Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Maryland

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Maryland sorts beneficiaries into two tiers. The first tier blocks the second completely — a dependent cousin can't claim if a surviving parent exists.

Primary beneficiaries

Under Courts and Judicial Proceedings §3-904(a), a wrongful death action is for the benefit of the deceased's wife, husband, parent and child. In the version of the statute we reviewed, a parent convicted of certain listed offenses against a child is excluded from recovering for that child's death, and a child who caused a parent's death can't benefit from the action.

Secondary beneficiaries

If none of those people survive, subsection (b) allows the action to be for the benefit of any person related to the deceased by blood or marriage who was substantially dependent on the deceased. Dependency, not just kinship, is the test.

Dividing the recovery

Damages may be awarded to the beneficiaries in proportion to the injury each suffered from the death. A claim has to account for everyone entitled; secondary sources note that Maryland allows only one wrongful death action for all eligible beneficiaries.

A separate claim for the estate

The decedent's own pre-death pain and suffering is recovered through a survival action brought by the estate under Estates and Trusts §7-401, not through the wrongful death claim. It has its own noneconomic damages cap.

This is general information, not legal advice. Beneficiary eligibility is fact-specific. Confirm who qualifies in your situation with a licensed Maryland attorney.