Dead Plaintiff

Attorney Michael Molloy was recently talking to an 8th grade classroom when one of the students asked an interesting question: what if someone is hurt, but then passes away from unrelated circumstances? The answer turned out to be simple.

A case is treated the same as any other asset someone leaves when they pass away. It’s transferred to the person’s estate for the benefit of his/her heirs. Just as a house, car, or bank account get transferred to beneficiaries, an accident case gets transferred in the same way.

As with anything in life, there are many complicating factors that must be considered. Most importantly, if your loved one who passed away had an injury claim, it’s important to reach out to his/her lawyer as soon as possible. The lawyer will need to discuss the process of moving the case forward, and decisions will have to be made, as almost nothing can be done until the family sets up an estate.

But, do know that just because a loved one passes away, his/her injury claim will still survive.