Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...3d DCA 1995) ("The personal representative is the individual having the power to enter into settlements of wrongful death actions"); § 731.201, Fla. Stat. (1989) (defining letters of administration as the "authority granted by the court to the personal representative to act on behalf of the estate of the decedent"); § 768.20, Fla....

...[14] Whether these facts constitute an enforceable settlement is ultimately irrelevant, however, because it is readily apparent that Infinity agreed to settle and merely insisted on Taylor having authority to release the insured before tendering the check. [15] The petitioner argues that Taylor had such authority because section 768.20, Florida Statutes, allowed Taylor's capacity as personal representative, obtained on June 20, to "relate back" and validate his settlement offer....

...1st DCA 1985), which interpreted the Wrongful Death Act (WDA). I disagree. The WDA provides in part as follows: " When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." § 768.20, Fla....

...pter 400. It was only where the violation of the resident's chapter 400 rights resulted in the person's death could the Wrongful Death Act even be legitimately argued as applicable to subsume the resident's chapter 400 civil action entirely. [7] See § 768.20, Fla....

...on [15] and were intended to merge the survival action for personal injuries and the wrongful death action into one lawsuit. Section 768.19 [16] of the new Act provides for a cause of action in wording similar to that of now repealed Section 768.01. Section 768.20, which is substantially different from the predecessor statute, establishes who may bring the action and the manner in which it is brought....

...Constitutionality of the New Wrongful Death Act; Pain and Suffering Damages The title of the new Wrongful Death Act, Chapter 72-35, Laws of Florida 1972, is as follows: " An Act relating to wrongful death action; amending chapter 768, Florida Statutes, by adding sections 768.16, ... 768.20, 768.21 ...; providing for a right of action on behalf of the survivors and the estate by the personal representative of a decedent whose death is caused by the wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person...

...suffering were being abolished in the body of the Act, and (2) the legislature cannot eliminate an established right without providing a suitable alternative. The first of these contentions turns ultimately upon our interpretation of that portion of Section 768.20 relating to the abatement of actions for personal injuries resulting in death. This is a crucial subissue which we must resolve before considering the sufficiency of the title of the Act. Section 768.20 establishes the parties who may bring the action, provides that personal injury actions do not survive, and retains the defenses that may be asserted to bar or reduce the recovery....

...ion 46.021 for the decedent's pain and suffering had to be based upon testimony of others. Punitive Damages The final issue requires us to determine whether the enactment of this new Wrongful Death Act, and specifically of the italicized sentence of Section 768.20 quoted previously, effectively repealed the authority to claim punitive damages for a negligently caused death....

...independent suits for their individual damages; rather, they must share in the single judgment, if any, obtained by the personal representative. This is true under the general maritime law, Florida law, and New York law. See Fl.Stat. § 768.20 (West 1986) ("The [wrongful death] action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death."); N.Y....

...The parties agreed at oral argument that because Kevin died during the pendency of this appeal, if we vacated any part of the judgment and remanded for any reason, the judgment would no longer be “final” and the Florida abatement statute, Fla. Stat. § 768.20, would apply....

...3d DCA 1980) (noting that had the court not affirmed the decision below and instead reversed on the merits, “the action would 33 again be ‘pending’ in the lower court and would, by operation of Sec. 768.20, then be subject to abatement”); Levey, 909 So....

...Which type of claim is viable depends on the cause of the decedent’s death: If the decedent died as a result of the injuries caused by the tortfeasor, the appropriate cause of action is a wrongful death claim brought by the personal representative for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors. See Fla. Stat. § 768.20; Martin v. United Sec....

...[1] The majority opinion refers to "a highly analogous situation" wherein the Legislature "recently repealed the statute which discriminated, based upon sex, in determining the proper parties in actions for the death of a minor child." (Fla.Laws Ch. 72-35 and specifically new § 768.20, Florida Statutes) That change simply provided for the action through the personal representative of the decedent to recover for the benefit of all survivors which was in accordance with our earlier opinion (Adkins, J.) in Garner v....

...Garner spoke to the merits of the right of recovery in various parties with divergent interests; it was not prompted by a single family loss as in the case of a child's injury within the family unit. The majority opinion apparently adopts the "representative" approach in Garner and now in Fla. Stat. § 768.20 for our own "legislation" in the present cause of action. If we must legislate, then Justice Adkins and Fla. Stat. § 768.20 are not bad precedents to follow and our holding will probably do no harm in that it is basically a procedural difference....

...1984), which holds that amendment of a complaint after expiration of the limitations period seeking additional damages for the deceased minor's mother, loss of the minor's net accumulations, and medical and funeral expenses was proper because the statutory mechanism for bringing a wrongful death action, § 768.20, Fla....

..."abate" the action which had culminated in the judgment it sought to review. The basis of the motion was the contention that Anthony's death, caused by Variety's negligence, had terminated the right to recover for his personal injuries by virtue of Section 768.20, Fla....

...and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate ... [e.s.] See Martin v. United Security Services, Inc., 314 So.2d 765 (Fla. 1975). The motion is denied. [1] The precise issue raised by the motion is whether the cited provision of Sec. 768.20 applies when the injured person dies after a final judgment has been entered in his favor, but before the termination of proceedings for review of that judgment....

...*337 It would be a harsh result if Bailey's heirs were to lose what he would have otherwise been entitled to simply because he died pending an appeal which was ultimately determined not to have been well founded. The appellant's argument in support of its motion is based entirely on an interpretation of Sec. 768.20 which is strained to the breaking point and beyond....

...See Alsop v. Pierce, 155 Fla. 185, 19 So.2d 799, 803 (1944). Every case upon which Variety relies deals with a legal problem which is totally different from the one before us. [2] The issue in this case concerns only the proper interpretation of Sec. 768.20 which provides that the pending action shall "abate" at death....

...eserved ruling pending consideration of the appeal. We took this course because it is conceded by the appellees that, if the judgment were reversed on the merits, the action would again be "pending" in the lower court and would, by operation of Sec. 768.20, then be subject to abatement....

...subject to the requirements of rule 1.360. A wrongful death action may be brought only by the personal representative for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate. Williams v. Infinity Ins. Co., 745 So.2d 573, 576 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). See § 768.20, Fla....

...dent's survivors are the real parties in interest. Nonetheless, the Legislature has mandated that a decedent's personal representative is the party `who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages....'") (quoting § 768.20, Fla....

...The government contends that under Florida law appellees' personal injury action abated on the death of Benjamin and that, because the original basis of jurisdiction was destroyed, appellees' only viable cause of action would be a suit for wrongful death. The government relies on Florida Stat. § 768.20, which provides in part as follows: 6 When a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate....

...In Variety, final judgment had been entered on plaintiff's personal injury claims but the appeal had not yet been ruled upon when the plaintiff died. On appeal the defendant moved to remand the case with directions to the trial judge to abate the action under section 768.20. Defendant argued that the case was subject to abatement because it was pending when the plaintiff died. The court held that section 768.20 does not apply in this situation....

...lly dependent on the decedent for support or services, any blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters." § 768.18(1), Fla. Stat. (1997). Section 768.19, Florida Statutes (1997), explains when an action for wrongful death may be brought, while 768.20, Florida Statutes (1997), explains: The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death. When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate. § 768.20, Fla....

...contend payment of the final judgment must be restricted to the sum of $50,000 because this is a claim by one person — the administratrix of the estate of Samuel W. McDowell, and only one judgment. We disagree. The judgment here is a judgment under § 768.20, Florida Statutes, for the several claims of Myrtle McDowell, the decedent's widow and the decedent's children. The aforesaid § 768.20 requires that the suit be filed in the name of the administratrix but it includes the several claims of all persons entitled to recover for the death by wrongful act of the decedent....

...r relief on her EMTALA claim. Under Florida's Wrongful Death Act, [w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate. Fla.Stat.Ann. § 768.20 (West 1986)....

...Orlando Clinic, 555 So.2d 876, 878-79 (Fla. 5th Dist. Ct.App.1989), rev. denied, 567 So.2d 435 (Fla.), and rev. denied, 567 So.2d 436 (Fla. 1990). Instead, in her claim under the EMTALA, Plaintiff may recover those damages recoverable by a decedent's survivors under Fla.Stat.Ann. § 768.20....

...Reed, 389 So.2d 1026, 1028 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980). Under the Wrongful Death Act, the personal representative is the party who seeks recovery of all damages caused by the injury resulting in death for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and for the estate. § 768.20, Fla....

...As noted above, the Reshards seek to recover under the Florida Wrongful Death statute. That statute provides that "[t]he action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act." Fla.Stat. Sec. 768.20 (1985)....

...Tuttle has elected to participate in further proceedings in this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 46(c) 1 The plaintiffs invoked the district court's jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1332 (1982) (diversity of citizenship), and sought recovery under the Florida Wrongful Death statute, Fla.Stat. Sec. 768.21 (1985). Section 768.20 of the Florida Statutes provides that "[t]he [wrongful death] action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act." Fla.Stat. Sec. 768.20 (1985)....

...r to determine whether the named party is the real party in interest. Proctor v. Gissendaner, 579 F.2d 876, 880 (5th Cir.1978). Under Florida Law, the real party in interest for a wrongful death action is the personal representative of the decedent. § 768.20 Fla.Stat....

...e minor child or children may maintain an action." The corresponding provision in 1977 provided that "[t]he action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate." § 768.20, Fla....

...We agree. The Florida Wrongful Death Act provides, in relevant part, that "[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." § 768.20, Fla....

...Under Florida law, “[t]he action shall be brought by the decedent’s personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death.” Fla. Stat. § 768.20. Children of a decedent may also recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury....

...Defendant Saia properly contends that Reid's offer was invalid as it was not submitted by the joint personal representatives. [2] A valid offer of judgment must be served by the party plaintiff. § 768.79, Fla. Stat. (2004); Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.442(c)(3). Under section 768.20, Florida Statutes, the personal representative is the only party plaintiff permitted to bring a wrongful death suit on behalf of the survivors....

...he person. All causes of action survive and may be commenced, prosecuted, and defended in the name of the person prescribed by law. *879 Despite this statute, the decedent-patient's personal injury negligence action did not survive his death because section 768.20, Florida Statutes, a part of the wrongful death act, specifically provides: When a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate....

...Behar, is required."). The multiple parties/apportionment requirement of the rule does not render Hodson's proposal for settlement deficient. By statute, a wrongful death claim is brought by one plaintiff—the personal representative of the estate of the deceased. See § 768.20, Fla....

...By statute, a wrongful death action must be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death. § 768.20, Fla....

...y such action pending at the time of death shall abate.... A defense that would bar or reduce a survivor’s recovery if she or he were the plaintiff may be asserted against the *759 survivor, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor. § 768.20, Fla....

...ion emanates from the NHRRA. When the NHRRA does not apply, the personal injury cause of action abates upon the death of the injured party under the Wrongful Death Act, and the wrongful death cause of action becomes the only avenue for recovery. See § 768.20, Fla....

...Philip Morris contended that the Florida Wrongful Death Act (the Act) prohibits conversion of a personal injury action into a wrongful death action when the injuries to a party plaintiff result in his or her death. In support of this contention, Philip Morris relied upon section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2008), which provides that “[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate.” Philip Morris...

...On May 18, 2009, Philip Morris filed with the circuit court a Motion to Vacate the May 8 order, again asserting that Karen’s initial motion for reconsideration was not timely served. Philip Morris also contended that the circuit court had properly dismissed the personal injury case on the basis that section 768.20 requires that a wrongful death.action be filed as a new and separate action that cannot be presented in an amendment to an existing case....

...Philip Morris was blank, and “Capone could not point to anything to show that the motion was served within the ten-day time period specified by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530(b).” Id. at 35 . The district court then held that, based upon section 768.20, the original personal injury action filed by the Capones could not be amended after Frank’s death to include a wrongful death claim: Florida law establishes that a personal injury claim is extinguished upon the death of the plaintiff, and any surviving claim must be brought as a new and separate wrongful death action — it cannot be brought as an amendment to a personal injury action. See § 768.20 (“[W]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate”)....

...nied the request of Lena and the other co-personal representative to substitute themselves as plaintiffs in the pending personal injury action. See id. at 34 . *369 In reaching this determination, the Second District examined the term “abate” in section 768.20 as it relates to a personal injury action upon the death of a party plaintiff, and concluded that “the transition from life to death for a personal injury action is not as simple as the defendants wish it to be.” Id....

...The Second District explained: “Abatement” is a common-law term with various definitions. It is often used to signify that an action has been extinguished or ended. See generally 1 Am.Jur.2d Abatement, Survival and Revival § 1 (1994). We will not attempt a precise definition of “abate” for purposes of section 768.20....

...t, which is represented by a physical file in the courthouse. A pending lawsuit does not simply self-destruct like the secret message on a rerun of “Mission Impossible.” In some fashion, it must be dismissed by court order. Moreover, pursuant to section 768.20, a personal injury action only “abates” if it is first determined that the personal injury resulted in the plaintiffs death....

...No such determination has been made by the circuit court in this case. Id. The district court then noted that because the cause of Peter’s death was not clear from the record, the pleadings did not permit the personal injury action to be terminated under section 768.20....

...All causes of action survive and may be commenced, prosecuted, and defended in the name of the person prescribed by law.” Id. at 33-34. The Second District concluded that substitution of parties was necessary because, otherwise, “the trial court would never be able to resolve this action by correctly applying sections 768.20 and 46.021 because there would never be a party who could proceed or against whom a dismissal could be entered.” Id....

...not ensued shall be liable for damages as specified in this act notwithstanding the death of the person injured, although death was caused under circumstances constituting a felony. § 768.19, Fla. Stat. (2008). Specifically at issue in this case is section 768.20 of the Act, which states: The [wrongful death] action shall be brought by the decedent’s personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...The wrongdoer’s personal representative shall be the defendant if the wrongdoer dies before or pending the action. A defense that would bar or reduce a survivor’s recovery if she or he were the plaintiff may be asserted against the survivor, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor. § 768.20, Fla....

...tiff-decedent, and a second count for wrongful death damages where the injury to the decedent ultimately resulted in death. Id. It is with this historical background of the causes of action in mind that we evaluate the use of the term “abate” in section 768.20....

...Legislative intent is the polestar that guides a court’s statutory construction analysis.” Bautista v. State, 863 So.2d 1180, 1185 (Fla.2003). Thus, to determine whether an “abated” personal injury action is completely eliminated or merely suspended under section 768.20, it is necessary to look to the legislative intent behind the Act....

...ay a determination of responsibilities. Moreover, such an interpretation would effectively allow alleged tortfeasors to evade liability for an extended period of time. To give effect to the intent of the Act, we conclude that the word “abate” in section 768.20 must be interpreted in a manner that facilitates — not complicates or convo-lves — the initiation and progression of a wrongful death action on behalf of a decedent’s survivors when the injured party plaintiff in a personal injury action dies. Based upon this conclusion, we hold that when a personal injury action “abates” pursuant to section 768.20, this does not require that the entire case be deemed immediately void and must be dismissed, or that it “self-destruct[s] like the secret message on a rerun of ‘Mission Impossible.’ ” Niemi, 862 So.2d at 33 . In *377 stead, “abate,” as that term is used in section 768.20 must be interpreted to cause the case to be suspended until the personal representative of the decedent’s estate is added as a party to the pending action and receives a reasonable opportunity to amend the complaint to state the dama...

...a wrongful death claim, or both, may continue to be pursued against an alleged tortfeasor. See Niemi, 862 So.2d at 34 (“Without the substitution of parties, the trial court would never be able to resolve this action by correctly applying sections 768.20 and 46.021 because there would never be a party who could proceed or against whom a dismissal could be entered.”)....

...ilip Morris could not be amended, but was required to'be dismissed and a completely new and independent wrongful death action commenced, was in error. This conclusion by the appellate court was based upon an interpretation of the word “abate” in section 768.20 that is inconsistent with both the express legislative intent behind the Act and the language specifically included by the Florida Legislature that the Act was to be liberally construed to accomplish that intent....

...g from the same injuries causing death. Because wrongful death actions did not exist at common law, all claims for wrongful death are created and limited by Florida's Wrongful Death Act. See Cinghina v. Racik, 647 So.2d 289, 290 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1995), expressly provides that "[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive." Our supreme court has recognized that it was the legislative intent of...

...Section 46.021 states: "No cause of action dies with the person. All causes of action survive and may be commenced, prosecuted, and defended in the name of the person prescribed by law." Death creates a complexity for pending personal injury actions because section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2002), provides that "[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." Thus, when death is the...

..."Abatement" is a common-law term with various definitions. It is often used to signify that an action has been extinguished or ended. See generally 1 Am. Jur.2d Abatement, Survival and Revival § 1 (1994). We will not attempt a precise definition of "abate" for purposes of section 768.20....

...wsuit, which is represented by a physical file in the courthouse. A pending lawsuit does not simply self-destruct like the secret message on a rerun of "Mission Impossible." In some fashion, it must be dismissed by court order. Moreover, pursuant to section 768.20, a personal injury action only "abates" if it is first determined that the personal injury resulted in the plaintiff's death....

...Niemi died during the pendency of his lawsuit. As a result, the pleadings do not currently claim that his death was either the result of his personal injury or the result of some independent cause. Thus, the pleadings do not permit the personal injury action to be abated under section 768.20, and the action cannot be dismissed in light of section 46.021....

...sonal representatives were not permitted to become parties and would not have the power to file an appeal at a later time. Without the substitution of parties, the trial court would never be able to resolve this action by correctly applying sections 768.20 and 46.021 because there would never be a party who could proceed or against whom a dismissal could be entered....

...4th DCA 2000). Importantly, the present case differs from a wrongful death case, where the personal representative, who is a statutory party (albeit acting on behalf of the decedent's survivors and the decedent's estate) may settle all claims. See §§ 768.20, 768.25, Fla....

...Peterson, 779 So.2d 494, 496 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000); In re Estate of Catapane, 759 So.2d 9, 10-11 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); Pearson v. DeLamerens, 656 So.2d 217, 220 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). The personal representative is herself or himself the party plaintiff in a suit for wrongful death. See § 768.20, Fla....

...An action under Florida's Wrongful Death Act "shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages [under the Act] caused by the injury resulting in death." See § 768.20, Fla....

...In Brazier, the Georgia wrongful death laws favored the life of the claim after the death of the victim. In Florida the state laws do not favor the life of the claim after the death of the victim. In 1972, Florida revised its wrongful death laws, see § 768.16 et seq. § 768.20 provides that: "The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...The personal representative is merely a nominal party to the wrongful death action. Florida Emergency Physicians-Kang & Associates, M.D., P.A. v. Parker, 800 So.2d 631, 633 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). The estate and the survivors are the real parties in interest. Id. ; § 768.20, Fla....

...(b) Rule 12(b)(6) Motion — Improperly Named Plaintiffs. The defendants argue that David Brown, as the court-appointed personal representative *580 of the estate, is the only proper representative of Peter and Nancy Brown (as survivors) and the estate pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 768.20, which provides in pertinent part: The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...and the event would have entitled the person injured to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued, the person ... that would have been liable in damages if death had not ensued shall be liable for damages as specified in this act notwithstanding the death of the person injured, ..." (Emphasis added) Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1975), also provides in part: "The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...When a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." (Emphasis added) Appellees apparently attempt to find refuge in the last sentence of Section 768.20, supra, urging that the legislature provided that when an injury causes death no action for personal injury shall survive and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate and, thus, this language impliedly abolishes Section 46.021....

...t in the first instance, the effect of the death of the plaintiff, see note 1 supra, upon the thus-reversed final judgment may be to "abate" the personal injury action entirely in favor of a yet-to-be brought action for Lorenzo's wrongful death. See § 768.20, Fla....

...eserved ruling pending consideration of the appeal. We took this course because it is conceded by the appellees that, if the judgment were reversed on the merits, the action would again be `pending' in the lower court and would, by operation of Sec. 768.20, then be subject to abatement."); 1 Am.Jur.2d Abatement, Survival, and Revival § 61 (1994)("An action generally is not abated by the death of a party after the cause has reached a verdict or final judgment....

...t to damages for each survivor. However, the survivors cannot bring separate legal actions. Rather, by statute, the personal representative is the only party with standing to bring a wrongful death suit on behalf of the estate and the survivors. See § 768.20, Fla....

...The issue in this case is whether a probate judge must take into consideration the comparative fault of a survivor when asked to allocate proceeds of a wrongful death claim that has been settled before suit is filed. We hold that when the issue is raised by a survivor, the judge must give effect to section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1999), and consider a defense that *1204 "would bar or reduce a survivor's recovery if she or he were the plaintiff." Ronald and Nancy Hess were divorced on September 20, 1993....

...The cause of action for wrongful death is "created and limited" by the Florida Wrongful Death Act, sections 768.16-768.27, Florida Statutes (1999). First Healthcare Corp. v. Hamilton, 740 So.2d 1189, 1195 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. dismissed, 743 So.2d 12 (Fla.1999). Section 768.20 *1205 requires that a wrongful death action be brought by the decedent's personal representative, "who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury res...

...The statute's designation of the personal representative as the party plaintiff in a wrongful death action does not indicate a legislative intent that the wrongful death act be subsumed by the probate code. Section 768.21 specifies those damages recoverable by survivors and by the estate. Significantly for this case, section 768.20 provides that a defense such as the comparative negligence of a survivor be taken into account to reduce that survivor's recovery: A defense that would bar or reduce a survivor's recovery if she or he were the plaintiff may be asserted against the survivor, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor....

...entify both the "survivors" and recoverable damages. See §§ 768.18(1), 768.21, Fla. Stat. (1999). In fashioning a "reasonable and equitable" distribution, a court might be called upon to place a value on the intangible losses of various survivors. Section 768.20 expresses the legislature's decision that a survivor's recovery be reduced by that survivor's comparative negligence....

...ly to address the claims of the various survivors. Moreover, we do not discern in the wrongful death act any intent to abandon its provisions to the probate code when a case is expeditiously settled. A party should not be able to avoid the effect of section 768.20 because a case is settled. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court found that appellee was "100 percent responsible and liable for the accident and the resulting death of the decedent." Under section 768.20, a defense of comparative negligence may be asserted against a survivor seeking recovery under the act....

...ing him for his injuries prior to death. There is no legislative or judicial authority in Florida for the proposition that a prior judgment for personal injury bars a subsequent wrongful death action. Nor can any such legislative intent be inferred. Section 768.20, Florida Statutes, expressly bars a personal injury recovery where death precedes a judgment on the claim....

...., or the necessity arises otherwise, the court may appoint an administrator ad litem ... without bond or notice for that particular proceeding. (emphasis added). Appellant points out section 768.17, Florida Statutes (1989), provides the wrongful death statute "shall be liberally construed." Section 768.20 states in part: The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...In 1972 the legislature amended the act to provide that an action for wrongful death must be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate. Ch. 72-35, § 1, Laws of Fla.; § 768.20, Fla....

...At the outset, we recognize that under substantive law the decedent's survivors are the real parties in interest. Nonetheless, the Legislature has mandated that a decedent's personal representative is the party "who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages...." § 768.20, Fla. Stat. (1991). The personal representatives correctly contend that prior to the adoption of section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1991), each survivor would have had a totally independent claim for damages resulting from the decedent's wrongful death and that such a claim, if dismissed, would have supported a plenary appeal....

...543 So.2d 238 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), we held that the surviving spouse of a decedent was not properly a party to a wrongful death action and consequently no costs could be taxed against her personally. We would defeat the legislative purpose in the adoption of section 768.20, by permitting this appeal to be determined in the present posture of this case....

...Each contention will be discussed in order. II. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION EXISTS The government initially raises two grounds contesting the Court's subject matter jurisdiction. First, Defendant argues that this action-abated, pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 768.20, on November 28, 1986, the date of Benjamin Reed's death. Section 768.20 provides that a personal injury action is eclipsed by the injured's death. The abatement principles of Section 768.20, however, do not apply to this case because the Court is not faced with a pending personal injury claim....

...The trial judge denied their motion and granted appellees' motion to dismiss the entire complaint with prejudice, finding that the "action was not timely filed within the period of the statute of limitations by the decedent's personal representative as required by Florida Statute § 768.20, F.S.A., and therefore this Court lacks jurisdiction and the action is barred by the statute of limitations." It is appellants' contention that the trial court committed reversible error in entering these orders of dismissal....

...Appellees argue strenuously that Griffin was decided before the 1972 amendments to Chapter 768, Florida Statutes, and that the current Florida Wrongful Death Act, §§ 768.16-768.27, Fla. Stat. (1981), makes it mandatory that an action for wrongful death be filed by the personal representative. [1] Thus, appellees argue, § 768.20 requires the appointment of a personal representative before an action for wrongful death can be commenced....

...Reversed. NOTES [1] "The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death... ." Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1981)....

...We conclude as a matter of law that neither element two nor three is present in this case, as a matter of law. First, in Florida, the right to bring a punitive damages claim for wrongful death belongs exclusively to the personal representative of the estate. § 768.20, Fla....

damages, as specified in this act.” Fla.Stat. § 768.20 (1985). Thus, under Florida law, the personal

...First, the appellants argue that the district court erred when it concluded that the plaintiffs could not bring this action personally, because it was not their "own case" under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1654 . The appellants argue that under Florida's Wrongful Death Act, F.S. Sec. 768.20, they are not only entitled to bring this action as the "personal representative of the decedent's estate" but they are the only persons who are capable of bringing this action....

...684, 692-93 (E.D.Pa.1983). The relationships between the groups and legal entities cited above and their nonlawyer representatives are factually similar to the relationship created between a personal representative and the estate by Fla.Stat.Ann. Sec. 768.20....

...All potential beneficiaries of a recovery for wrongful death, including the decedent's estate, must be identified in the complaint, F.S. Sec. 768.21 (1985). The plaintiffs brought this action as the co-personal representatives of the decedent's estate, pursuant to Section 768.20 of the Florida Code. It states: The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivor and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury causing death. F.S. Sec. 768.20 (1985)....

...(emphasis added.) 14 The former Fifth has held that an error in denying one's statutory right to plead and conduct one's own case personally, or by counsel, does not warrant reversal in the absence of prejudice. Juelich v. United States, 342 F.2d 29 (5th Cir.1965). Juelich, however, was a criminal case 15 F.S. 768.20 provides: Parties.--The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death.......

...1991), that an after-born child is a survivor under the wrongful death statute. Such a child is a survivor to the same extent as any child born prior to the death of the parent. The Wrongful Death Act contemplates that only the personal representative can maintain the action and must do so for all survivors of the deceased. § 768.20, Fla....

...ual interests that grew out of the controversy. It is clear to us that Ding's rights as the surviving husband of Joan Ding under the Wrongful Death Act are rights that are personal to him. It is his cause of action as a surviving husband even though section 768.20 provides that the " action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages...." (Emphasis supplied.) It is also clear that the purpose of...

