Wrongful Death Attorneys in Mississippi

Mississippi law allows a wrongful death action to be brought by the deceased person’s personal representative, by a surviving spouse, parent, child, or sibling, or by all interested parties. Whoever brings the action does so for the benefit of everyone legally entitled to recover. Mississippi law generally permits only one wrongful death action for the same death.

The law also determines how any recovery is distributed. A surviving spouse and children generally share the recovery first; if there is no spouse or child, the recovery passes to the surviving parents and siblings. If none of those relatives survive, the statute provides for distribution to the legal representative.

One other technical point worth knowing: if the personal representative is bringing the action, they must actually be formally appointed before filing.

Because a single action must serve the entire family, selecting counsel the family trusts, and involving them early, prevents the procedural disputes that can complicate these cases. Our wrongful death attorneys address these questions with your family at the very first meeting.

Mississippi’s wrongful death law recognizes both the losses your loved one suffered before death and the losses the family suffers because of the death. A single claim under Mississippi Code § 11-7-13 can encompass both:

• Medical and funeral expenses: Costs related to the injury, treatment, and burial or funeral.
• The decedent’s pain and suffering: What your loved one experienced between the injury and death.
• The economic value of the decedent’s life: Mississippi looks to the present net cash value of the decedent’s life expectancy, which can account for more than lost wages alone.
• Loss of society and companionship: The surviving beneficiaries’ losses arising from the death of their spouse, parent, child, or sibling.
• Property damage and other legally recoverable losses: Depending on the circumstances of the death.

Mississippi also permits punitive damages under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-65 in appropriate cases, but they require clear and convincing evidence of actual malice, qualifying gross negligence, or actual fraud. A drunk driver or other egregious conduct may support such a claim depending on the evidence; it does not automatically result in punitive damages.

Insurers approach death claims knowing the sums involved are substantial, and their earliest offers rarely withstand comparison with a properly documented claim. A wrongful death lawyer at Caldwell Wenzel and Asthana Personal Injury Lawyers can complete that documentation before negotiations ever begin.

The deadline for a Mississippi wrongful death claim depends on the underlying cause of death.

• Negligence-based claims, including many fatal car and truck crashes, generally have a three-year statute of limitations under Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49.
• Medical-malpractice claims are generally subject to a two-year limitations period under Mississippi law, while other types of claims can have different deadlines.
• Claims against a government entity are governed by the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, which generally provides a one-year limitations period and requires a formal notice of claim at least 90 days before suit.

These distinctions are technical, and misjudging them can end a claim before it begins. What is not technical is this: the evidence that proves how your loved one died is most complete in the weeks immediately following the death, and it does not wait for any statute. The sooner you contact our attorneys, the faster we can preserve critical evidence, investigate what happened, and begin building your family’s claim.

There is no right time to make this call, only the time that is right for your family. When that moment comes, a Mississippi wrongful death lawyer at Caldwell Wenzel and Asthana Personal Injury Lawyers will listen first, explain your family’s options honestly, and, if you choose to proceed, carry the entire legal burden from that day forward. The consultation is free and private, and if travel is difficult, we will come to you anywhere in Mississippi.