June 28, 2019

Question

My brother passed away due to septic shock caused by an infection. He has a young child but was not married. My mother was going to file a lawsuit against the hospital. However, the child's mother has already started her own process of filing a claim against the hospital. Can another lawsuit be filed against the hospital by my mother? Who has rights to file a suit?

Answer

Whoever gets appointed as the Executor (or it there was no will) Administrator of the Estate is the named plaintiff in the lawsuit. If the decedent left no will, usually it's the surviving spouse, parent or child, as the case may be - not everyone is eligible for that appointment - the appointment does not affect distribution of any money damages, or "who gets what". As next-of-kin, you and your mother should have your questions answered by the lawyer handling it, or retain your own lawyer if you can't get answers.


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