Putting a number on a life feels wrong, and in a sense it is. The law cannot do that. What it can do is measure the concrete losses a death leaves behind, the income that stops, the guidance a child no longer receives, the companionship a spouse loses, and require the responsible party to answer for them. Florida divides those losses carefully between the survivors and the estate.
What the survivors recover
Under section 768.21, the survivors recover two kinds of loss. The first is economic: the value of the support and the services the deceased provided, from financial support to the everyday work of running a household and raising children, measured from the death forward and reduced to present value. The second is noneconomic and personal to each survivor: a surviving spouse’s loss of companionship and protection and mental pain and suffering, and a child’s loss of parental companionship, guidance, and mental pain and suffering. Medical and funeral expenses a survivor paid are recoverable as well.
No amount of money replaces the person your family lost, and I will not pretend a damages figure does. What the law does allow is a real accounting of what the loss has cost you, and proving that fully is the work. I represent families, not insurance companies, and I came up as a public defender in the courtroom, where I tried numerous cases and cross-examined witnesses again and again. I handle the claim personally, build the proof of your family’s losses, and coordinate the probate steps Florida law requires. I am willing to take the case to a jury, which is often what moves an insurer to pay fair value. Learn more about my background.
What the estate recovers
The estate’s recovery is its own. It includes the deceased person’s lost earnings from the time of injury to death, the net accumulations, the savings and wealth the person would reasonably have built over a lifetime, reduced to present value, and the medical and funeral expenses charged to the estate. These estate damages are separate from, and additional to, what the survivors recover for themselves.
A Florida distinction
Florida draws a line that surprises many families: the survivors recover for their own loss, not for the pain and suffering the loved one endured between the injury and death. That pre-death suffering is not part of the wrongful death recovery. Understanding the line early keeps expectations accurate and the proof focused on what the law in fact allows.
Caps, present value, and punitive damages
Ordinary wrongful death damages are not capped in Florida. The state did try to cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice death cases, but in Estate of McCall, 134 So. 3d 894 (Fla. 2014), the Florida Supreme Court held those caps unconstitutional. Future economic losses are reduced to present value and the verdict is itemized, and where the conduct that caused the death was egregious, such as a drunk-driving death, uncapped punitive damages may be available on top of the compensatory recovery.
The deadline
A wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death under Fla. Stat. 95.11. The evidence, from the records to the witnesses, is easier to preserve early, so the sooner the work begins, the stronger the claim.
Common Questions
What damages can survivors recover in a Florida wrongful death case?
Survivors may recover the value of lost support and services the deceased provided, and their own noneconomic losses: a spouse's loss of companionship and protection, a child's loss of parental companionship and guidance, and the mental pain and suffering each suffers. Medical and funeral expenses a survivor paid are also recoverable.
What can the estate recover?
The estate may recover the deceased person's lost earnings from the injury to the death, the net accumulations the person would likely have saved over a lifetime, and medical and funeral expenses charged to the estate. These estate damages are separate from what the survivors recover personally.
Can we recover for our loved one's pain before death?
The survivors recover for their own loss, not for the decedent's pain and suffering between the injury and death. The estate's recovery centers on economic losses such as lost earnings and accumulations. This division is a distinctive feature of Florida's wrongful death law.
Are wrongful death damages capped in Florida?
Generally no. Ordinary wrongful death damages are not capped. Florida did try to cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice death cases, but the Florida Supreme Court held those caps unconstitutional. Where the conduct was egregious, uncapped punitive damages may also be available.
How are future losses calculated?
Future economic losses, such as lost support or lost net accumulations, are reduced to present value, meaning the amount is adjusted to reflect a sum paid today rather than over years. The verdict is itemized into economic and noneconomic parts, and expert testimony usually supports the economic figures.
Related: Wrongful death overview, Who can recover, Proving the claim, Drunk-driving deaths, and About Rory Safir.
This page is general information about Florida wrongful death law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The governing authority is Fla. Stat. 768.21 (damages) within the Florida Wrongful Death Act; the unconstitutionality of medical-malpractice noneconomic caps was decided in Estate of McCall v. United States, 134 So. 3d 894 (Fla. 2014). Fla. Stat. 95.11 sets the limitations period. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.
