How Do You Divide the Proceeds of a Kentucky Wrongful Death Settlement Among Multiple Claimants?
A wrongful death lawsuit is a statutory personal injury claim brought by the personal representative of the victim’s estate to recover financial compensation on behalf of the surviving family members. Under Kentucky’s wrongful death law, if the victim left both a surviving spouse and children (or other descendants), the amount of any wrongful death settlement or judgment is, after deducting expenses, divided such that one-half goes to the spouse and the other half to the children.
Fatal Motorcycle Accident Leads to $1 Million Dram Shop Settlement
Ideally, family members will work together in pursuing a wrongful death case for their common benefit. But there are situations where different family members may have their own legal interests to consider. A recent decision from the Kentucky Court of Appeals, Thomas v. Townsend, provides an apt illustration.
This case arose from a fatal 2022 motorcycle accident. The victim was the passenger on a motorcycle driven by a friend. The pair had just left a bar where they were both drinking. The motorcycle operator subsequently crashed the motorcycle and fled the scene, leaving the victim to die.
The victim was survived by her husband, who was paralyzed as a result of his own motorcycle accident some years earlier, and three adult children, two of whom were fathered by someone other than the husband. One of those children later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the motorcyclist and the bar that served him. This included a claim for the personal injury damages suffered by the victim before she died.
The husband then filed a separate claim for “loss of consortium.” This refers to a surviving spouse’s loss of the “services, assistance, aid, society, companionship, and conjugal relationship” with their deceased spouse. This is distinct from a wrongful death claim.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the motorcyclist was uninsured. But the bar had a $1 million liability policy. The bar’s insurance company ultimately agreed to settle both the wrongful death and loss of consortium claims for the policy limit. But there was some disagreement as to how to divide the proceeds. The husband insisted that he was entitled to a separate jury trial on damages for his loss of consortium claim. But the trial court decided instead to allocate the entire $1 million according to the wrongful death statute, meaning the husband received 50 percent and the victim’s three children received the other 50 percent.
The Court of Appeals affirmed this decision. It noted that the insurance policy provided up to $1 million in “per incident” coverage. And under Kentucky law, both the estate’s wrongful death claim and the victim’s personal injury losses took precedence over the husband’s loss of consortium claim. And since the value of all three claims “could easily exceed” the $1 million policy limit, it made sense to subsume the husband’s loss of consortium into the overall wrongful death damages.
Contact a Madisonville Wrongful Death Lawyer Today
A wrongful death case is not just about money, It is about recognizing the importance of the victim’s life and holding those who ended it legally accountable for their actions. If you have recently lost a loved one and need legal advice from a qualified Madisonville wrongful death lawyer, contact Whitfield Crosby & Flynn today to schedule a free consultation. We have offices in Madisonville, Kentucky; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Source:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16789075421264392079
