relatives, the clear purpose being that any recovery should be for the living and not for the dead. [17] It is the alleged failure of the Act to provide precise notice of this change that has caused the claim of unconstitutionality.