Alaska Personal Injury Lawyers | Barber & Associates
We are an Alaska law firm representing people against insurance companies and corporations who have caused harm.

(907) 276-5858

Barber & Associates, PLLC

Wrongful Death Lawyer In Alaska

Driven by Justice, Defined by Integrity. We fight for you!

We have specialized knowledge to help injured people get what is fair

Personal Injury Law Firm In Alaska

Alaska Wrongful Death Lawyers

When someone dies because of another person’s or company’s wrongful act or negligence, Alaska law may allow a wrongful death claim.

These cases are different from ordinary personal injury claims because the person who was harmed can no longer bring the claim personally. Alaska law instead provides a process for a personal representative to pursue the wrongful death action and, when applicable, recover damages for the benefit of the deceased person’s spouse, children, or other dependents.

Barber & Associates represents families throughout Alaska after fatal accidents caused by negligence or wrongful conduct. Our attorneys investigate what happened, identify potentially responsible parties and insurance coverage, document the losses resulting from the death, and help families navigate the civil claim.

What Is Wrongful Death Under Alaska Law?

Under Alaska Statute 09.55.580, a wrongful death action may arise when a person’s death is caused by the wrongful act or omission of another and the deceased person could have pursued a claim for the injury if they had survived.

In practical terms, the underlying event may have supported a personal injury claim if the person had lived. Because the injury instead resulted in death, Alaska’s wrongful-death law provides a way to address the resulting losses.

A wrongful death claim is a civil matter. If the conduct that caused the death also results in criminal charges, the criminal prosecution and civil wrongful-death claim are separate proceedings.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Alaska?

Under Alaska’s wrongful-death statute, the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate generally brings the wrongful-death action.

The personal representative is not necessarily the person who ultimately receives the recovery. When the deceased person is survived by a spouse, children, or other dependents, the wrongful-death recovery is for their benefit.

If there is no spouse, child, or other dependent, Alaska law provides different rules. In that situation, the recovery is administered as other personal property of the deceased person’s estate and is limited to pecuniary loss.

What If There Is No Will or Personal Representative?

The absence of a will does not necessarily prevent a wrongful-death claim.

If a personal representative has not already been appointed, Alaska’s probate process may be used to appoint one. The Alaska Court System establishes priority rules for who may serve depending on whether the deceased person left a valid will.

The probate and wrongful-death processes can therefore intersect, particularly when no estate has been opened before the claim begins.

Who May Benefit From an Alaska Wrongful Death Claim?

Alaska Statute 09.55.580 specifically identifies a surviving:

  • Spouse
  • Child or children
  • Other dependents

The relationship between the personal representative, beneficiaries, and estate can become especially important when several family members have experienced different financial and personal losses.

There are also separate Alaska laws addressing certain claims involving the death of a minor child, so the appropriate claim should be evaluated according to the family relationship and circumstances.

What Types of Accidents Can Lead to Wrongful Death Claims?

Wrongful death is not limited to one type of accident. The important question is whether wrongful or negligent conduct caused a death that could have supported a legal claim had the person survived.

Potential wrongful-death cases can arise from:

  • Car accidents: Fatal crashes caused by negligent drivers may support a wrongful-death claim. Learn more about car accident claims in Alaska.
  • Commercial truck accidents: Fatal truck crashes can involve drivers, motor carriers, maintenance companies, cargo operations, and multiple insurance policies. Learn more about Alaska truck accident claims.
  • Drunk or impaired driving accidents: A family may have a civil wrongful-death claim even when the driver also faces a separate criminal DUI case. Learn more about drunk driving accident claims in Alaska.
  • Unsafe property conditions: A fatal fall or other incident involving dangerous property conditions may raise premises-liability questions. Learn more about slip and fall accidents in Alaska.
  • Other negligent or wrongful conduct: Depending on the facts, other preventable incidents can also support wrongful-death claims.
The type of fatal incident affects what evidence must be investigated, what insurance may apply, and which people or companies could potentially bear responsibility.

What Must Be Proven in an Alaska Wrongful Death Claim?

The exact legal issues depend on what caused the death. In a negligence-based case, the evidence generally needs to establish that another person or entity had a legal duty, failed to meet that duty, and caused the injury that resulted in death.

The claim must also establish the losses for which compensation is being sought.

Evidence can vary considerably depending on whether the death resulted from a vehicle collision, unsafe property, commercial activity, or another event.

What Evidence May Be Important in a Wrongful Death Case?

A wrongful-death investigation may involve evidence concerning both why the death occurred and how the death affected the surviving beneficiaries.

Depending on the case, important evidence can include:

  • Police, accident, or incident reports
  • Photographs and video
  • Witness statements
  • Medical and hospital records
  • Employment and income documentation
  • Insurance policies and correspondence
  • Vehicle or property records
  • