When a loved one dies due to someone else’s negligence — whether it’s a fatal car crash, a tragic fall, or a preventable medical error — the emotional devastation is just the beginning. In Florida, the legal system offers little comfort to grieving families thanks to a strict and deeply flawed wrongful death statute. If you’re trying to make sense of your rights after losing someone in a tragedy like a Miami car accident, it’s critical to understand who is legally allowed to file a claim — and who isn’t.
The truth is, many people you’d expect to qualify as survivors under the law do not. This article breaks down Florida’s wrongful death law, exposes who gets left out, and explains why these exclusions are not only unjust — they’re inhumane.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida?
A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit brought when someone dies due to the negligence or misconduct of another person, business, or institution. These claims can arise from a variety of situations, including:
- Motor vehicle collisions
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home neglect
- Defective products
- Criminal acts (such as assault or DUI)
Under Florida law, the person who passed away (the decedent) is not the claimant. The legal right to pursue justice shifts to their estate and a narrow list of surviving family members. These claims seek damages for the financial and emotional impact of the loss — things like lost income, funeral expenses, and mental pain and suffering of the family.
But the eligibility to recover those damages depends entirely on the decedent’s legal relationships, not the emotional ones — and this is where Florida law becomes especially harsh.
Who Does Qualify as a Survivor in Florida?
According to Florida Statute §768.21, only a limited group of individuals qualify as survivors who can recover damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. These survivors include:
1. Spouse
A surviving husband or wife can recover for:
- Loss of companionship and protection
- Mental pain and suffering
- Medical or funeral expenses they had to pay
Even if the marriage was short or strained, the law recognizes the legal spouse as a survivor with full standing to bring a claim. Unmarried partners, no matter how long the relationship, are completely excluded — more on that below.
2. Children Under 25
Florida law allows minor children (defined as under age 25 in wrongful death cases) to recover for:
- Lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance
- Mental pain and suffering
- Their share of the financial losses (if any)
The law assumes that children 25 and older are somehow less emotionally affected — a distinction that makes little sense in the real world.
3. Parents of a Deceased Minor
If a minor child dies, their parents are entitled to:
- Mental pain and suffering damages
- Reimbursement for medical and funeral expenses
This applies regardless of whether the death resulted from a car accident, medical negligence, or another type of incident.
4. The Decedent’s Estate
The personal representative of the decedent’s estate must file the wrongful death claim on behalf of any lawful survivors. The estate may recover:
- Lost earnings from the date of injury until death
- Medical and funeral expenses paid by the estate
- Loss of “net accumulations” — the income the decedent would have saved if they had lived
The estate’s role is crucial because it also helps distribute funds to surviving family members — but only to those who legally qualify under the statute.
Who Doesn’t Qualify — And Why It’s Morally Wrong
Here’s where the injustice becomes clear. Florida excludes many grieving family members from filing wrongful death claims, including those who are often the closest and most affected by the death. Let’s break down some of the most egregious exclusions.
1. Adult Children of Deceased Parents (in Medical Malpractice Cases)
In Florida, if your parent dies due to medical negligence and you’re over 25 years old — you have no right to sue for emotional loss.
Let that sink in. Even if you were financially and emotionally dependent on your parent, even if the doctor made a catastrophic mistake, you are barred from recovering anything under the law other than for any financial support you were receiving from that parent. This is often the most devastating exclusion and it disproportionately impacts adults who are single and caring for aging parents. Adult children have been carved out to exclude their otherwise valid claims for the lost of a cherished love one simply because of an arbitrary age limit; and a very young age at that.
2. Parents of an Adult Child (in Medical Malpractice Cases)
If your adult child dies due to a preventable error by a doctor, nurse, or hospital, you have no legal right to recover damages for your mental pain and suffering. However, such a parent would have that right if their adult child had no spouse or children and the case is not related to medical malpractice.
The blatant injustice could not be more clear: Parents mourning the loss of a 26-year-old son or daughter due to surgical negligence often walk away from consultations heartbroken — not just by grief, but by the legal system’s indifference. Meanwhile, those same parents who lost their 26 year old from a truck or car accident could potentially recover for this catastrophic loss. Our legislature in Florida has decided to protect the big financial institutions like major hospital systems over the rights of individuals and families – and this was a conscious choice by lawmakers.
3. Unmarried Life Partners
Florida law affords zero legal standing to unmarried partners. This means if your long-time boyfriend, girlfriend, or fiancé(e) dies in a Miami car crash, you are not considered a legal survivor. You cannot recover for emotional loss, lost income, or funeral costs unless you are also designated as the personal representative of their estate.
In a state with a high rate of cohabiting but unmarried couples, this exclusion is both outdated and unjust.
4. Siblings, Grandparents, Stepchildren
Unless they were financially dependent on the decedent, these family members are typically excluded from recovery. Emotional connection doesn’t matter under the statute. Neither does closeness. Only legal ties count — and even those are tightly defined.
Why Are These Laws So Restrictive?
It’s not an accident. These rules are the result of intense lobbying by the insurance and healthcare industries, who want to limit their liability. By narrowing the list of survivors, the law limits the number of potential lawsuits — and therefore the financial exposure of negligent hospitals, doctors, and large corporations.
The harshest rules apply to medical malpractice cases, where adult children and unmarried individuals are hit hardest. Florida’s legislature has chosen to protect businesses over families — and grieving survivors pay the price.
Real Lives, Real Consequences
Here’s a scenario we’ve seen time and again:
A 32-year-old single woman is killed in a Miami car accident. She’s not married and has no children. She supported herself financially and no one else. Her surviving parents are devastated, having lost their only child. They try to bring a wrongful death claim — and depending on how the estate is structured, they may find they don’t qualify. If the death had occurred due to medical malpractice instead, they would be definitively barred from any claim.
This isn’t justice. It’s bureaucracy dressed in legal language — and it’s failing real families every day.
What You Can Do If You’ve Lost Someone
If you’ve lost a loved one — especially in a crash or any act of negligence — you need to speak to a qualified Miami car accident attorney as soon as possible. Time limits apply, and evidence can disappear quickly. Most importantly, a lawyer can help you understand:
- Whether you qualify under Florida’s strict survivor rules
- What damages you may be entitled to
- How to properly structure the estate to preserve legal rights
At Santana Injury Law, we’ve helped countless families navigate this difficult process with care, dignity, and strength. Every case is personal to us, and we’ll treat your family like our own.
Speak to a Accident Lawyer Today
The loss of a loved one is hard enough. Finding out you have no legal rights to seek justice or compensation makes the pain even worse. Florida’s wrongful death laws are due for serious reform — but until they change, you need a dedicated car accident lawyer in Miami who knows how to work within the system and fight for every dollar your family deserves.
Contact Santana Injury Law today for a free, no-obligation consultation. Let us help you find clarity, answers, and a path toward justice.
