If you’ve suffered a bereavement, taking legal action is probably the last thing on your mind. However, if the death was wrongful, there may be a legal claim to be made against those responsible. These types of claims must be brought within a specified period of time, which can be difficult when you’re grieving. In this guide, we explain how the Minnesota wrongful death statute of limitations applies and where to get help.

What Is Classified as a “Wrongful Death”?

In its simplest terms, a wrongful death is one that wouldn’t have occurred in the natural course of events. Here in Michigan, statute 573.02 defines a wrongful death as one that is caused as a result of a “wrongful act or omission” from either an individual or a corporation. This means that a claim for wrongful death in Minnesota might be brought due to a wrongful act committed, such as drunk-driving, or a failure to act, such as neglect.

The same statute further defines wrongful death as a situation where the individual could have filed a personal injury claim if they had survived.

What Is a Statute of Limitations?

A statute of limitations is a law that sets out how long parties have to initiate legal proceedings. If a party attempts to commence legal proceedings when the statute of limitations has expired, no action will normally be possible.

In a very few cases, such as war crimes or murder, no statute of limitation may apply. For most civil and criminal cases, a statute of limitations is strictly enforced. The length of this varies between different offenses, but for wrongful death the statute of limitations is usually three years.

How Is the Statute of Limitations Applied in Minnesota?

Claims that have been initiated within this period but not resolved can continue to be pursued. The statute of limitations runs from the date of death, but there may be instances where the death did not occur immediately after the wrongful act. Where this is the case, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of death, but it must also be within six years of the date of the wrongful act or omission.

If the death occurred due to alleged medical malpractice, the same three-year statute of limitations will apply following death, but the claim must additionally be brought within four years of the omission or wrongful act, not six years.

Are There Any Exceptions to the Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations in Minnesota?

One exception to the three-year statute of limitations is the rule around “discovery of harm”. This means if the claimants were not initially aware that a wrongful death had occurred, the three years runs from the date of this discovery, not the date of death.

A wrongful death claim can be brought even when there was no intent to do harm. This differs from murder, where the intent to do harm exists. This means that all cases of murder are also wrongful death, but not all cases of wrongful death are murder. If the death is judged to be murder, no statute of limitations will apply.

Get in touch with us here at Justice Served Coalition in Maple Grove, MN for legal advice you can trust.