Wrongful Death Lawsuits: When an Abuse Victim Dies by Suicide

When a victim dies by suicide because of the abuse they endured, survivors may have a wrongful death claim. These are complicated and emotionally challenging cases, and it helps to have a compassionate, experienced lawyer by your side.

You might be able to hold an institution or an individual party liable for a victim’s death by suicide due to abuse by bringing a wrongful death claim or a survival action. We can see if you are an eligible plaintiff or beneficiary, determine when the statute of limitations expires, and calculate the non-economic damages you could get from a settlement.

Call our attorneys for sexual abuse victim lawyers at (814) 826-3586 to get help with your case from The Law Office of Andrew Shubin.

Can You File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit When an Abuse Victim Dies by Suicide?

If your loved one committed suicide as a direct result of the sexual abuse they endured, you may have a valid wrongful death lawsuit.

Is There a Valid Claim?

Survivors might have a wrongful death claim if an abuse victim dies by suicide. If there is no wrongful death claim, you may be able to bring a survival action that compensates you for the victim’s pain and suffering from abuse before their suicide. Journal entries, text messages, and other evidence help during this stage.

Are You an Eligible Plaintiff?

If there is a valid wrongful death claim, you must know if you can be the one to bring it. Some states, including Pennsylvania, limit eligible plaintiffs to the victim’s personal representative, at least initially. If the victim made a will before their death, it may name a personal representative. If this person is not named in the will, they can be named by the probate court.

Beneficiaries are those who recover from wrongful death claims, and are limited to the victim’s surviving spouse, children, and parents.

Has the Statute of Limitations Expired?

Statutes of limitation for wrongful death lawsuits vary by state, with some states using the date of injury and others using the date of death to start the clock. What matters is knowing the filing in your specific case, which our lawyers can pinpoint for you. There may still be time to file a wrongful death lawsuit for an abuse victim’s suicide, even if the statute of limitations seemingly expired. States offer different exceptions to the statute of limitations, such as for delayed discovery.

What Damages Can You Sue for When an Abuse Victim Dies by Suicide?

When an abuse victim dies by suicide, beneficiaries may get economic, non-economic, and even punitive damages from a wrongful death lawsuit.

Economic Damages

In wrongful death cases for sexual abuse victim suicides, beneficiaries can get damages for funeral and burial expenses, lost wages and lost future earnings, loss of household services, loss of benefits, and other economic damages.

Non-Economic Damages

Beneficiaries can also get damages for loss of companionship, consortium, and parental guidance, as well as pain and suffering and grief. Non-economic damages are not capped in Pennsylvania for wrongful death lawsuits, benefiting plaintiffs.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are awarded for a defendant’s conscious disregard for the safety and well-being of others. They are especially common in institutional sexual abuse cases involving schools, churches, or other large institutions.

FAQs About Wrongful Death Lawsuits for Abuse Victims Who Die by Suicide

When Can You File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit for a Victim Who Died by Suicide?

Surviving family members may have a claim when a victim dies by suicide because of institutional sexual abuse they experienced at school, in church, while in prison, as a patient in a medical facility, or in another setting.

What Evidence Do You Need for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit for an Abuse Victim Who Died by Suicide?

For these kinds of wrongful death lawsuits, our lawyers need evidence that the abuse occurred and evidence that shows the victim’s suicide would not have happened if it were not for the abuse they endured. Police reports, internal institution reports, and witness statements help prove this. The victim’s own journal entries are also strong evidence.

What Damages Can You Get from a Wrongful Death Lawsuit for an Abuse Victim Who Died by Suicide?

Pennsylvania lets survivors recover economic and non-economic damages in wrongful death lawsuits for the abuse victims’ suicide. Cumulative losses of companionship, consortium, household services, and future earnings may be substantial. Punitive damages may also be awarded for malicious or willful misconduct, like sexual abuse.

How Long Do You Have to File Wrongful Death Lawsuit for an Abuse Victim Who Died by Suicide?

You have 2 years from the date the victim died by suicide to bring a wrongful death lawsuit in Pennsylvania. The statute of limitations may toll for delayed discovery, so tell our lawyers if you only recently learned the reason for your loved one’s suicide, even if they died more than 2 years ago.

Can You File a Survival Action When an Abuse Victim Dies by Suicide?

You may also bring a survival action as the personal representative on behalf of the estate to recover compensation for damages the victim incurred prior to their death by suicide because of sexual abuse.

Should You Get a Lawyer if a Sexual Abuse Victim Dies by Suicide?

If you are aware of a loved one’s experience of sexual abuse and have strong reasons to believe that it directly caused their recent suicide, you should consult our lawyers to see if you can sue the institution that enabled their abuse, since, without the defendant’s negligence or intentional misconduct, the suicide would not have occurred.

Call Us About an Abuse Victim Wrongful Death Lawsuit Today

Call our sexual abuse victim lawyers at (814) 826-3586 for a free case review from The Law Office of Andrew Shubin.