...representative. Section 768.21(1) provides: "Each survivor may recover ...," and section 768.21(2) provides that "the surviving spouse may also recover...." Lending further credence to the personal nature of the survivor's claims is the provision of section 768.20 which states: "A defense that would bar or reduce a survivor's recovery if he were the plaintiff may *898 be asserted against him, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor." Finally, section 768.22 provides: "The amounts...

...support and services from the date of death and reduced to present value.... (2) The surviving spouse may also recover for loss of the decedent's companionship and protection and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury.... FLA. STAT. §§ 768.20 and 768.21....

...entative of the decedent's estate and that survivors' claims must be brought by the personal representative. See, e.g., Morgan v. Am. Bankers Life Assur. Co. of Fla., 605 So.2d 104 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992) (concluding that after the adoption of FLA. STAT. § 768.20 survivors may not assert independent claims arising out of a wrongful death and that survivors' claims must be brought through "the medium of a personal representative"); see also Veltmann v....

...'s Wrongful Death statute clearly precludes Plaintiff from asserting any claim in her own individual capacity which arises out of her husband's wrongful death. Accordingly, the Court concludes that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2) and FLA. STAT. § 768.20, Plaintiff is a citizen of Vermont, only, for purposes of determining diversity....

...See In re Estate of Catapane, 759 So.2d 9, 11 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). By statute, the personal representative is the only party with standing to bring a wrongful death action to recover damages for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and the estate. § 768.20, Fla....

...The Plaintiffs assert in their Complaint that jurisdiction is conferred upon this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The Defendant moves to dismiss the cause of action on three grounds, any of which would be successful: this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction; the Plaintiff has failed to follow Florida Statute § 768.20 (1980); and the Plaintiff has failed to join an indispensable party....

...(1977). These statutes when enacted in 1972 made substantial changes in the laws pertaining to claims for wrongful death. The decedent's personal representative now brings all suits for the benefit of each of the decedent's survivors and his estate. § 768.20, Fla....

...881 (1935); § 733.708, Fla. Stat. (1991). See also §§ 733.602; 733.609; 733.612(20), (24), (26). Arguments that other proceeds might be forthcoming cannot serve as a basis for omitting the estate from a reasonable share of tendered settlement proceeds. See § 768.20; § 768.21(6)(b), (7), Fla....

...the arbitration agreement because it is an independent cause of action based on the Florida Wrongful Death Act, sections 768.16-768.26, Florida Statutes (2009). See Taylor v. Orlando Clinic, 555 So.2d 876, 879 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989) (noting that under section 768.20, "[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate")....

...Petitioner administrator seeks a writ of common law certiorari from an order of the trial court which in part granted respondent's motion for summary judgment as to damage claims included in petitioner's second amended complaint in this wrongful death action. The suit was brought by petitioner under Section 768.20, Florida Statutes, to recover for the benefit of the petitioner's decedent's survivors and estate damages caused by injuries resulting in the death of petitioner's decedent....

...d for a support; and where there is neither of the above classes of persons to sue, then the action may be maintained by the executor or administrator, as the case may be, of the person killed. (§ 768.02, Florida Statutes, 1971.) Under the new act, Section 768.20 provides as follows: The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...At the time that LaShae drowned, she was being supervised by Metro-Dade lifeguards, her mother, Pamela Anderson, and her aunt, Trena Lopez. LaShae's father, Billy Roy Frazier, as the decedent's personal representative, brought a wrongful death action against Metro-Dade on behalf of the decedent's survivors and the estate. § 768.20, Fla.Stat....

...Both raise several issues that merit discussion. First, the plaintiff contends that the father, as a non-negligent survivor, is entitled to recover the full $100,000 judgment from Metro-Dade because his recovery cannot be reduced by the comparative negligence of the mother. § 768.20, Fla.Stat. (1995). In response, Metro-Dade argues that it should only be responsible for 14.7% of the damages, its percentage of fault. § 768.81, Fla. Stat. (1995). We agree with the plaintiff, in part. Section 768.20 of the Florida Wrongful Death Act provides, in pertinent part, that "[a] defense that would bar or reduce a survivor's recovery if he were the plaintiff may be asserted against him, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor." § 768.20, Fla.Stat....

...3d DCA 1995), review denied, 673 So.2d 29 (Fla.1996); Gurney v. Cain, 588 So.2d 244 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), review denied, 599 So.2d 656 (Fla.1992). In the instant case, the jury assessed the damages for the father, the non-negligent survivor, at $100,000. Because section 768.81(3) yields to section 768.20, where the two conflict, the plaintiff correctly asserts that the father's award of damages can not be reduced by the negligent survivor, the mother's, percentage of fault....

...attributable to the mother's negligence. We agree that the mother's award recoverable from Metro-Dade must be reduced by a $45,800 set-off. Previously, in calculating the amount of the father's award recoverable from Metro-Dade, we held that because section 768.20 has priority over section 768.81, where the two conflict, the father's award of damages could not be reduced by the mother's negligence. Likewise, the provisions of section 768.81 that eliminate joint and several liability do not apply. Gurney, 588 So.2d at 246 (holding that where section 768.81 does not apply because of the priority of section 768.20, then the doctrine of joint and several liability applies pursuant to section 768.31)....

...A complaint for wrongful death was filed by his daughter on October 31, 1978. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on January 15, 1979. At that time, the personal representative had not been appointed so as to allow the decedent's estate to maintain the action. § 768.20, Fla....

...and * * * which are in their nature such that he could have performed, had he been duly qualified, as personal representative at the time, are validated." The personal representative was the only person authorized to bring the wrongful death action. § 768.20, Fla....

...en made within the two-year statute of limitations of the Wrongful Death Act. Under the Wrongful Death Act, a wrongful death action may be brought only by the personal representative for the benefit of all of the decedent's survivors and estate. See § 768.20, Fla....

...h respect to a cause of action for personal injury or wrongful death arising from medical negligence. . . ."). The Wrongful Death Act permits the personal representative to bring one action for the benefit of the estate and the survivors. Fla. Stat. § 768.20....

...g from medical malpractice." Fla. Stat. § 766.202(1). The Wrongful Death Act states a wrongful death action shall be brought by the personal representative of the estate, who shall recover for the benefit of the survivors and the estate. Fla. Stat. § 768.20....

...This action was originally filed on December 27, 1989, by Steven R. Christopher, Jason's father, on Jason's behalf as a personal injury action. While this action was pending, the child died. Under Florida law, Jason's personal injury claims were extinguished by his death. Fla.Stat. § 768.20....

...ay and Terry L. Redford, Miami, for appellees. Before HUBBART, BASKIN and JORGENSON, JJ. PER CURIAM. We hold that the trial court correctly ruled that appellants, decedent's parents, were without standing to bring a wrongful death action in Florida. Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1985), directs that a wrongful death action must be brought by the personal representative....

... A wrongful death action must “be brought by the decedent’s personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death.” § 768.20, Fla....

...The statutes permit no other interpretation. Section 768.18 specifies that the definitions contained therein shall be applicable throughout the Wrongful Death Act. The word "survivors" is defined therein and is used throughout the balance of the act. Thus, Section 768.20 requires the complaint to be brought for the benefit of the decedent's "survivors" and estate, and Section 768.22 envisions a verdict in separate amounts for each "survivor" and the estate....

...on behalf of Husien is displaced by a claim for wrongful death. “When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate.” Fla. Stat. § 768.20 ....

...First, the appellants argue that the district court erred when it concluded that the plaintiffs could not bring this action personally, because it was not their "own case" under 28 U.S.C. § 1654 . The appellants argue that under Florida's Wrongful Death Act, F.S. § 768.20, they are not only entitled to bring this action as the "personal representative of the decedent's estate" but they are the only persons who are capable of bringing this action....

...All potential beneficiaries of a recovery for wrongful death, including the decedent’s estate, must be identified in the complaint, F.S. § 768.21 (1985). The plaintiffs brought this action as the co-personal representatives of the decedent’s estate, pursuant to Section 768.20 of the Florida Code. It states: The action shall be brought by the decedent’s personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s surviv- or and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury causing death. F.S. § 768.20 (1985)....

...n denying one's statutory right to plead and conduct one’s own case personally, or by counsel, does not warrant reversal in the absence of prejudice. Juelich v. United States, 342 F.2d 29 (5th Cir.1965). Juelich , however, was a criminal case. . F.S. 768.20 provides: Parties.-The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...nstituting a felony. § 768.19, Fla. Stat. (2005). The Act also provides that "[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." § 768.20, Fla....

...3rd DCA 1974). [3] See Section 768.21(1) loss of support and services, (4) mental pain and suffering, and (5) medical and funeral expenses, Fla. Stat. (1984). [4] Davis v. U.S. Fidelity & Guar. Co. of Baltimore, Maryland, 172 So.2d 485 (Fla. 1st DCA 1965). [5] § 768.20, Fla....

...red a "similar health care provider." [2] While section 46.021, Florida Statutes, does provide that no cause of action dies with the claimant, the wrongful death statute specifically limits the category of damages recoverable by a decedent's estate. § 768.20, Fla....

...As filed on December 27, 1989, this action was originally brought by Steven R. Christopher, Jason's father, on Jason's behalf as a personal injury action. While this action was pending, the child died. Under Florida law, Jason's personal injury claims were extinguished by his death. Fla.Stat. § 768.20....

