To bring a wrongful death lawsuit under Alabama law, an estate has to be opened. The proper person to bring a wrongful death lawsuit is the administrator of the estate, that’s the vehicle or the mechanism in which a wrongful death claim is filed in Alabama. The administrator of the estate is the person that helps assist the lawyer in prosecuting the claim.
The time frame or the statute of limitations within which to file a claim is two years from at which the person passed. You have two years from the date of death to file a claim before it will be barred under Alabama law.
The other important thing to consider about a wrongful death claim is that the beneficiaries there, the people who get any of the proceeds, is not necessarily the administrator of the estate. It’s based upon what’s called the law of intestate succession. That looks at whether the person had a spouse. It looks at whether they have children.
You want to make sure that all those people are involved in prosecuting the claim to make the claim go as smoothly as possible and to maximize your recovery.