Parent's Wrongful Death Society and Companionship Claim Not Barred by Estrangement from Child
The plaintiff sued the defendant for wrongful death. His son, with whom he had little contact, died while in the son’s mother’s vehicle allegedly due to the negligence of the mother. The defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff could not maintain a wrongful death cause of action because he was estranged from and had abandoned his son. The plaintiff asserted that he did not voluntarily abandon his son but rather was prevented from ever seeing him by the mother’s family members, that he had attempted numerous times to become involved in his son’s life, and that he was in the process of saving money to hire a family law lawyer when his son died. The circuit court agreed with the defendant and granted summary judgment, holding that a father who is estranged from his child has no claim for loss of society and companionship and, therefore, no claim for wrongful death. The plaintiff appealed to the court of appeals.
The court of appeals reversed, holding that a biological parent is entitled to bring a wrongful death claim for the death of his/her child regardless of the quality of his/her relationship with the child, and that there were disputed material facts as to whether the plaintiff would ever have enjoyed his son’s society and companionship in the future.
Affolter v. American Family Mutual Ins. Co. (2010AP2428) Court of Appeals opinion
