What can my family recover in an Alabama wrongful death case?
Alabama is the only state where wrongful-death damages are punitive only. Families cannot recover compensatory damages — no medical bills, funeral costs, lost income, or grief. The jury awards punitive damages measured by how wrongful the conduct was.
Coverage scope
Alabama wrongful-death claims
Answer family
Policies & rules
Stable fields
Alabama statutes and common-law doctrine
Dynamic fields
Insurance limits, case results
The short answer
In Alabama, wrongful-death damages are punitive only. Your family cannot recover compensatory damages — there is no award for medical bills, funeral costs, lost future income, or the survivors' grief and loss of companionship. Instead, the jury awards punitive damages to punish and deter the wrongful conduct.
What this means in practice
Punitive only — Damages are measured by the wrongfulness of the defendant's conduct, not by your family's financial losses — and are allowed even where the conduct was merely negligent.
Statutory caps do not apply — Alabama's punitive-damage caps do NOT apply to wrongful death, so awards can be very large.
Personal representative brings the claim — Only the estate's personal representative may file. Proceeds pass to heirs under the intestacy statute, outside the estate and beyond the decedent's creditors.
Two-year deadline — The claim must be filed within two years of the date of death.
Caps exemption — Ala. Code § 6-11-21(j) — punitive caps do not apply to wrongful death.
Talk to The Vance Law Firm
Free consultation — Hurt in an Alabama accident? No fee unless you win — call The Vance Law Firm at 334-336-0860.
Related questions
Can we recover the funeral bills and lost income?
Not as wrongful-death damages in Alabama — those compensatory categories are not available. This is unique to Alabama and is why experienced counsel matters.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.