You can sue the person who killed your family member by filing a civil wrongful death lawsuit, and you can do it whether or not that person is ever criminally charged or convicted. Suing someone for murdering a family member is a completely separate track from the criminal case: the government prosecutes to punish; your family sues to recover money. The civil court uses a lower standard of proof, so families sometimes win civil verdicts even after a criminal acquittal. Winning a judgment and actually collecting on it, though, are two very different problems, and the second one is usually harder.
Why a Civil Case Can Win When the Criminal Case Doesn’t
Criminal prosecutors have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In a wrongful death case, your family only has to show that the defendant’s responsibility is more likely than not, a standard called preponderance of the evidence.1Legal Information Institute. Preponderance of the Evidence The gap between those two standards is enormous.
The clearest illustration is the O.J. Simpson case. Simpson was acquitted of murder in 1995, then found liable in 1997 for the wrongful deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, with the jury awarding the families $33.5 million. The same underlying facts produced opposite results because the two courts were asking different questions.
The practical takeaway: an acquittal, a dropped case, or a case that never gets charged does not end your ability to sue. Your civil case stands on its own evidence.2Legal Information Institute. Burden of Proof
Who Is Allowed to File
Every state has a wrongful death statute that lists who can bring the lawsuit. Spouses, children, and parents of the deceased are almost always first in line. Some states extend standing to domestic partners, stepchildren, financial dependents, or anyone who would inherit under the state’s intestacy laws.3Justia. Wrongful Death Lawsuits 50-State Survey In many states, the lawsuit has to be filed by the personal representative of the deceased’s estate on behalf of all eligible family members, rather than by individual relatives suing on their own.
A surviving sibling might have standing in one state and none in the next. If you are not clearly a spouse, child, or parent, your answer depends on the specific statute where the case will be filed.
Don’t Wait for the Criminal Case to Finish
Wrongful death lawsuits have strict filing deadlines. The most common statute of limitations is two years from the date of death, roughly a third of states allow three, and a few set the clock as short as one year.3Justia. Wrongful Death Lawsuits 50-State Survey Several states carve out longer windows when the death resulted from homicide, but you cannot assume that applies to you.
An ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution does not automatically pause the civil clock in most states. Families sometimes assume they should let the criminal case play out first, and by the time they act, the deadline has passed and the court dismisses the case no matter how strong the evidence. If a criminal case is pending, talk to a wrongful death attorney early so you do not forfeit your right to sue by waiting.
What You Have to Prove
A wrongful death claim built on an intentional killing is often more straightforward than one built on an accident. You still need to prove four elements: that the defendant had a duty not to harm the deceased, that the defendant breached that duty, that the breach caused the death, and that the death caused measurable losses to the family.4Legal Information Institute. Wrongful Death In a homicide case, duty and breach are rarely contested in any serious way. The real courtroom fight usually centers on damages: how much your family’s losses are worth.
How a Conviction or Guilty Plea Helps
If the defendant is convicted, that conviction can dramatically simplify your civil case. Under the doctrine of collateral estoppel, a criminal conviction may prevent the defendant from re-arguing facts that were already decided in the criminal trial. A jury has already found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant killed your family member, and the civil court may treat that as settled. Your attorney can then focus entirely on damages.
A guilty plea carries similar weight. Courts generally treat a guilty plea as an admission that can be used against the defendant in later civil proceedings. But none of this is required. A conviction makes the case easier; the absence of one does not close the door.
What the Lawsuit Can Recover
Wrongful death damages fall into a few categories that reflect different kinds of harm. Specifics vary by state, but most jurisdictions recognize some version of each.
Economic damages cover the losses you can document with paper: funeral and burial expenses, medical bills incurred before death, the deceased’s lost future income and employment benefits, and the value of household services the deceased provided. Calculating lost future earnings usually requires an economist who projects what the person would have earned over a working lifetime. For a young person with strong earning potential, these figures can reach into the millions.
Non-economic damages compensate for losses that do not come with a receipt: loss of a parent’s guidance, a spouse’s companionship, a child’s love. These awards are inherently subjective, and juries have wide discretion. Some states cap non-economic damages, though many of those caps apply specifically to medical malpractice rather than to all wrongful death claims, so a homicide-based lawsuit may not be limited the same way.
Punitive damages are extra money awarded to punish the defendant when the conduct was especially outrageous. Intentional murder generally qualifies. Not every state allows punitive damages in wrongful death actions, and some that do impose caps or heightened proof requirements. Where they are available, a homicide is exactly the kind of conduct they were designed for.
