If your loved one died because of someone else’s negligence, you can file a wrongful death claim against that person to seek compensation for your suffering, losses, and expenses. But what happens if that person dies before your family can file a claim? Can you sue a dead person? The short answer is yes.
What Is the Legal Definition of Wrongful Death?
Oklahoma law defines a “wrongful death” as one caused by the wrongful act or omission of another party. In other words, a wrongful death arises when a party causes a person’s death through negligence, recklessness, intentional acts, or other legal fault. Wrongful deaths can occur under the same circumstances that give rise to personal injury claims, such as motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, or assault/criminal homicide. Crucially, a wrongful death claim does not require the at-fault party to have committed a crime.
Is It Possible to Sue an Estate?
Can you sue an estate for the pain and suffering of a wrongful death victim if the person who caused the death isn’t alive anymore?
In some cases, the person who caused someone else’s wrongful death passes away before the family of their victim has had a chance to pursue a claim against them. However, Oklahoma allows the personal representative of the wrongful death victim’s estate to pursue a claim against the at-fault personal representative if that person has also died. Suppose the personal representative of the wrongful death victim files a lawsuit against the at-fault person, and that person dies during litigation. In that case, the personal representative can substitute the at-fault person’s estate and personal representative as the defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit.
Statute of Limitations for Suing a Deceased Person
How long do you have to sue an estate for wrongful death?
In Oklahoma, the statute of limitations on wrongful death claims gives the personal representative two years from the date of the victim’s death to file a lawsuit. The deadline is not affected by the at-fault party’s death. Any lawsuit filed after the limitations period expires could be dismissed by the trial court, which may mean the loss of surviving family members’ right to recover compensation for their loss.
Proving Wrongful Death to Sue an Estate
Proving liability for wrongful death may necessitate reviewing a range of evidence, such as:
- Police crash reports or incident reports
- A business’s accident/incident report
- Accident scene photos
- Surveillance camera footage
- Vehicle event data recorder (“black box”) logs
- Medical records
- Eyewitness testimony
- Accident reconstruction, engineering, or medical expert reports and testimony
Furthermore, pursuing a wrongful death claim against an at-fault person’s estate presents unique challenges. If the at-fault person doesn’t have an insurance policy that covers the wrongful death claim, the wrongful death victim’s representative must pursue compensation from the at-fault person’s estate. Depending on how the at-fault person structured their estate plan, the recoverable assets they might have owned could have automatically passed to trusts or other parties upon their death, putting those assets out of reach in a wrongful death claim. These potential complicating factors make it critical to work with an experienced wrongful death attorney as you pursue accountability and justice on behalf of your loved one.
Contact Our Wrongful Death Lawyers for Help
If you’ve lost a loved one due to the wrongful behavior of another person who has since passed away, contact Ryan Bisher Ryan and Simons. Our Oklahoma wrongful death lawyers offer free, no-obligation consultations so that you can discuss your legal options with us at no cost or risk to you.
We are Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons, a legal firm that, for decades, has been fighting for the rights of hardworking Oklahoma residents. Our mission is to hold the powerful accountable.
