When a death may involve legal rights
Most deaths do not involve a legal claim, and nothing on this page is meant to suggest yours does. But in three situations Minnesota law gives the surviving family specific rights, and families often do not learn about them until deadlines have passed. This page describes those three situations plainly. There is nothing to do here unless something below sounds like your family's circumstance, and even then, nothing requires action this week.
Wrongful death
When a death is caused by someone else's wrongful act or negligence, such as a vehicle crash, a dangerous property condition, or a serious medical error, Minnesota law allows certain family members to bring a claim for the losses the death caused. The claim is brought by a court-appointed trustee on behalf of the surviving spouse and next of kin, and it can cover funeral expenses, lost financial support, and the loss of the person's companionship and guidance.
These claims have time limits, generally three years from the death for negligence cases, and shorter in some situations. That is a long way off this week. The honest point is narrower: if the death may have been someone's fault, keep documents, take photographs if relevant, and talk with a lawyer within the coming months rather than the coming years. Most wrongful death lawyers, including the firm I work for, review these situations at no charge.
Death from a work injury or work illness
This is the area of law I practice, so I will say that plainly before describing it. When a death results from a work injury or a work-related illness, Minnesota's workers' compensation law, chapter 176, provides dependency benefits to the people the worker supported: a surviving spouse, dependent children, and in some cases other dependents. The benefits are a portion of the worker's wage, paid over time, plus burial expenses up to a set amount. Fault does not matter; the question is whether the death arose out of the work.
Two things surprise families. First, occupational disease deaths count, including some cancers and lung conditions that appear years after the exposure, and for certain firefighters and other responders the law presumes some conditions are work-related. Second, the insurer is not required to figure this out for you; dependency claims must be made, and they have deadlines. If the person who died was working, or their illness may trace back to work they did, it costs nothing to have the question looked at.
Nursing home neglect
When a death in a nursing home or assisted living facility follows falls, untreated pressure sores, dehydration, malnutrition, medication errors, or wandering, the death may reflect neglect rather than natural decline. Minnesota has both a Vulnerable Adults Act and ordinary negligence law, and a facility's failure to provide the care it was paid to provide can support a claim by the family.
The practical step is to request the complete medical chart and care records from the facility promptly; families have a right to them, and records are harder to assemble later. You can also report suspected neglect to the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center at 1-844-880-1574, which triggers a state review regardless of whether you ever pursue a claim. A lawyer can evaluate the records; the report costs nothing and protects other residents.
If you want to talk with a Minnesota attorney about any of this, you can call Dan Swenson at 651-283-8747.
Dan Swensonis a Minnesota workers' compensation attorney at Robert Wilson & Associates and the person who builds this site. Attorney advertising. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.