Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Mississippi

When a person dies as a result of another party's accidental or intentional action, the deceased person's family or estate could be eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Mississippi, like every other state, has a set of laws that apply to wrongful death claims. In this article, we'll look at the key aspects of Mississippi's wrongful death law, including who is eligible to file a wrongful death claim, what types of damages are available, and the time limits for filing this type of lawsuit in civil court.

What Is a "Wrongful Death" in Mississippi?

In Mississippi, a wrongful death occurs when a person or "unborn quick child" dies due to the legal fault of another party. (According to the Supreme Court of Mississippi, an "unborn quick child" is one that "has developed so that it moves within the mother's womb.")

Under state law, the right to bring a wrongful death claim exists any situation where the deceased person could have filed a personal injury lawsuit had he or she lived. A claim can be the result of:

• a negligence-based incident (such as a car accident)
• medical malpractice
• a defective product, or
• an intentional act (including a crime).

As with personal injury lawsuits in general, the defendant's liability in a successful wrongful death case is expressed solely in terms of financial compensation ("damages"), which the court orders the defendant to pay to the decedent's survivors. This is one big difference between wrongful death lawsuits and criminal homicide cases, where a conviction can be penalized with jail or prison time, probation, and other sanctions.

Another difference to note between criminal prosecutions for homicide and civil lawsuits for wrongful death is the burden of proof. In a criminal case, the accused's guilt must be established "beyond a reasonable doubt," which is a very high bar for the prosecution to clear. In a civil lawsuit, the defendant's liability need only be shown "by a preponderance of the evidence," meaning it's more likely than not that the defendant is responsible for the decedent's death. It is possible, though, for a single act to result in criminal charges and a wrongful death claim: A defendant can be sued for wrongful death in civil court while facing criminal charges related to the same death.

(Mississippi Code § 11-7-13 (2025); 66 Federal Credit Union v. Tucker, 853 So. 2d 104 (Miss. 2003).)

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Under Mississippi law, the following people are permitted bring a wrongful death lawsuit:

• the personal representative (sometimes called the "executor") of the deceased person's estate
• the deceased's surviving spouse
• the surviving parents (including adoptive parents) or children of the deceased person, and
• any surviving siblings of the deceased person.

Regardless of who files the lawsuit, any damages must be distributed to all of the eligible beneficiaries. As the Supreme Court of Mississippi has explained, a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed by:

• the personal representative on behalf of the estate and all beneficiaries
• any beneficiary on behalf of all of the beneficiaries, or
• all of the beneficiaries together.

(Miss. Code § 11-7-13 (2025); Jaquith Nursing Home v. Yarbrough, 99 So. 3d 745 (Miss. 2012).)

Damages in a Mississippi Wrongful Death Case

In a successful Mississippi wrongful death lawsuit, the court orders the defendant to pay "damages"—or the plaintiff's claimed losses—to the deceased person's survivors.

State law determines who is entitled to damages in a wrongful death case, what losses can be compensated, and how the money is distributed.

Who Is Entitled to Damages?

Mississippi law creates a hierarchy for who is entitled to damages:

• If the deceased was married with no children, then all damages go to the surviving spouse.
• If the deceased was married and had children, then the spouse and children are entitled to damages.
• If the deceased was unmarried, but had children, then the children are entitled to damages.
• If the deceased was unmarried and had no children, then the deceased's living parents and siblings are entitled to damages.
• If the deceased had no spouse, children, parents, or siblings, then damages are paid to the deceased's estate, through the personal representative.

(Miss. Code § 11-7-13 (2025).)

What Damages Are Available?

Mississippi law allows plaintiffs in wrongful death lawsuits to recover damages for a variety of losses; juries are charged with determining which damages are "just."

Expenses related to the deceased's injury and death. Defendants can be ordered to pay for costs arising directly from the fatal incident. These costs include funeral expenses, money used to replace or repair damaged property, and medical expenses. Since this money is reimbursement for specific expenses, it is used by the estate to cover those expenses, with any leftover money distributed to the beneficiaries.

