Medical Malpractice Lawyer Serving Vermont

If medical treatment, or the failure to provide appropriate and timely treatment, ultimately results in the death of the patient, this could give rise to a medical malpractice claim for their wrongful death, in addition to any claim for their pain and suffering, medical expenses and lost income for the time that they lived after the malpractice. The damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death claim, as well as those relatives who are allowed to make a claim, are provided by statute and case law. If you believe that a family member has died as a result of medical malpractice, you should immediately consult an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

Pursuant to 14 V.S.A. 1492 (a), the Statute of Limitations for a wrongful death claim is, with some exceptions, two years from the date of death. That section specifically sets forth the period as follows: “(a) The action shall be brought in the name of the personal representative of the deceased person and commenced within two years from the discovery of the death of the person, but if the person against whom the action accrues is out ofthe State, the action may be commenced within two years after the person comes into the State. After the cause of action accmes and before the two years have run, if the person against whom it accrues is absent from and resides out of the State and has no known property within the State that can by common process of law be attached, the time of his or her absence shall not be taken as part of the time limited for the commencement of the action. If the death ofthe decedent occurred under circumstances such that probable cause is found to charge a person with homicide, the action shall be commenced within seven years after the discovery of the death of the decedent or not more than two years after the judgment in that criminal action has become final, whichever occurs later.”

14 V.S.A. 1492 (b) sets forth the persons who can pursue a wrongful death claim and the damages that can be sought, as follows: “(b) The court or jury before whom the issue is tried may give such damages as are just, with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from the death, to the spouse and next of kin, as the case may be. In the case where the decedent is a minor child, the term pecuniary injuries shall also include the loss of love and companionship of the child and for destruction of the parent-child relationship in an amount as under all the circumstances of the case, may be just.”

Although pecuniary injuries are generally thought to be limited to economic losses, the above statute explicitly expanded the damages to include emotional loss. Through the years, the Vermont Supreme Court has made it clear that the pecuniary injuries are not limited to the loss of love and companionship in situations where the decedent is a minor child. Instead, it extends to include the concepts of grief and anguish. Moreover, they have made it clear that the persons who can claim such damages are not only the parents of a minor deceased child, but also when the child is no longer a minor. Subsequent cases have also extended this item of damage to be available to the spouse, and even the siblings of the deceased.

David has successfully handled large wrongful death claims.