...NOTES [1] The wrongful death and survival statutes create distinct causes of action. The Wrongful Death Act, Sections 768.16-768.27, Florida Statutes, terminates a party's right to bring an action for personal injury if the personal injury to the decedent results in his death. Section 768.20 specifically states in part: "When a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." The survival statute, section 46.021, states that causes of action do not die with the person....

...§§ 768.16 — 768.26), a personal representative is the successor in interest to the decedent and has exclusive standing to bring a wrongful death claim on behalf of the decedent's estate, while the survivors and family members cannot individually bring such claim. See Fla. Stats. § 768.20 ("The [wrongful death] action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death.")....

...njured party. See id. Under the Wrongful Death Act, the decedent’s personal representative “shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death.” § 768.20, Fla....

...ncial support or services at the time of her death. We answer in the negative, and accordingly affirm. Because wrongful death actions did not exist at common law, all claims for wrongful death are created and limited by Florida's Wrongful Death Act. Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1987), limits recovery to statutory "survivors:" The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in the act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

...Vaka, both as an individual and in her capacity as personal representative of the estate of decedent Mr. Maka, and several of the decedent's *1334 surviving children. Plaintiffs have brought wrongful death and survival actions against Defendants under Florida Statutes § 768.20....

...he decedent. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2); Palmer v. Hospital Auth. of Randolph County, 22 F.3d 1559, 1562 (11th Cir.1994). In addition, under Florida law, only a decedent's personal representative may bring survival and wrongful death claims. FLA. STAT. § 768.20 (stating that "the action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate ..."); McKibben v....

...In fact, Kansas law prohibits wrongful death suits by decedents' personal representatives. Id. Only heirs may file such suits, and the decedent's estate may not recover. Id. By contrast, in Florida, the decedent's estate may recover in a wrongful death claim. FLA. STAT. § 768.20 (1997)....

...gency within two years of the alleged injury. 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a). Second, under Florida law, no action for personal injury survives the death of a victim. Any such action pending at the time of death abates with the death of the victim. Fla. Stat. § 768.20....

...aw enforcement officers. See 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h). Consequently, sovereign immunity bars Count II, and it must be dismissed. Additionally, under Florida law, Cheves's alleged assault and battery claim would have abated with his death. See Fla. Stat. § 768.20....

...[2] The action was brought under the 1953 wrongful death statute, which permitted suit by the surviving children. The current statute requires the personal representative of the decedent to bring the action, "who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors." § 768.20, Fla....

...r can be accurately and readily determined ■fr.om> sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.”). 'Florida law establishes that a wrongful'death action “shall be brought by the decedent’s personal representative.” Fla. Stat. § 768.20 (2015)....

...damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death. When' a personal injury to the .decedent'results in death, no action for the personal injury ..shall survive, and any such.action pending at the time .of death- shall abate. § 768.20, Fla....

...damages and joint and several liability. However, as part of that act, section 768.71(3) provided: If a provision of this part is in conflict with any other provision of the Florida Statutes, such other provision shall apply. The Cains contend that section 768.20, Florida Statutes, enacted in 1972 conflicts with 768.81 in this case and thus pursuant to section 768.71(3) applies. We agree. Section 768.20, Florida Statutes states in part: A defense that would bar or reduce a survivor's recovery if he were the plaintiff may be asserted against him, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor....

...At the time of its enactment, Hoffman v. Jones, 280 So.2d 431 (Fla. 1973), had not been written, and the contributory negligence of a plaintiff was still a complete bar to recovery, although criticism of the rule was strong. In addition, prior to the enactment of section 768.20, under the then existing wrongful death statutes, the negligence of one parent contributing to the death of the child would be imputed to the other parent and bar recovery to both. Martinez v. Rodriguez, 215 So.2d 305 (Fla. 1968). With that background section 768.20, Florida Statutes, was enacted....

...National R.R. Passenger Corp., 376 So.2d 1191 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979) (holding that the enactment of the 1972 changes in the wrongful death statute made obsolete the ruling in Martinez, although the decision did not specifically address the quoted portion of section 768.20, Florida Statutes.) Thus, while section 768.81, Florida Statutes, provides that the court shall enter judgment against each party liable on the basis of such party's percentage of fault, under section 768.71(3) that statute must yield to section 768.20 where they conflict. We find that they conflict here, because the Gurneys' interpretation that they are liable for only one third of Mrs. Cain's damages depends upon the reduction of Mrs. Cain's award by Mr. Cain's comparative negligence. Section 768.20 prohibits this....

...Cain was entitled to her full award of damages against the Gurneys. Although section 768.81 eliminates the doctrine of joint and several liability to actions to which its provisions apply, since we have concluded that section 768.81 does not apply because of the priority of section 768.20, then the doctrine of joint and several liability applies pursuant to section 768.31, Florida Statutes....

...o the other parent would be unfair to the third party and a windfall to the negligent parent. Thus, applying Johnson to this case, Mr. Cain would be liable for contribution to the award to Mrs. Cain. This does not conflict with our interpretation of section 768.20, Florida Statutes....

...train and supervise him. The appellants’ case was transferred from Texas to the 2 The Personal Representative of the Estate of Malcolm A. Lavender did not file suit and is not at issue in this appeal. 3 Fla. Stat. § 768.20 (providing that wrongful death actions in Florida must be filed by the decedent’s personal representatives on behalf of statutorily-defined “survivors”). 3  Case: 12-10023...

...purposes of discovery and all other pretrial matters . . . .” In May 2011, the United States moved to dismiss the appellants’ complaint under Rule 17(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The government argued that, pursuant to Section 768.20 of the Florida Act, the appellants lacked capacity to bring suit as they were not the personal representatives of the decedents’ estates. See Fed....

...esentative's claims on behalf of the estate for funeral and medical expenses, and affirmed in all other respects. The cause is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Affirmed in part; reversed in part, and remanded. NOTES [1] Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1981), provides that the wrongful death action is to be brought by the decedent's personal representative "who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this ac...

...Perkins, 445 So.2d 1010 (Fla. 1983); Parker v. City of Jacksonville, 82 So.2d 131 (Fla. 1951); Moorey v. Eytchison & Hoppes, Inc., 338 So.2d 558 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). The personal representative of the estate of the deceased is authorized to institute such an action. Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1977)....

...The nursing home moved for summary judgment, contending that chapter 400 damages for pain and suffering were eliminated in this case by the Wrongful Death Act which provides, "When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive...." Id. § 768.20....

...The trial court properly denied the motion to set aside the settlement and final judgment. The judgment entered in this case was not void ab initio for lack of notice to a party, as argued by the appellant. The appellant was not a party to the wrongful death action. See § 768.20 (wrongful death action shall be brought by decedent's personal representative); Continental Nat'l Bank v....

...the proceeds. The trial court's rationale for denying the motion, however, was erroneous. An action for wrongful death is to be brought by a decedent's personal representative, who recovers for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate. See § 768.20....

...The jury awarded $2,661.45 to the personal representative of the Estate of Dale Isaac Reutimann, plus "$35,000 to the surviving mother of deceased, Agnes L. Reutimann." The new Florida Wrongful Death Act merged the survival action for personal injuries and the wrongful death action into one lawsuit. Fla. Stat. § 768.20 specifies who may bring the action and Fla....

...3d DCA 2004), in support of their argument. A wrongful death "action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20, Fla....

...tative was valid in a wrongful death action. The court recognized that under section 768.79, Florida Statutes (2004), "[a] valid [demand for] judgment must be served by the party plaintiff." [1] 888 So.2d at 103. The court also recognized that under section 768.20 "the personal representative is the only party plaintiff permitted to bring a wrongful death suit on behalf of the survivors." Id....

...epresentatives are the party plaintiffs. As the party plaintiffs, only the joint personal representatives—acting in that capacity— are entitled to make a valid demand for judgment. The demand for judgment at issue here therefore was invalid. See §§ 768.20, 768.79, Fla....

...The Act provides that an action thereunder "shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20, Fla....

...with prejudice, upon the grounds that appellant's appointment as personal representative had been revoked by the probate division, rendering all actions by her as personal representative void ab initio. The court further found that Florida Statutes, section 768.20 provides that a wrongful death action shall be brought by a decedent's personal representative, and that appellant lacked that status on the date she filed the complaint in view of the action of the probate court removing her as personal representative and revoking her letters of administration ab initio....

...all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death. When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for personal injury shall survive, and any action pending at the time of death shall abate. Fla. Stat. § 768.20 ....

...It is clear that general maritime law and Florida law limit recovery for *1363 wrongful death to the personal representative. Plaintiffs' claim that Florida law permits a beneficiary to institute suit on its own behalf in this context finds no basis in law. See Fla. Stat. § 768.20 ("The [wrongful death] action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages......

...disposition of the malpractice claim. [1] If the event which gave rise to the action for personal injuries is also the cause of death (which is actually a still-to-be-resolved issue of fact), [2] the personal injury cause of action does not survive. § 768.20, Fla....

...onnel. In his second amended complaint, plaintiff alleges that the actions and inactions of these defendants violated Frank Valdes' constitutional rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and resulted in his wrongful death in violation of Fla. Stat. § 768.20....