Survival Actions: A Separate Companion Claim
A survival action is legally distinct from a wrongful death claim, though families usually file the two together. The wrongful death claim compensates surviving family members for their losses. The survival action compensates the deceased’s estate for what the victim personally endured between the injury and death, such as pain and suffering and medical expenses.4Legal Information Institute. Wrongful Death
Where the money goes differs. Wrongful death proceeds typically flow directly to eligible family members. Survival action proceeds go into the estate and pass through probate, which means they may be used to pay the deceased’s outstanding debts before anything reaches the family. If the deceased had significant creditors, that distinction matters.
Who Else You Might Sue
The killer is not always the only party who bears legal responsibility. If someone else’s negligence created the conditions that made the killing possible, that party may also be liable. Common categories include:
- Property owners, such as a landlord or business that failed to maintain adequate security (broken locks, missing lighting, no cameras) in a location with a known crime problem.
- Employers that negligently hired, supervised, or retained an employee who committed the killing, especially where warning signs were ignored.
- Security companies contracted to provide protection that failed to perform their duties.
- Bars and restaurants, in states with dram shop laws, that served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person who then killed someone.
Third-party claims are often the entire point of the lawsuit. These defendants are far more likely to have insurance or real assets than the killer. An incarcerated murderer with an empty bank account cannot pay a judgment. A corporation with a liability insurance policy can. Experienced wrongful death attorneys look hard for these claims because they often represent the only realistic path to actual compensation.
The Hardest Part Is Collecting
Winning a wrongful death judgment against a murderer is one problem. Collecting on it is another. The defendant is often sitting in prison with no income, no property, and no savings. A judgment is a legal declaration that you are owed money; the court does not collect it for you.
Why Insurance Usually Won’t Pay
Standard homeowners and liability insurance policies contain exclusions for intentional and criminal acts. If the defendant committed murder, the insurer will almost certainly deny coverage. Even if the defendant technically has a policy, it will not pay a judgment arising from an intentional killing. This is the single biggest reason families with valid claims walk away with nothing from the killer personally.
What Enforcement Actually Looks Like
If the defendant does have assets, whether bank accounts, real property, or future earnings after release, you can pursue them through wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens. Judgments typically remain enforceable for ten years and can be renewed, so a family can wait for the defendant to eventually acquire assets. Any money the defendant earns after release from prison can potentially be garnished. Son of Sam laws in many states add another avenue: if the defendant profits from the crime through book deals, interviews, or media rights, those profits may be seized and directed to the victim’s family.
The honest assessment is that many wrongful death judgments against individual murderers go uncollected. The judgment has value as accountability, and it puts a legal cloud over the defendant’s finances for decades. But families who are counting on actual payment need to focus on whether third-party defendants with real assets or insurance are in the case.
Blocking the Killer From Inheriting
Every state has adopted some form of the slayer rule, a legal principle that prevents a killer from profiting financially from the victim’s death. Someone who murders a family member forfeits any inheritance, life insurance benefits, joint property rights, or other financial interests they would have received because of the death. The rule can be applied by a civil court based on the preponderance of the evidence standard, so a criminal conviction is not required. In a domestic homicide where the killer is a spouse or family member who would otherwise stand to inherit, the slayer rule ensures the victim’s assets pass to other heirs as if the killer had died first.
What the Lawsuit Costs You
Most wrongful death attorneys work on contingency, meaning they take a percentage of the recovery instead of charging hourly fees upfront. The standard contingency fee ranges from roughly one-third to 40 percent of the total award. Cases that settle before trial usually fall at the lower end; cases that go through trial tend toward the higher end to reflect the added time and risk.
Beyond attorney fees, litigation costs can be substantial. Filing fees, expert witness fees, deposition costs, and forensic analysis add up quickly. In many contingency arrangements, the law firm advances these costs and recoups them from the recovery. If the case is unsuccessful, some firms absorb the costs while others require the client to repay them, so read your fee agreement before signing.
The contingency model puts wrongful death lawsuits within reach for families who could never afford hourly legal bills. It also means an attorney will evaluate whether the case can produce a collectible recovery before taking it on. A case against an incarcerated defendant with no assets and no third-party defendants may be legally strong but financially uncollectible, and many attorneys will decline it on contingency for that reason.
Faster Help Through Crime Victim Compensation
Every state operates a crime victim compensation program that can help families of homicide victims cover expenses regardless of whether a civil lawsuit is filed or succeeds. These programs typically reimburse funeral and burial costs, counseling for surviving family members, lost wages for dependents, and medical bills incurred before death. Some states also cover crime scene cleanup and relocation expenses when safety is a concern.5Office for Victims of Crime. Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Administrators
Maximum payouts are modest compared to civil judgments, so these programs are not a substitute for a wrongful death lawsuit. The money arrives much faster than any lawsuit can deliver, though, and eligibility does not depend on the defendant being caught or convicted. Most programs require that the crime was reported to law enforcement and that the applicant cooperates with any investigation. Applying for victim compensation does not stop you from pursuing a civil lawsuit separately.