An estimate of the deceased's net future income. Mississippi law entitles plaintiffs in wrongful death lawsuit to "the present net cash value of the life expectancy of the deceased." This number is calculated by estimating how many more years the deceased would have worked, what their income would have been in those years, and what percentage of that money would have been spent on personal living expenses.

Non-economic damages. In addition to these more quantifiable damages, plaintiffs in wrongful death cases can collect damages for:

• the loss of their loved one's "companionship and society"
• the pain and suffering the deceased may have endured between their injury and their death.

Punitive damages. If a defendant's behavior was particularly malicious or reckless—to the point that it demonstrated a lack of concern for human life—then courts can award punitive damages to plaintiffs in wrongful death cases. This money is intended to punish the defendant and to deter others from behaving the same way in the future.

(Miss. Code § 11-7-13 (2025); McGowan v. Estate of Wright, 524 So. 2d 308, 311 (Miss. 1988).)

How Are Damages Divided?

As the Mississippi Supreme Court has explained, different categories of damages are treated differently when it comes to distributing them to beneficiaries.

Damages that the deceased could have claimed had they lived. This includes, for example, the deceased's:

• lost future income
• medical expenses, and
• pain and suffering.

This money is divided equally among all of the people entitled to damages.

Losses suffered by individual beneficiaries. Mississippi courts have ruled that, if one person suffered a disproportionate loss, it would be unfair to divide the resulting damages equally among all beneficiaries. Therefore, damages that compensate for the loss of "companionship and society" can be sought and divided based on each beneficiaries' relationship with the deceased.

How this works in practice. As we discussed above, Mississippi requires all wrongful death claims to be brought in a single lawsuit. This means that a single lawsuit could, for example, include:

• a claim for funeral expenses that would be paid to the estate through the personal representative and used to cover those costs (with any remaining money divided equally among all beneficiaries)
• claims for lost future income that would be divided equally among all beneficiaries, and
• individual claims for loss of companionship and society, each based on that beneficiary's relationship with the deceased.

(Huber v. Eubanks (In re Estate of Eubanks), 197 So. 3d 861 (Miss. 2015).)

Damage Caps in Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Like many other states, Mississippi has placed limits on the amount of damages that can be awarded to a plaintiff in wrongful death cases. State law caps noneconomic damages--intended to cover intangible losses like pain, suffering, and loss of companionship--at $1,000,000 in most wrongful death cases. If the death was the result of medical malpractice, however, the cap is $500,000. Note that these caps do not apply to economic damages like medical bills, lost wages, or funeral and burial expenses. (Miss. Code § 11-1-60 (2025).)

How Long Do I Have to File a Mississippi Wrongful Death Claim?

Wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within a certain period of time, set by a law called a "statute of limitations." The statute of limitations for bringing most wrongful death lawsuits in Mississippi is three years from the date of the death. (Miss. Code § 15-1-49 (2025).)

However, there are significant exceptions to Mississippi's general three-year statute of limitations for wrongful death claims.

One-year deadline for intentional torts. In Mississippi, you have one year to file a claim for a so-called "intentional tort" like assault and battery. If a person is killed by an intentional tort, then survivors have one year from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. (Miss. Code § 15-1-35 (2025).)

Two-year deadline for medical malpractice. Mississippi gives plaintiffs two years to file medical malpractice lawsuits. While the statute itself seems to measure the deadline from the date the malpractice occurred, the Mississippi Supreme Court has held that the clock actually begins to run on the date of death. This potential confusion is an example of why it's important to consult an attorney if you have questions about the statute of limitations or other key aspects of your case.

Plaintiffs are almost always barred from filing a lawsuit over malpractice that occurred more than seven years earlier. There are two exceptions to this seven-year limit:

• If a foreign object is left in a patient's body during a surgery, the two-year clock starts when the object is--or should have been--discovered.
• If the malpractice was "fraudulently concealed," then the two-year clock starts when the fraud is uncovered.

