Wrongful Death

When a Raleigh-area wreck takes a life, the civil case is a wrongful-death action under G.S. 28A-18-2, brought by the estate’s personal representative or collector, not by relatives in their own names. G.S. 1-53(4) gives two years counted from death. If the person who died would already have been unable to bring a bodily-harm action under G.S. 1-15(c) or 1-52(16), no death action may be brought.

The statute lists the damages that may be recovered, including care and hospitalization, the decedent’s pain and suffering, reasonable funeral expenses, and the present monetary value of the decedent to the people entitled to the damages, along with punitive and nominal damages as the section allows. Punitive damages, when available, are subject to the cap in G.S. 1D-25. A Wake County civil filing is at 316 Fayetteville St. Mall. The wrongful-death guide on this site walks through the damage categories and how a recovery is used.