Being hit by a bus, or while on a bus that is in an accident
An accident on someone’s premises
Being electrocuted
Being shot or stabbed in a parking lot, mall or hotel
A vehicle falling on them.
Driving into a canal or lake
Unfortunately, a parent is not entitled to compensation for pain and suffering if an adult child dies from doctor’s mistake. Again, for purposes of Florida’s wrongful death act, an “adult child” means a child who is 25 or older.
Let’s look at some different cases to see when a parent can get money for the death of an adult child. (I wrote a separate article on cases if a parent’s minor child is killed.)
Florida’s wrongful death act says that parents may get compensation for their mental pain and suffering from the death of an adult child only if there are no other survivors. Florida Stat. 768.21(4)
Adult Child Who is Married or Has Kids Dies in Accident (Parents Can’t Get Pain and Suffering Compensation)
Heather is 25. Heather is married. At night, Javier is driving a truck in Miami. He is speeding, driving without its headlights on, and passing another vehicle in a no passing zone.
He hits Heather and kills her. Javier is driving a vehicle owned by his parents, Maria and Joel.
Because the accident occurred in Miami, the Florida Wrongful Death Act applies. If the accident occurred in any other city in Florida, the Florida Wrongful Death Act still applies.
In Florida, Rita is NOT entitled to recover for their mental pain and suffering for the death of Heather. This is because Heather is not under the age of 25 and she has a “survivor,” which is her husband.
In Florida, if Heather had a “minor” child, then Rita’s parents would NOT be able to recover money for mental pain and suffering.
Parents Can Get Compensation for Support and Services, Medical and Funeral Expenses
In any wrongful death case, the parent’s are entitled to:
value of lost support and services from the date of the injury through death
future lost support and services from the date of death (reduced to present value)
medical or funeral expenses of the deceased child (if the parents have paid any)
This is true even if the decedent is an adult child. “Decedent” means a person who has died.
The amount that Maria and Joel are liable for is capped at $100,000 in accordance with section 324.021(9)(b)3. There is no cap on the amount that Javier owes.
If Adult Child Dies But Is Not Married, and Has No Minor Children (Parents Can Get Pain and Suffering Compensation)
Maria is 33. She is not married. Maria doesn’t have any children. Maria’s mother is still alive.
Hood was driving drunk and hits and kills Maria.
In Florida, Maria’s parents have a claim for mental pain and suffering and other damages for their Maria’s death because Maria was not married, and did not have any “minor children” at the time of her death.
In all of the wrongful death cases that are mentioned above, Maria’s parents are also able to recover:
value of lost support and services from the date of the injury through death
future lost support and services from the date of death (reduced to present value)
medical or funeral expenses of the deceased child (if the parents have paid any)
So how does an insurance claims adjuster calculate the amount of money that each parent should get for pain and suffering for the death of an adult child?
Well, they may look at the life expectancy of the parents and the child. Life expectancy is the amount of time that a person is expected to live.
$12 Million Dollar Verdict for Parents Whose Daughter Was Killed at a Motel (Hialeah)
This isn’t my case. Julia Machado and Rafael Guevara’s daughter was murdered at the Chesapeake Hotel in Hialeah, Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Their daughter’s name was Yaimi Machada. She was 30 years old when she was raped and killed.
Yaimi was not married when she was killed. Thus, her parents had a claim for their pain and suffering from her death. If Yaimi would’ve been married, her parents would not have had a claim for pain and suffering. This is because Yaimi was 30 years old, which is 25 years or older.
Her parents were appointed co-personal representatives of the Estate of Yaimi Guevara Machado. They sued The Waves (the legal name of the Chesapeake Hotel) in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The suit claimed that Yaimi was murdered while on the premises of The Waves. The lawsuit claimed that Yaimi’s death was the result of negligent or inadequate security provided by The Waves.
Following a trial, the jury awarded damages in the total amount of $12 million dollars. The jury awarded $6 million each parent.
Since she wasn’t at fault, the parents are entitled to the entire $12 million verdict. Thus, the parents’ verdict isn’t reduced since the jury didn’t blame Yaimi for her death.
Hotel Asked the Judge to Reduce Verdict to $500K Per Parent
The Waves asked the judge to reduce the verdict to $500K million per parent, for a total of $1 million.
The hotel’s attorney argued that $6 million for each parent’s pain and suffering for an adult child was too much because she basically lived in a different state from her parents for the four years before she died.
