Who Can Sue For Wrongful Death?

The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure provide that the action for wrongful death shall be brought only by the personal representative of the decedent, but if no action has been brought within six months after the death of the decedent, the action may be brought by the personal representative or by any person entitled to recover damages in such action as trustee ad litem on behalf of all persons entitled to share in the damages. In other words, during the first six months after the death, the decedent's personal representative is the sole person entitled to bring a wrongful death action; thereafter a wrongful death action may be brought either by the personal representative or by any other person entitled to share in the damages; and the action that is brought first bars the institution of any other action.

A survival action may be brought only by the personal representative of the decedent. It is provided by statute that where the plaintiff dies after he has commenced an action, his personal representative shall be substituted as plaintiff, and where no suit has been brought by the decedent during his lifetime, suit shall be commenced by his personal representative.

The persons entitled to be appointed as personal representative and the order in which they may be appointed is prescribed by statute. The right to maintain an action for wrongful death should not be confused with the right to share in the distribution. The right to share in the distribution is not determinative of the right to bring the action.