Florida Wrongful Death Lawyer

After the funeral, the mail starts. A hospital statement. A letter from an insurance company with a case number where a person’s name should be. Somewhere in that pile is usually a request for a recorded statement or a form the family is in no condition to evaluate. The legal system begins its work on a schedule that has nothing to do with grief, and the first thing a family needs is a clear explanation of what the law actually allows and what it never will.

I am Louis P. Meyer, Esq., a Senior Attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A. in Tampa. My practice focuses on personal injury cases across Florida, including wrongful death claims arising from crashes, medical negligence, workplace incidents, and dangerous premises. This page explains Florida’s wrongful death framework plainly: who brings the claim, who the law counts as a survivor, and which losses belong to the estate and which belong to the family.

What this practice covers

Florida’s Wrongful Death Act exists because of a gap in the older law: without it, a claim could die with the person it belonged to. The Act creates a single claim for a death caused by another’s negligence or wrongful act, brought by one person on behalf of everyone the law allows to recover. That one person is the personal representative of the deceased’s estate, appointed by the probate court, and the representative controls the case for the estate and the survivors.

Survivors under the Act generally include the spouse, the children, and the parents of the deceased, along with blood relatives and adoptive siblings who were partly or wholly dependent on the deceased for support or services. Which losses each survivor can recover depends on the relationship. I handle wrongful death claims across Florida through that entire structure: the probate appointment, the investigation and evidence work, the insurance and defendant side, and the allocation of any recovery among the estate and the survivors as the Act and the court require.

Two claims inside one case, and why the distinction matters

A wrongful death case contains losses measured two different ways, and confusing them produces real mistakes. The survivors’ claims belong to the family members individually: the spouse’s loss of companionship and protection, a child’s loss of parental guidance and instruction, a parent’s mental pain and suffering, and lost support, measured in money and in services the deceased provided to the household. These losses run from the date of death forward.

The estate’s claims are different. The estate can recover losses that belonged to the deceased and accumulated to the estate: medical and funeral expenses paid from estate funds, and, in cases where the deceased survived for a period after the injury, the earnings and net accumulations the estate lost. Where a person died instantly, the estate’s earnings claim is narrower than families expect, which is one of several places this statute is less generous than people assume. Understanding which pocket a loss belongs to decides how it is proven and how any settlement is divided, and a recovery is not final until that division is done correctly, sometimes with court approval.

How I approach this work

Two jobs run at once, and both start immediately. The first is legal housekeeping: identifying the proper personal representative and getting the estate opened, because in Florida the family member with the strongest claim is not automatically the person with the legal right to file it, and a case filed by the wrong party wastes irreplaceable time. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4), a wrongful death action generally must be brought within two years of the death, and that deadline does not wait for the family to feel ready.

The second job is the evidence: the crash investigation, the records, the witnesses, the documents of support and services that prove what the deceased actually provided. Families are asked for marriage and birth records, financial documents, and accounts of the life that was lost. That work is intrusive at the worst possible time, and I will tell you honestly what is needed and why, including when the statute limits a claim more than feels fair.

Questions families ask about Florida wrongful death claims

Who is allowed to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida?

Only the personal representative of the deceased’s estate can file it. The representative, usually a spouse or close family member appointed by the probate court, brings the single claim on behalf of the estate and all survivors. Individual family members do not file separate lawsuits. If no estate has been opened, opening one is the first step.

Who counts as a survivor under Florida law?

The statute defines survivors to include the spouse, the children, and the parents of the person who died, and also blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters who depended on the deceased for support or services. The losses each survivor can claim differ by relationship: a spouse may recover lost companionship and support, minor children lost parental guidance and support, and parents of a deceased child may recover for their own mental pain and suffering.

What is the difference between the estate’s claim and the survivors’ claims?

The survivors’ claims compensate the family members for their own losses: lost support and services, lost companionship, and mental pain and suffering, measured from the death onward. The estate’s claim recovers losses that accumulated to the estate itself, such as medical and funeral expenses the estate paid and, in some cases, lost earnings and net accumulations. Both sets of losses are pursued in the one case the personal representative brings.

How long do we have to bring a wrongful death claim?

Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4), a wrongful death action in Florida generally must be started within two years of the date of death. Some related claims and defendants, such as government entities, carry additional notice requirements and shorter deadlines. Two years passes differently in a grieving household than on a calendar, so the safest course is an early review that protects the deadline while the family does what it needs to do.

The death involved medical care. Is it still a wrongful death case?

Yes, but it also becomes a medical malpractice case, and Florida’s malpractice presuit requirements apply before suit: the records investigation, a supporting verified medical expert opinion, and the presuit notice and investigation period. Those steps take months and must fit within the wrongful death deadline, which is why a death connected to medical care deserves the fastest possible records review.

What does it cost to pursue a wrongful death claim?

Wrongful death cases are investigated and litigated on the record, and the court is involved at key points: appointing the personal representative and, where minors or disputes are involved, approving settlements and their division. The exact financial arrangements in any case are set out in writing at the start, and a written fee agreement governs the fees and costs before any work begins. What a family should expect from me is candor about value, timelines, and the statute’s limits, before decisions get made.

The bottom line

Florida’s wrongful death law is a statute with categories, deadlines, and one rightful filer, and it pays no attention to what a family is going through when the clock starts. The families who protect their claims do three things early: they open the estate, they preserve the evidence of the life and the loss, and they let someone else carry the calendar.

Louis P. Meyer, Esq.
Senior Attorney, Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A.
100 S. Ashley Drive, Suite 610, Tampa, FL 33602
Phone: 561-206-2949
Email: lmeyer@kpattorney.com

About the Author

Louis P. Meyer, Esq. is a Senior Attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A., where his practice focuses on personal injury cases and first party property damage claims across Florida, including wrongful death claims. He was selected to Florida Rising Stars in 2024, 2025, and 2026. He is bilingual in English and Spanish, writes the LouisTheLawyer publication on Substack, and hosts the podcast Off The Record by Louis Meyer. He holds an LL.M. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, a J.D. from Whittier Law School, and a B.A. from UCLA, graduating with Honors. He was admitted to The Florida Bar on November 23, 2020, Bar No. 1024811. This page is general information about how wrongful death claims work in Florida. It is not legal advice about any specific death or claim.

Louis P. Meyer, Esq., Senior Attorney, Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A., 100 S. Ashley Drive, Suite 610, Tampa, FL 33602. Phone: 561-206-2949. Email: lmeyer@kpattorney.com.

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Contingency fee cases: the client may be responsible for court costs and litigation expenses regardless of the outcome. Attorney’s fees and costs are computed as set out in the written fee agreement.