Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Florida, and who recovers?

Florida’s Wrongful Death Act sets out specific rules on both points. The claim is brought by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate, and a single action is filed on behalf of everyone entitled to recover, rather than each family member suing separately. The people who may recover are the statutory “survivors.” A spouse, children, and parents are included, and other blood relatives or adoptive siblings may qualify if they were partly or wholly dependent on the deceased for support or services. A distinctive feature of Florida law is that, for these purposes, a “minor child” is defined as a child under 25. Because who is entitled to recover — and in what capacity — directly shapes the negotiation, getting these threshold questions right is an important early step in any wrongful death mediation.