She came down to Florida to come live with her mother, and she lived with her mom for a few weeks before her murder. The hotel’s lawyer claimed that Yaimi did not have a deep relationship with her father over those last four years while she was living in New York.
The hotel’s attorney said that her father didn’t know that she had moved back to Miami at the time.
As support to try to get the verdict lowered, the hotel’s attorney said that the 3rd DCA appeals court has reduced other big verdicts for a parent’s pain and suffering when their child is killed.
The hotel’s attorney said that in one case, a 12 year old girl was killed in a car accident. The jury awarded the parents $37 million, but the appeals court cut it down to $5 million per parent. Goldberg, 856 So. 2d, Third DCA, 2002.
The court refused to lower the verdict.
The Hotel Appealed The Verdict (Saying It’s Too High)
Rockhill Insurance Company insured The Waves for up to $1 million. I don’t know if Rockhill offered to pay the $1 million insurance limits before trial.
Final judgment was entered on December 4, 2017. The Waves has appealed this verdict.
And if you think a wrongful death case is “easy”…
Note that the parents’ attorneys claimed that they’ve spent over $130,000 in costs! That is in addition to their valuable time.
I will periodically check on the appeal to see if the verdict is allowed to stand. Florida’s 3rd District Court Appeals case # is 3D18-0300.
$350K Awarded to Each Parent for Death of 30 Year Old (Scooter Accident)
This isn’t my case. A 30-year-old was killed in a motor scooter accident. She was survived by both of her parents.
On Feb 2, 2012, the jury awarded $350,000 in pain and suffering compensation to each of the decedent’s parents. Thus, the total pain and suffering award was $700,000.
The case is O’Neill v. Luberta, 2012 WL 7801884 (Case No. CACE-09014271, 17th Cir., Broward County, Fla.)
$3.8 Million Verdict for Mother Whose Daughter Was Killed by Drunk Driver
The facts from the above case resulted in a big jury verdict. This isn’t my case.
As I said earlier, Maria was killed in a car crash. Mirna Valle, was Maria’s sister and personal representative of the estate of Maria Valle. She sued on behalf of her mother.
In Florida, you’re not entitled to money for pain and suffering for the death of a sibling.
Before trial, Hood pled guilty to D.U.I. manslaughter. He was in prison during the trial.
Hood was going to appear in court in shackles. Valle’s attorney was concerned that this was part of a tactic to cause the jurors to think that Hood had no money.
Thus, Valle’s attorney agreed to drop her punitive damages claim in return for Hood’s attorney agreeing to several things.
The stipulations that:
Hood drove the vehicle that collided with the vehicle in which Maria Valle was a passenger;
Hood’s blood alcohol level was .235% (and the legal limit was .08%);
Hood was legally intoxicated at the time of the incident; and
He was at fault at the time of the accident.
Hood’s attorney also agreed to let the jury hear that on the night of the collision in which Valle died, Hood had been in two other accidents before that collision.
The jury awarded a total of $3.8 million for the mom’s pain and suffering.
The breakdown was $2 million for past pain and suffering from the date of the accident through trial. $1.8 million was awarded for the mother’s pain and suffering for the rest of her life.
The personal representative was also awarded $24,707.79 in case costs. State Farm had to pay the $10,000 BIL insurance limits and the $24,707.79 case costs.
I don’t know if Valle pursued a bad faith case against State Farm. She would’ve had a bad faith case is State Farm waited to long to pay the $10,000 BIL limits. Alternatively, if Valle requested reasonable settlement release language, and State Farm didn’t agree, this could be bad faith.
A bad faith case would turn this case into a collectible million dollar case.
Maria’s Mom’s Life Expectancy Affects the Pain and Suffering Value
Let’s use the same facts from the example above. When evaluating the value of Maria’s mom’s case, the insurance company will take into account the life expectancy of her mom.
Assume the mom was expected to live another 10 years or so. In that case, she therefore will likely only be awarded future mental pain and suffering damages for 10 years.
Her mom is also entitled to pain and suffering from the date of the death through the trial.
The insurance adjuster could also factor in Maria’s pre-accident life expectancy. However, assuming that Maria didn’t have a terminal illness, her life expectancy was much longer than her mother’s. Thus, in this case Maria’s life expectancy likely didn’t matter.
In order to bring a wrongful death claim, the parents (of the child who died) need to set up an Estate and appoint a personal representative (in most cases a parent).
Whether the parents will receive money, other than the $5,000 in PIP death benefit, depends on many facts.
