Wrongful death cases are among the highest-value claims in PI law, and also the most complex to intake correctly. Here is what every intake team needs to know.
When a caller contacts your firm about a wrongful death, the stakes are higher than almost any other intake call you will take. The decedent cannot speak for themselves. The family is grieving. And the legal and procedural requirements are more exacting than a standard personal injury case.
A wrongful death intake done wrong does not just lose the case. It can lose the case for the right client, expose the firm to bar complaints for taking the wrong claimant, or miss a statute of limitations that cannot be tolled. This guide covers what every intake agent and intake manager needs to know to handle these calls correctly.
Standard PI intake focuses on the injured person: what happened, what are their injuries, how are they being treated. Wrongful death intake pivots immediately to a different set of concerns.
Before any other screening, your intake agent needs to establish whether the person calling has legal standing to bring a wrongful death claim. Most states limit standing to a defined list of beneficiaries.
| Beneficiary Type | Standing in Most States | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse | Yes | Nearly universal standing |
| Minor children | Yes | Always have standing |
| Adult children | Yes in most states | May require proof of financial dependence in some states |
| Parents | Yes (if no spouse or children) | Priority order matters in many states |
| Siblings | Limited | Typically only if no spouse, children, or parents survive |
| Domestic partner | State-specific | Recognized in some states, not others |
| Grandchildren | Rarely | Usually only if children predecease the victim |
| Estate only | Survival action possible | Estate representative files; separate from wrongful death claim |
Spouse, child, parent, sibling. This establishes standing before anything else. If the caller is not in the primary beneficiary class, ask if there are other surviving beneficiaries who should be involved in the decision.
The date of death starts the SOL clock in most states. The location determines which state's wrongful death statute applies, which matters for damages caps and standing rules.
Wrongful death requires negligence or an intentional act by a third party. Confirm that a defendant exists. If the death resulted from natural causes or an accident with no responsible party, no claim exists.
These documents are foundational. If police responded, what did the report say? If an incident report exists from a workplace, hospital, or property, was it preserved? Identify available documentation early.
If the decedent survived and experienced conscious pain and suffering before death, a survival action for that pre-death period may be available in addition to the wrongful death claim. This can significantly increase total damages.
Economic damages in wrongful death are based on the financial support the decedent would have provided. A 35-year-old earning $120,000 annually has very different economic damages than a retired 75-year-old. This shapes case value immediately.
Get a complete picture: surviving spouse, all children (minor and adult), parents if applicable. Multiple beneficiaries can affect damages allocation and must all be considered before signing any one claimant.
In many states, only the personal representative of the estate can bring a wrongful death claim, even if surviving family members are the actual beneficiaries. If no estate has been opened, preliminary probate steps may be required before filing.
Multiple family members talking to different attorneys is common in wrongful death cases, especially with disputes about who controls the claim. Identify this early so you know whether you are competing for the representation.
Confirm all potential sources of recovery. Workers' comp exclusivity rules may bar a wrongful death claim if the death was work-related. Life insurance policies are separate from the tort claim but affect family finances during litigation.
Your intake agents do not need to calculate damages, but they need to understand what drives case value in wrongful death so they can ask the right follow-up questions and identify the highest-value cases for priority attorney review.
| Damages Category | What It Includes | Key Intake Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Economic support | Lost wages, benefits, household services the decedent provided | Age, income, occupation, years to retirement |
| Loss of companionship | Lost guidance, love, comfort to spouse and children | Minor children? Dependent spouse? Quality of relationship? |
| Medical expenses | Treatment costs before death if decedent survived incident | Hospital stay? ICU? Length of survival after incident? |
| Funeral and burial | Actual costs of funeral, burial, cremation | Was a funeral held? Costs already incurred? |
| Pre-death pain and suffering | Conscious suffering before death (survival action) | Was decedent conscious? Did they express pain? |
| Punitive damages | Egregious conduct by defendant | Was defendant drunk? Reckless? Did they flee the scene? |
Not all wrongful death cases carry the same value. Intake agents should flag these scenarios for immediate senior attorney review:
Every wrongful death intake should flag the SOL status before the call ends. Grief causes families to delay. They often call months or even years after the death, sometimes not understanding that a legal claim has an expiration date.
| State | Wrongful Death SOL | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| California | 2 years from death | 1 year for claims against government entities |
| Texas | 2 years from death | Survival action has the same 2-year period |
| Florida | 2 years from death | Reduced from 4 years effective 2023 |
| New York | 2 years from death | Survival action has 3-year period from discovery |
| Illinois | 2 years from death | 5 years if death resulted from a felonious act |
| Georgia | 2 years from death | Survival action: 2 years from date of injury |
| Ohio | 2 years from death | Government entity: special notice requirements apply |
Firms that handle wrongful death cases regularly benefit from a dedicated protocol, separate from general PI intake. Here is what that protocol should include:
Wrongful death callers are grieving. Intake agents handling these calls need training in trauma-informed communication: slower pace, more acknowledgment, tolerance for digression, and the ability to gently redirect without feeling transactional. The worst intake experience for a wrongful death family is feeling interrogated at the worst moment of their lives.
Any wrongful death inquiry should be escalated to a supervising attorney within 24 hours, even if the initial intake is incomplete. The SOL risk alone justifies this. Do not let wrongful death inquiries sit in a general queue.
As soon as a wrongful death case is screened as potentially viable, a preservation letter should go out to all potential defendants. In commercial vehicle cases, trucking companies are required to maintain black box data and driver logs for limited periods. This evidence disappears fast.
If multiple family members contact the firm separately, run a conflict check immediately. Representing one family member when another has a competing or adverse interest is a conflict that can disqualify the entire representation.
HQ Intake handles wrongful death calls with trained agents who understand standing, SOL urgency, and the emotional complexity of these cases. We get you the information you need and deliver a complete intake packet to your attorney team.
Talk to HQ IntakeGenerally no. A single wrongful death action is brought on behalf of all beneficiaries. Who has the right to file, and who receives damages, depends on state law and the priority order of surviving beneficiaries. Disputes between family members about who controls the claim are common and should be identified at intake.
A wrongful death claim is brought on behalf of the surviving family members for their own losses: lost support, companionship, guidance. A survival action is brought on behalf of the decedent's estate for losses the decedent suffered before death: medical bills, pre-death pain and suffering. Both claims may exist in the same case and are governed by different statutes.
Workers' compensation typically provides the exclusive remedy for workplace deaths, meaning a wrongful death suit against the employer is barred. However, if a third party such as an equipment manufacturer, property owner, or independent contractor contributed to the death, a wrongful death claim against that third party may still be available.
Most wrongful death cases resolve in 2 to 4 years. Cases with disputed liability, complex medical causation, or large corporate defendants often take longer. Insurance policy limits, defendant financial resources, and the strength of the liability evidence all affect timeline.