Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawsuits – Wrongful Death & Survival Actions

Last updated: April 28, 2022

In Pennsylvania medical malpractice cases, family members who’ve lost a loved one may be able to file a wrongful death action and a survival action. These two actions differ in three main ways:

1. who the action belongs to,
2. what damages are recoverable, and
3. the time deadline (statute of limitations) to file a lawsuit.

Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Case Study: Our law firm obtained a $7 million verdict in a medical malpractice case against a Pennsylvania hospital for the death of a 50 year old woman. Emergency room doctors failed to diagnose pulmonary embolism, and as a result, the patient died.

Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Our team handles complex medical malpractice lawsuits including wrongful death and survival cases across Pennsylvania. We’re rated by U.S. News & World Report in the area of medical malpractice law and offer a FREE consultation. (610) 825-0500

Wrongful Death & Survival Actions – Who is the Plaintiff?

A wrongful death action belongs to family members of the deceased and is a cause of action against a negligent party for causing the death of the loved one. Essentially, the negligent conduct caused an injury or loss to the surviving family members.

Example: A father dies after a cancer misdiagnosis. Due to the misdiagnosis, the father dies 1 year later. The surviving spouse and children, if any, are the plaintiffs in a wrongful death action against the medical provider or doctor who misdiagnosed the father.

On the other hand, a survival action belongs to the person before they died and is based on the negligent conduct that caused an injury to the deceased before death occurred. In other words, the individual would have had their own cause of action against the negligent party prior to their death. Upon death, that cause of action is essentially transferred to the estate.

Using the same example above, the father would have had his own cause of action against his doctor for the misdiagnosis. When he died, that cause of action transferred to his estate, which would be the plaintiff in a survival action against the doctor.

Wrongful Death & Survival Actions – What Damages are Recoverable?

Because the nature of the actions differ, damages or compensation recoverable in wrongful death or survival actions also differ.

Under Pennsylvania law, plaintiffs in a wrongful death action can recover specific types of damages, which include medical bills, funeral expenses, and estate administration costs. See 42 Pa. C.S. § 8301, which is provided below (current as of October 16, 2019).

In addition to these strictly economic losses laid out by statute, plaintiffs in wrongful death actions can also recover the loss of contribution their deceased loved one would have made to the household/family including food, clothing, housing, medical costs, education, etc.

In a survival action, the estate can recover for any losses experienced by the deceased which occurred between the negligent conduct and death. This includes pain and suffering experienced by their loved one, as well as medical bills, lost wages, etc.

Time to File

In medical malpractice cases, the time limit or statute of limitations will depend on the facts of the case. In a medical malpractice case resulting in death, the applicable statute of limitations is usually the date of death for both a wrongful death action and a survival action. In medical malpractice cases where the patient survives, the patient has two years from date the negligent incident occurred, i.e., the date of the misdiagnosis, to file their medical malpractice lawsuit.

Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Pennsylvania – Phila., Delaware & Montgomery Counties

If your loved one died due to medical malpractice in Pennsylvania, contact our law firm immediately. We focus on complex medical malpractice cases and have successfully represented patients against major hospitals and medical providers in Pennsylvania including Philadelphia, Delaware County and Montgomery County.

Call (610) 825-0500 or contact us online for a free case evaluation. All of our injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means if we don’t obtain compensation on your behalf, you don’t have to pay us any legal fees.