Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Massachusetts

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Massachusetts separates who sues from who gets paid — and the list of who gets paid is closed.

The executor or administrator files

Under G.L. c. 229 §2, damages for wrongful death are recovered in an action of tort by the executor or administrator of the deceased. Family members don't file in their own names.

An exclusive list of beneficiaries

The beneficiaries in c. 229 §1 are either the spouse and children of a married decedent, or the next of kin of an unmarried one, as defined by the intestacy rules. The list is exclusive. Where the decedent leaves a spouse, the decedent's parents have no right to share in the recovery, even though they would have been beneficiaries if their child had been unmarried.

How the money is divided

A surviving spouse with no children generally takes the whole recovery. When children survive too, the statute sets the shares. Damages are measured by what each person lost — the net income, services, protection, care, society, companionship, guidance, counsel and advice the decedent would have provided.

Pain before death goes to the estate

The decedent's conscious pain and suffering between the injury and the death is a separate claim under c. 229 §6. It is an asset of the estate, passing under the will or intestacy rather than to the wrongful death beneficiaries. If death was instantaneous, there is generally no such claim.

Official sources

• M.G.L. c. 229, § 2 — wrongful death
• M.G.L. c. 231, § 85 — comparative negligence
• M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A — tort deadline

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