Home / Case types / Fatal accident and wrongful death claims
Claims brought by surviving family members
Fatal accident and wrongful death claims
A legal process nobody wants to be in, handled by people who understand that fact.
Where a death is caused by negligence, provincial fatal accidents legislation allows defined family members to claim for loss of guidance, care and companionship, for lost financial dependency, and for funeral and related expenses. Who may claim and what may be claimed is set by statute and differs meaningfully between provinces. There is usually also an estate claim, which is a separate matter with separate rules.
The forks in the road
What actually changes who should hold this file
Each of these moves the file to a different set of practitioners. All of them are in our intake.
Who is entitled to claim
Provincial statutes define eligible claimants — spouses, children, parents, sometimes siblings and grandparents. Common-law status, estrangement and blended families all raise real issues.
Estate claim versus family claim
They are distinct, may be brought by different people, and are valued on different principles. Both are often available.
Dependency
Where the deceased supported others financially, the loss is calculated by an economist over decades. It is the largest component of most fatality claims and the most under-pleaded.
Parallel investigations
Criminal charges, coroner’s inquests and regulatory investigations run alongside and produce evidence, but also delay. Coordinating with them is a distinct skill.
The first weeks
What competent counsel does early
Not what they say in a consultation — what actually happens in the file while you are still recovering.
- Establishing who has authority to instruct counsel before decisions are needed.
- Preserving evidence while investigations are ongoing, without interfering with them.
- Applying for available immediate benefits so a grieving family is not also in financial crisis.
These files move slowly and cannot be rushed by anyone. What you can control is who carries it, and how often they call you back. That is the part we take seriously.
Get this in front of someone who does it every week.
Ten minutes of intake, one name back, no cost and no obligation.
Fatal accident and wrongful death claims by province
The limitation clock and the notice traps are provincial. Pick where it happened.
InjuryLawyerNearMe.ca is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, legal opinions, or legal representation. We are an independent matching service. Nothing on this site creates a solicitor-client relationship. Deadlines and entitlements depend on facts we cannot assess from a web page — speak to a lawyer promptly. Reviewed 2026-05-01.