If an Adult Child Pedestrian Killed in a Car Accident, Does the Adult Child’s Parent Have a Case?
Check out my article about claims if a driver hits and kills a pedestrian in Florida. The full value of a case where a pedestrian is killed is worth much more than most other pedestrian accident cases.
Why?
Because a traumatic death is horrific.
Therefore, an insurance company may be more likely to offer the policy limits if an adult child is hit and killed by a car. But don’t get to relieved.
Insurance companies are tough. Their goal is to pay as little as possible.
Assume that an adult child lives in another state (not Florida). He or she is visiting Florida. While in Florida, he or she is in the street as a pedestrian. A driver of a car hits and kills him or her. In this instance, the decedent is not entitled to the $5K Personal Injury Protection (PIP) death benefit from the car’s insurance policy.
Why not?
Because people who visit Florida from another state and are hit by a car, don’t qualify for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) under the car’s insurance policy. However, the pedestrian may qualify under PIP from his or her own car insurance policy.
Additionally, the personal representative of the adult child’s estate can make a wrongful death claim against the responsible parties.
How Bodily injury (BI) liability Insurance Pays for the Death of an Adult Child policy
Adult Child Killed in an Uber or Lyft Accident (Parents’ Pain and Suffering Payout)
If an adult child is killed in an Uber or Lyft accident, there is a good chance that there may be enough insurance to pay for a parent’s pain and suffering claim.
This is particularly true if a Uber or Lyft driver was engaged in a ride and caused an accident that killed someone else. In Florida, in that instance, Uber or Lyft’s insurance policy (with Progressive) carries $1 Million single limit in coverage.
Thus, Progressive will pay up $1 million to all survivors for the death of an adult child.
If the Uber or Lyft driver had the app on, but wasn’t engaged in a ride, then the survivors are limited to $50,000 per person/$100,000 per incident.
Uninsured (UM) Liability Coverage in an auto insurance policy
In Florida, there is a high likelihood that the at fault driver and/or owner is uninsured or underinsured. This is particularly true in a wrongful death case where the full value of the case is often greater than the liability coverage in the applicable insurance policies.
There are also many other factors such as the adult child’s comparative negligence that can reduce the full value of the case.
Let’s assume that a driver’s negligence causes an accident and an “adult child” passenger of the same vehicle is killed. The driver does not have bodily injury insurance and the passengers do not have UM (Uninsured Motorist) insurance.
In this case, there is a good chance that the passengers will not receive any money. But it is always best not to assume that there is no insurance available and instead look for all the insurance that may be available.
For example, if the decedent was in a rental car and purchased insurance at the time of rental, there may be uninsured motorist coverage. Rental car accident claims have some differences from other car accident claims.
Out of State Visitors Who Are Killed in Car Accidents in Florida
First, you’ll need to examine the facts to see if the decedent’s family is entitled to Florida’s $5,000 PIP death benefit. After an adult child’s death, the decedent’s parents may need to quickly get money to pay for the burial expenses. Funerals and burials can be pricey.
Assume that the out of state decedent was in a rental car in Florida. In this instance, Florida’s $5,000 PIP death benefit applies. This assumes that the rental car was rented in Florida.
Is Mother of Adult Child (Killed in Bridge Collapse) Capped at $1 Million for Pain and Suffering?
On March 15, 2018, an Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse. Sadly, it killed six people.
The only parent of an adult child who has a wrongful death claim for pain and suffering is Emma Diaz. Emma was the mother of Alberto Arias. Alberto was 53 years old. Tragically, Alberto died in the collapse.
Alberto wasn’t married. And he was 25 or older. Thus, his mom mother (Emma) has a claim for pain and suffering.
I used to say that Emma’s pain and suffering claim is likely under $1 million dollars. However, the Florida Supreme Court says that there is not a $1 million for a parent whose adult child was killed due to negligence. The case that says that there is no $1 million cap is Odom v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company (Fla: Supreme Court 2018).
Alberto’s brother, Luis Arias, is the personal representative of Alberto’s estate. As personal representative, Luis has sued the bridge builder and the engineer for wrongful death.
However, Luis isn’t entitled to pain and suffering.
The reason?
In a Florida wrongful death case, siblings aren’t entitled for pain and suffering. This means that brothers and sister’s don’t get any money for pain and suffering. No matter how much they grieve.
The lawsuit seeks loss of the prospective net accumulations of the estate, and funeral expenses. The lawsuit also asks for lost support and services, future loss of support and mental pain and suffering resulting from the loss of her child, Alberto.