(Miss. Code § 15-1-36(2) (2025); Saul ex rel. All Wrongful Death Heirs of Cook v. S. Cent. Reg'l Med. Ctr., Inc., 25 So. 3d 1037 (Miss. 2010).)

When You Can Get More Time. Mississippi law recognizes that there are rare cases where a plaintiff should get additional time to file a lawsuit. We've already mentioned the rules that sometimes extend the filing deadline in malpractice cases. More time can also be allowed in other situations. For example:

• Since minors can't file lawsuits on their own, Mississippi measures the statute of limitations from when they turn 21 (the age of majority in the state). (Miss. Code § 15-1-59 (2025).)
• As in cases where a death was caused by medical malpractice, plaintiffs in other wrongful death lawsuits are entitled to more time if the defendant fraudulently concealed their responsibility. (Miss. Code § 15-1-67 (2025).)

Seeking Compensation Through a "Survival Action"

Many states have a separate law allowing a person's estate to file a so-called "survival action." A survival action is a lawsuit that allows the estate to seek damages for losses the deceased suffered while they were still alive. Mississippi also allows this type of lawsuit. But, instead of being a totally separate claim, they are a subset of wrongful death claims and authorized by the state's wrongful death statute.

It's important to understand how this type of claim is different from other wrongful death claims.

Who can file? Only the personal representative named in the deceased's will (or appointed by a court, if the deceased died intestate) can file a survival action.

What damages are available? Only harm the person suffered while they were still alive can be compensated through a survival action. This includes, for example, medical bills and other expenses the deceased had to pay before they died, as well as the pain and suffering caused by the fatal illness or injury.

How are damages distributed? Damages are paid to the deceased person's estate, not directly to their surviving loved ones and dependents. This means money from a lawsuit (like the rest of the estate) is distributed according to the deceased person's will (or, if there is no will, Mississippi's rules for intestate succession).

What is the statute of limitations? The statute of limitations for survival claims is generally measured from the date of the initial injury. (If an injury or illness is not immediately obvious, then the clock starts to run when the harm was--or should have been--discovered.) This means the deadline for filing a survival claim could be much earlier than the deadline for seeking other types of wrongful death damages. It also means time might run out while a person is still alive, meaning survival damages wouldn't be available at all.

(Miss. Code § 11-7-13 (2025); Saul ex rel. All Wrongful Death Heirs of Cook v. S. Cent. Reg'l Med. Ctr., Inc., 25 So. 3d 1037 (Miss. 2010).)

Other Options for Seeking Compensation

In addition to wrongful death lawsuits and survival actions, Mississippi law may entitle surviving family members and other dependents to other kinds of compensation. For example:

• Compensation for criminal acts. Victims of crimes may be entitled to restitution (that is, money paid directly by the convicted criminal) or other forms of compensation. The state of Mississippi's Victim Compensation Program can compensate not only a victim, but also a deceased victim's dependents. Family members who have incurred mental health or funeral expenses can also seek compensation. You can read more about this program on the Mississippi Attorney General's website.
• Workers' compensation. If someone is killed by a job-related accident or illness, then their surviving family members can seek money through Mississippi's workers' compensation program. Note that, in cases like this, wrongful death lawsuits are not allowed--a workers' compensation claim is the only option for a deceased worker's dependents. The state's program offers a $1,000 lump-sum payment to a surviving spouse, and up to $5,000 to cover funeral expenses. It can also pay a surviving spouse and surviving children a percentage of the deceased's average weekly income, for up to 450 weeks. (Miss. Code § 71-3-25 (2025).)

Getting Legal Help With a Mississippi Wrongful Death Claim

If you're considering a wrongful death lawsuit in Mississippi, it's a good idea to consult a personal injury attorney. Wrongful death claims can be complicated, and an experienced lawyer can explain how the state's laws apply to the circumstances of your case. An attorney with experience handling these kinds of claims should also be able to tell you if you have other options for seeking compensation, and help you decide how to proceed.