A wrongful death claim is the legal path that lets a family seek compensation when a loved one is killed by someone else’s negligence. In New Jersey, the claim is brought on behalf of the surviving family members, and it generally must be filed within two years of the death. A wrongful death attorney can help grieving families in Union County understand these claims at a time when the law is the last thing they want to think about.
A New Jersey wrongful death action is governed by N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 and the sections that follow. The claim is filed by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate, not by the family members individually, but it is brought for the benefit of the survivors. Those survivors are the people who depended on the deceased, generally a spouse, children, and parents, in the order of relationship the statute sets out. The representative pursues the claim, and any recovery is distributed to the survivors according to their dependency on the person who died.
When the survivors cannot agree on how a recovery should be divided, a court can decide the shares based on the financial loss each one suffered. If no closer family member survives, the statute extends eligibility to others who can show actual dependency, so the question of who benefits is decided by relationship and reliance rather than by who files.
This is where New Jersey law catches many families by surprise. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4 and 2A:31-5, a wrongful death recovery is limited to the pecuniary, or financial, losses the survivors suffered. That includes the income and financial support the deceased would have provided, the value of services like childcare or home maintenance, and the lost guidance and counsel a parent would have given. It does not include the survivors' own grief, sorrow, or emotional distress, which New Jersey wrongful death damages do not compensate. Understanding that boundary is essential to setting honest expectations about a claim.
A second, distinct claim often travels alongside the wrongful death action. The survival action under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3 belongs to the estate and recovers what the deceased person experienced before death, including their own conscious pain and suffering and the losses they incurred between the injury and death. The two claims compensate different harms and can even run on different deadlines, since the survival claim generally accrues at the time of injury while the wrongful death claim runs from the date of death. Because the two-year deadline runs from the date of death for the wrongful death claim, the survival claim can quietly expire first if both are not tracked from the start.
The wrongful death claim must generally be filed within two years of the date of death under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3. There is a narrow exception with no deadline when the death resulted from murder, aggravated manslaughter, or manslaughter. If a public entity such as NJ Transit or a municipality was involved, the Tort Claims Act notice requirement can shorten the time to act to as little as 90 days, so the type of defendant changes the calendar. Because a wrongful death case often involves both a grieving family and more than one possible deadline, the safest course is to have the dates reviewed soon after the loss.
The Budanitsky firm handles the legal work so a family can focus on each other, coordinating the wrongful death and survival claims and tracking each deadline. Attorney Sander Budanitsky has represented injured New Jersey clients since 1996, and in cases where a loved one was taken to the Level I trauma center at University Hospital in Newark, the firm gathers the records that document what happened. New Jersey recorded 582 traffic deaths in 2025, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, and behind each is a family facing these questions. The consultation with The Law Offices of Sander Budanitsky, L.L.C. is free with no fee unless there is a recovery.
The personal representative of the deceased person's estate files the claim for the benefit of the surviving family members, generally the spouse, children, and parents who depended on the deceased.
No. Wrongful death damages are limited to financial losses such as lost support and services. The deceased person's own pre-death pain and suffering is recovered through a separate survival action.
Reviewed by Sander Budanitsky, Esq., admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1996.
Last reviewed: July 2026
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed New Jersey attorney.
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