...By ordering satisfaction of the funeral expenses claim to be paid from the survivors' wrongful death proceeds, the trial court erred. In a wrongful death action, the personal representative has an obligation to recover damages sustained by both the survivors and the estate. See § 768.20, Fla....

...The nature of wrongful death actions and the particular facts of this case compel me to respectfully dissent. Under the Wrongful Death Act [the "Act"], a wrongful death action may be brought only by the personal representative for the benefit of all of the decedent's survivors and estate. § 768.20, Fla.Stat....

...ent's survivors are the real parties in interest. Nonetheless, the Legislature has mandated that a decedent's personal representative is the party `who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages ....'") (quoting § 768.20, Fla....

...se of action. Section 768.21(1) provides, "Each survivor may recover ...." and section 768.21(2) provides that "[t]he surviving spouse may also recover...." Lending further credence to the personal nature of the survivor's claims is the provision of section 768.20 which states, "A defense that would bar or reduce a survivor's recovery if she or he were the plaintiff may be asserted against the survivor, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor." Finally, section 768.22 provides, "...

...Radio Station WQBA, 731 So.2d 638, 644-45 (Fla.1999)). Section 46.021, Florida Statutes, provides that "[n]o cause of action dies with the person. All causes of action survive and may be commenced, prosecuted, and defended in the name of the person prescribed by law." However, section 768.20 states that "[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." As reasoned by the Second District in Niemi v....

...2d DCA 2003), "when death is the result of a personal injury, the law of Florida essentially substitutes a statutory wrongful death action for the personal injury action that would otherwise survive under section 46.021." The Supreme Court of Florida upheld the constitutionality of section 768.20 in Martin v....

...Martin, 314 So.2d at 771 . In pertinent part, the Wrongful Death Act provides: “When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate.” Fla. Stat. § 768.20 ; see Martin, 314 So.2d at 770 ....

...Philip Morris filed a motion to dismiss Mrs. Capone’s amended complaint, claiming that Mr. Capone’s “personal injury action was abated when [he] died and that any action for wrongful death had to be filed as a new lawsuit pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 768.20.” Id....

...nal injury action dies from the personal injury, [his or her personal representative] must file a new lawsuit rather than amend the operative complaint to add an alternative or substitute a claim for wrong *1230 ful death.” (Id. (citing Fla. Stat. § 768.20 ).) Additionally, Mrs....

...While the general rule is that statutes in derogation of the common law are strictly construed, the general rule of strict construction does not, in Florida, apply to a remedial statute in derogation of the common law. *1232 The Florida Supreme Court’s explanation supports this Court’s determination that the dictates of Section 768.20 do not command that a personal injury lawsuit “self destructs” or “extinguishes” such that the moment the plaintiff dies, the personal injury lawsuit dies as well....

...The Act is “remedial and shall be liberally construed.” See id. The statutory mechanism for bringing a wrongful death action requires a single cause of action be brought by the personal representative, claiming each survivor’s damages as well as the expenses incurred by the estate. See § 768.20, Fla....

also against her personally. This was error. Section 768.-20, Florida Statutes (1987) specifically provides

...1972) abrogates, as defendant contends it does, the right of decedent’s estate to make a claim for pain and suffering occasioned prior to his death. The argument that the Florida legislature intended to abrogate the state survival statute where death follows injury when it enacted Fla.Stat. § 768.20 (Supp....

...We anticipate that one or more hearings will be necessary to effect a mini-trial of the counterclaim. C. The Statutory Requirement of Section 768.81 That Reduces Mr. Claudio’s Liability We note before continuing our discussion, and as Mr. Claudio has hastened to point out to us, that this case presents no conflict between section 768.20 and section 768.81. Section 768.20, part of Florida’s Wrongful Death Act (sections 768.16-.26), provides that “[a] defense that would bar or reduce a survivor’s recovery if she or he were the plaintiff may be asserted against the survivor, but shall not affect the recovery of any other survivor.” See Frazier v....

...Dade Cnty., 701 So.2d 418, 420 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (construing the statutory language to mean that “under the wrongful death statute, a non-negligent survivor’s recovery cannot be reduced due to another survivor’s negligence”). We adhere to the proviso of section 768.20 because our disposition does not in any manner reduce the award to Mr....

...rsons were also found negligent. The district court concluded that Metro-Dade could not be responsible for that part of the father’s award that was attributable to the aunt. 701 So.2d at 420 . But the district court went on to explain that because section 768.20 had priority over section 768.81 where the two conflict, as it did in relation to the father’s award, the father’s award could not be reduced because of the mother’s negligence and “[ljikewise, the provisions of section 768.81 that eliminate joint and several liability do not apply.” Id....

...award. 14 This must be *459 done to fully compensate Mr. Regalado and avoid Mr. Claudio’s paying more than his 50% liability. Similarly in Gurney, 588 So.2d 244 , the Fourth District discussed the proper application of sections 768.81, 768.31, and 768.20....

...Moss, thus awarding Mrs. Moss 100% of her damages. On appeal, the total judgment in favor of Mrs. Moss, the non-negligent parent and surviv- or, was affirmed due to the interplay between the comparative fault statute and the Wrongful Death Act because section 768.20 controlled and required that the non-negligent parent’s award not be reduced because of the negligent parent’s fault....

...2013), In doing1 so, the Florida Legislature determined that “[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate.” 11 Fla. Stat. § 768.20 (emphasis added)....

...es resulting in death,” because the “essence of the survival action” remains, given that the FWDA.requires “tortfeasor answerability in damages to-the decedent’s estate for injury resulting in death.” Martin, 314 So.2d at 770 (construing § 768.20 as precluding a separate lawsuit under the survival statute, Fla....

...o allow an estate’s personal representative to bring one comprehensive suit when personal injury results in death, but in such cases, a claim for the decedent’s personal injury no longer survives as an independent cause of action. See Fla. Stat. § 768.20 ; see also Martin v....

...es regulating class actions. Amber Glades, thus, views the typical mobile homeowners' association lawsuit like a wrongful death action in which a personal representative brings the action "for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate." See § 768.20, Fla....

...(2002)(emphasis added). In a wrongful death case, such as this, the cause of action lies in a duly appointed "personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages . . . caused by the injury. . . ." ง 768.20, Fla. Stat. (2002); Toombs v. Alamo Rent-A-Car, *782 Inc., 833 So.2d 109, 112 (Fla.2002); Hess v. Hess, 758 So.2d 1203, 1204-05 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)("Section 768.20 requires that a wrongful death action be brought by the decedent's personal representative, `who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in [the Wrongful Death Act]....

...esentative of the estate. Lindsey Neal Walker and Diane Gail Walker were identified as survivors. ( Id. ) Under Florida law, the plaintiff in a wrongful death action is properly the personal representative, on behalf of the estate and survivors. See § 768.20, Fla....

...Plaintiffs motion, however, asks that the judgment be entered in the name of the "Estate of Christopher Seth Walker." The error will be corrected, but the judgment will be entered in the name of the personal representative, as is proper under Florida law. See § 768.20, Fla....

...s personal representative. On February 19, 2008, Philip Morris Co. filed a motion to dismiss claiming that the personal injury action was abated when Mr. Capone died and that any action for wrongful death had to be filed as a new lawsuit pursuant to Section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2008)....

...establishes that a personal injury claim is extinguished upon the death of the plaintiff, and any surviving claim must be brought as a new and separate wrongful death action— it cannot be brought as an amendment to a personal injury action. 2 See § 768.20 (“[W]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate”); Martin v. United Security Servs., Inc. 314 So.2d 765, 770 (Fla.1975) (upholding section 768.20, and explaining that, “a separate lawsuit for death-resulting personal injuries cannot be brought as a survival action”); ACandS, Inc....

...The facts are not in dispute as to Taylor's status as of May 2, 1990, the day that Taylor delivered his "offer" to Infinity. He had not yet been appointed to serve either as personal representative of his wife's estate or as guardian of the property for his minor daughter. Section 768.20, Florida Statues (1990), specifies that a wrongful death action may only be brought by the court-appointed personal representative of the decedent's estate....

...city. See Flanagan v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 428 F.Supp. 770 (C.D.Cal.1977). Under Florida law, there is likewise only a single cause of action for wrongful death, instituted by the personal representative on behalf of all claimants. See Fla.Stat. § 768.20....

and for the decedent’s survivors. See Fla. Stat. § 768.20. Mrs. Sowers is both the estate’s personal representative

only be brought by a personal representative, see § 768.20, Fla. Stat. (1997), and that Mr. Montero could

...d a "similar health care provider.” . While section 46.021, Florida Statutes, does provide that no cause of action dies with the claimant, the wrongful death statute specifically limits the category of damages recoverable by a decedent’s estate. § 768.20, Fla....

at 335. The issue in that case was whether section 768.20, Florida Statutes, applies to abate the action

injury shall sur*1030vive. ...” [emphasis supplied] § 768.20 Fla. Stat. (1995). WDA goes on to provide that:

...However, the Third District and the Fifth District have addressed and conflicted on the closely-related issue of whether a wife's cause of action for loss of consortium survives the abatement of her husband's personal injury action upon his death pursuant to section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1972).1 The Sammons argue that the Fifth District's reasoning in Taylor v. Orlando Clinic, 555 So....

...Sammons. In Taylor, the injured plaintiff died while the personal injury and loss of consortium claims he and his wife had filed in their medical malpractice action were pending. 555 So. 2d at 877. The ninety-day period for substituting parties passed 1Section 768.20 provides, in pertinent part, "When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." There is no suggestion that Mr. Sam...

...Sammons' claims but reverse as to Mrs. Sammons' loss of consortium claim, we would not be in conflict with the Third District in AC&S because there is an important distinction between the two cases. In this case, Mr. Sammons' personal injury action did not abate under section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2015)....

...ertification of the class in Engle, 945 So.2d at 1277 . Mrs. Allen died on February 24, 2009, and Appellee continued the litigation which had been commenced before her death by filing a third amended complaint with the wrongful death claim. Section; 768.20, Florida Statutes, provides guidance and states in part, “When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate.” 6 When Mrs....

...A follow-up exam on November 18, 1996, specifically fied her early COPD to continued tobacco use. . Other than the adoption of gender neutral language in 1997, this statute has not been altered since it was, adopted in Chapter 72-35, Laws of Florida; so the applicable year of section 768.20 is not at issue....

personal injury cause of action does not survive. § 768.20, Fla.Stat. (1981); Perkins v. Variety Children’s

...We therefore reverse. This case began with a tragic murder. Appellant’s wife, and the mother of sons Maury and Harran Udell, was murdered by a deliveryman. An estate was opened with Maury as personal representative. Both sons are lawyers. Pursuant to section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2019), which requires a wrongful death action to be brought by the personal representative for the benefit of all survivors, Maury, as the personal representative, brought suit, alleging claims for appellant’s loss of consortium and any damages due to the estate....

...death of the person injured, although death was caused under circumstances constituting a felony. § 768.19, Fla. Stat. The Wrongful Death Act also explicitly provides that a wrongful death action is not a continuation of a personal injury action. See § 768.20, Fla....

...party in the pending action.” Capone, 116 So. 3d at 368. Largely relying on Martin and the notion that the new Act had merged two actions, Capone answered both questions in the affirmative, id. at 377-78, ultimately construing the term “abate” in section 768.20 to mean that the personal injury action was merely suspended until the personal representative can be “substitute[d]” as a party and given a reasonable opportunity to amend, id....

...v. Snead Constr. Corp., 393 So.2d 1201, 1202 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). There is essentially no longer a substantive claim in the circuit court because the personal injury claim cannot survive on its own since it has now become a wrongful death claim, see § 768.20, Fla....

...The pleading in the circuit court did not "claim that [the husband's] death was either the result of his personal injury or the result of some independent cause." Id. at 34. "Thus, the pleadings d[id] not permit the personal injury action to be abated under section 768.20, and the action [could not] be dismissed in light of section 46.021." [1] Id....

...representatives were not permitted to become parties and would not have the power to file an appeal at a later time. Without the substitution of parties, the trial court would never be able to resolve *772 this action by correctly applying sections 768.20 and 46.021 because there would never be a party who could proceed or against whom a dismissal could be entered....

...Meehan, 523 So.2d 141, 147 (Fla.1988) (holding that a wrongful death action is predicated on "the injured person's right, while living, to recover for personal injury" and would not exist but for the alleged personal injuries to the deceased); Martin, 314 So.2d at 770 ("The only logical construction of [section 768.20] is that it expresses the legislative intent that a separate lawsuit for death-resulting personal injuries cannot be brought as a survival action under [s]ection 46.021. The action can be brought, in a consolidated form, under the new Wrongful Death Act. The purpose of [section 768.20] is to implement the consolidation."); Niemi, 862 So.2d at 33 ("[W]hen death is the result of a personal injury, the law of Florida essentially substitutes a statutory wrongful death action for the personal injury action....

...Reynolds Tobacco Co., 329 So. 3d 114, 120 (Fla. 2021). Respondents argue that, even if Ripple is the decedent’s surviving spouse under section 768.21(2), the common law “marriage before injury” rule bars her recovery. They note that the text of the Act, at section 768.20, allows defendants to maintain - 15 - defenses against individual survivors....

...The wrongful death cause of action accrues once the decedent dies from the injury; at that moment, both the common law personal injury claim and a spouse’s - 16 - derivative common law loss of consortium claim abate. Id. (citing § 768.20, Fla....

...However, the Third District and the Fifth District have addressed and conflicted on the closely-related issue of whether a wife's cause of action for loss of consortium survives the abatement of her husband's personal injury action upon his death pursuant to section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1972).2 The Sammons argue that the Fifth District's reasoning in Taylor v. Orlando Clinic, 555 So....

...Walt Disney World Co., 140 So. 3d 1118 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014), supports a holding that Mrs. Sammons' loss of consortium action survives the dismissal of Mr. Sammons' personal injury claims. Defendants argue that the Third District's reasoning in AC&S, Inc. v. 2Section 768.20 provides, in pertinent part, "When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." There is no suggestion that Mr. Sam...

...Sammons' claims but reverse as to Mrs. Sammons' loss of consortium claim, we would not be in conflict with the Third District in AC&S because there is an important distinction between the two cases. In this case, Mr. Sammons' personal injury action did not abate under section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2015)....

...train and supervise him. The appellants’ case was transferred from Texas to the 2 The Personal Representative of the Estate of Malcolm A. Lavender did not file suit and is not at issue in this appeal. 3 Fla. Stat. § 768.20 (providing that wrongful death actions in Florida must be filed by the decedent’s personal representatives on behalf of statutorily-defined “survivors”). 3  Case: 12-10023...

...purposes of discovery and all other pretrial matters . . . .” In May 2011, the United States moved to dismiss the appellants’ complaint under Rule 17(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The government argued that, pursuant to Section 768.20 of the Florida Act, the appellants lacked capacity to bring suit as they were not the personal representatives of the decedents’ estates. See Fed....

...ontend payment of the final judgment must be restricted to the sum of $50,000 because this is a claim by one person — the administratrix of the estate of Samuel W. McDowell, and only one judgment. We disagree. The judgment here is a judgment under § 768.20, Florida Statutes, for the several claims of Myrtle McDowell, the decedent’s widow and the decedent’s children. The aforesaid § 768.20 requires that the suit be filed in the name of the administratrix but it includes the several claims of all persons entitled to recover for the death by wrongful act of the decedent....

...Howard's death as a homicide and concluded that it was "the result of hypoxic encephalopathy due to a neck fracture with cervical spinal cord trauma, which was due to blunt force." (Doc. 99-6, p. 4). III. STATUTORY FRAMEWORK The Florida Wrongful Death Act (" FWDA "), Fla. Stat. § 768.20 , provides, in pertinent part, as follows: The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death....

response, Rintoul argued that the application of section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2019)—the Wrongful Death

...768.21(3) of the Wrongful Death Act. The Wrongful Death Act authorizes a decedent’s personal representative to “recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors … all damages, as specified in [the] act, caused by the injury resulting in death.” § 768.20, Fla....

...the distribution” of settlement proceeds from the wrongful death defendant’s insurance carrier to Lafontant directly instead of arranging for the proceeds 1 A wrongful death case can only be pursued by the personal representative for the benefit of the beneficiaries. § 768.20, Fla....

...which she occupied. Based upon Cinghma, the trial court found this undisputed evidence to be insufficient as a matter of law to deem Ms. Thompson a “survivor” for purposes of the wrongful death statute. We concur. Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, section 768.20, Florida Statutes (1991), limits recovery to statutory “survivors” who are defined as: ......

...According to the Act, a wrongful death action “shall be brought by the decedent’s personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate all damages, as specified in [the] act, caused by the injury resulting in death.” Id. § 768.20....

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See § 768.20, Fla. Stat. (1999) (“The [wrongful death] action shall be brought

...2Section768.19 has remained unchanged since its enactment in 1972. See Ch. 72-35, § 1, Laws of Fla. -4- survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20. There is tension between section 768.19, which creates the wrongful death right of action, and sections 768.17 and 768.20, which establish the cause of action.3 See Toombs, 833 So....

...settled: By statute, the personal representative is the only party with standing to bring a wrongful death action to recover damages for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and the estate. § 768.20, Fla....

...The survivors are not parties to the wrongful death litigation, even when the claims are brought for their benefit." Kadlecik v. Haim, 79 So. 3d 892, 893 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012) -5- (citations omitted); see also § 768.20, Fla....

...The court entered a judgment awarding only funeral expenses. This appeal follows. Under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, a personal representative has the exclusive right to pursue wrongful death claims, recover damages, and distribute assets on behalf of an estate. § 768.20, Fla. Stat. (2005); see also Martinez v. Ipox, 925 So.2d 448, 449 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006); In re Estate of Catapane, 759 So.2d 9 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). In pertinent part, section 768.20 provides: "The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death."...

if he dies, Higgins’s cause’ of action abates. § 768.20, Fla.Stat. (1981). The personal representative

...United Sec. Servs., Inc., 314 So. 2d 765, 769 (Fla. 1975), we cannot conclude, for purposes of evaluating a punitive damages award in a wrongful death action under section 768.74(5)(d), that the decedent’s death is “the injury suffered.” See § 768.20, Fla....

...Nowhere does the statute authorize recovery on behalf of the estate for the decedent’s death. Significantly, that is because the Legislature’s choice to exclude death as a cognizable injury in a wrongful death action equally applies to all of the statutory beneficiaries, including the estate. See § 768.20 (limiting the personal representative’s recovery “for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate” to the damages “specified in this act” and expressly extinguishing any action for a personal injury to the decedent tha...

...damages, should not be read to limit the type of injury cognizable in determining punitive damages. Nor does considering death as an injury for punitive damages purposes constitute maintaining an “action for the personal injury,” which is prohibited under the Act. See § 768.20, Fla....

...The problem with this argument is that, while a decedent’s survivors are certainly 4 the real parties in interest to a wrongful death suit, they are not entitled to join the wrongful death action as parties. § 768.20, Fla....

...provides that a decedent’s personal representative is the party that “shall” bring the action and “shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death.” § 768.20, Fla....

...]hen a statute purports to provide a comprehensive treatment of the issue it addresses, judicial lawmaking is implicitly excluded” (internal quotations and citations omitted)). To do so would “defeat the legislative purpose in the adoption of section 768.20.” Morgan v....

...Children from the case with no leave to amend, this is a final order that fully resolved the issue affecting them and totally disposes of the entire case as to them. 5 While the Gomez Children are non-parties to the proceedings below under section 768.20, the trial court permitted them to appear, without objection, and argue in opposition to the Tobacco Defendants’ motion....

...fault, if any, will reduce the total recovery of the personal representative. However, it may also be necessary to have a specific determination by the jury of the survivor’s comparative negligence, which would be applied only to reduce that survivor’s recovery. See F.S. 768.20; Frazier v....

...Superior Court of Pima County, 12 Ariz.App. 402 , 470 P.2d 722 (1970). Florida’s Wrongful Death Act provides simply that an action under the Act shall be brought “by the decedent’s personal representative,” without any limiting language or definitions. § 768.20, Fla.Stat....

MILLER, JJ. PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See § 768.20, Fla. Stat. (2015) (“The [wrongful death] action

...The government contends that under Florida law appellees’ personal injury action abated on the death of Benjamin and that, because the original basis of jurisdiction was destroyed, appel-lees’ only viable cause of action would be a suit for wrongful death. The government relies on Florida Stat. § 768.20, which provides in part as follows: When a personal injury to the decedent results in his death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate....

...In Variety, final judgment had been entered on plaintiff’s personal injury claims but the appeal had not yet been ruled upon when the plaintiff died. On appeal the defendant moved to remand the case with directions to the trial judge to abate the action under section 768.20. Defendant argued that the case was subject to abatement because it was pending when the plaintiff died. The court held that section 768.20 does not apply in this situation....

WELLS, Judge. Affirmed. See § 768.20, Fla....

...e plaintiff, and any surviving claim must be brought as a new and separate wrongful death action-it cannot be brought as an amendment to a personal injury action.” See Martin v. United Security Servs., Inc. 314 So.2d 765, 770 (Fla.1975) (upholding section 768.20, and explaining that, “a separate lawsuit for death-resulting personal injuries cannot be brought as a survival action”); ACandS, Inc....

...fault, if any, will reduce the total recovery of the personal representative. However, it may also be necessary to have a specific determination by the jury of the survivor’s comparative negligence, which would be applied only to reduce that survivor’s recovery. See F.S. 768.20; Frazier v....

...Florida’s Wrongful Death Act provides that the “action shall be brought by the decedent’s personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death.” § 768.20, Fla....

...Sewell, 33 So.3d 130, 136 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). Under the Wrongful Death Act, “[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate.” § 768.20, Fla....

...The supreme court has expressed a similar intention regarding the rules of civil procedure: “These rules shall be construed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.” Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.010. Applying a liberal construction to the word abate in section 768.20, as we are directed to do by section 768.17, we conclude that stay is a more appropriate synonym than extinguish....

...2d DCA 2003), we noted that abatement “is often used to signify that an action has been extinguished or ended.” Id. at 33 (citing 1 Am.Jur.2d Abatement, Survival and Revival § 1 (1994)). But we purposefully avoided precisely defining abate for purposes of section 768.20....

...Based on this statute, a personal representative may bring and maintain a personal injury action on behalf of the decedent. If, however, the personal injury was the cause of the decedent’s death, the personal injury action “abates” and becomes a wrongful death cause of action under the Florida Wrongful Death Act. § 768.20, Fla....

...Plaintiffs allege violations of the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), 42 U.S.C. § 3601 , et. seq., the Florida Fair Housing Act (“FFHA”), Fla. Stat. § 760.20 , et seq., as well as claims of negligence under the Florida Wrongful Death Act (“FWDA”), Fla. Stat. § 768.20 , and the Florida Survival Statute, Fla....

...sed on personal injury or wrongful death arising from medical negligence.” § 766.202(1), Fla. Stat. (2011). And pursuant to Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, only a properly designated personal representative may bring a lawsuit for wrongful death. § 768.20 Fla....

...Act, we adhere to the "supremacy-of-text principle"—that is, "[t]he words of a governing text are of paramount concern, and what they convey, in their context, is what the text means." Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 56 (2012). Section 768.20 defines who may be a proper party plaintiff under the Florida Wrongful Death Act....

...representative." And as the only permissible plaintiff, the personal representative is further tasked with "recover[ing] for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20....

...eath”, and therefore the complaint should be dismissed, and cited to Niemi v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 862 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003), and Taylor v. Orlando Clinic, 555 So. 2d 876 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989). The tobacco companies also cited to section 768.20, Florida Statutes (2013), arguing that the statute dictated that the personal injury action could not survive Loretta’s death, and since Roden never filed a complaint or an amended complaint seeking a wrongful death claim, the action had “abated” and the complaint must be dismissed....

...dismiss the amended complaint.3 In October 2011, after a hearing on the issues, the trial court judge entered an order granting the tobacco companies’ motion to dismiss. The order stated “that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is Granted based on FS 768.20 and Capone v....

...to file an amended complaint, but implicitly rejected it by granting the tobacco companies’ motion to dismiss. -3- In its order granting the tobacco companies’ motion to dismiss, the trial court judge specifically cited to section 768.20, Capone v....

...During the pendency of this appeal, the Florida Supreme Court reviewed Capone I and reversed the Third District’s holding. Capone II, 116 So. 3d at 377. The main issue our supreme court analyzed in Capone II was whether the term “abate” as used in section 768.20 means that a personal injury claim, upon the death of the plaintiff, is completely extinguished. Capone II, 116 So. 3d at 376. The Court stated: [W]e hold that when a personal injury action “abates” pursuant to section 768.20, this does not require that the entire case be deemed immediately void and must be dismissed. . . . Instead, “abate,” as that term is used in section 768.20 must be interpreted to cause the case to be suspended until the personal representative of the decedent’s estate is added as a party to the pending action and receives a reasonable opportunity to a...

...§ 768.19. The statute specifies that “[t]he action shall be brought by the decedent’s personal representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent’s survivors and estate all damages . . . caused by the injury resulting in death.” Id. § 768.20....

768.03, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., and enacted Section 768.20 and 768.21, Florida Statutes, F. S.A., in order

...Wisekal, as the personal representative of the Estate of his deceased wife, has the authority to settle the claims of the Estate, and is authorized by Florida law to bring this wrongful death action for the benefit of the Estate and the decedent’s survivors, § 768.20, Fla....

...funeral costs borne by the survivors or the estate. § 768.21, Fla. Stat.; Martin, 314 So. 2d at 770 . Notably, however, the Wrongful Death Act allows the estate and survivors to recover only those damages "caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20, Fla. Stat. (emphasis added). In other words, the Wrongful Death Act does not encompass damages caused by any other injury not resulting in death. At the center of this dispute is a sentence in § 768.20, Fla....

...sults in death, then a survivor's exclusive remedy is to recover damages under the Wrongful Death Act ( see Doc. 103 at 4; Doc. 179 at 4 n.3) - even though a wrongful death action only encompasses damages caused by the injury that resulted in death, § 768.20, Fla....

...The sentence that precedes the abatement clause buttresses this interpretation. The sentence states that in a wrongful death action, the decedent's personal representative "shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20, Fla....

...Substituted therefor was a claim for pain and suffering of close relatives, the clear purpose being that any recovery should be for the living and not for the dead." Id. Bear in mind, however, that the Wrongful Death Act allows recovery of such damages only to the extent "caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20, Fla....

...Discussion i. Whether Bennett Lacks Standing? Under Florida law, the party in interest for a wrongful death action is the personal representative of the decedent. Veltmann v. Walpole Pharmacy, Inc., 928 F.Supp. 1161, 1164 (M.D.Fla.1996) (citing Fla. Stat. § 768.20 (1995))....

§§ 768.20, 768.71, 768.81, Fla.Stat. (1993). Section 768.20 states that “[a] defense that would bar or

survival statute, s. 46.021, F.S.? SUMMARY: Section 768.20, F.S., of the new Wrongful Death Act, limits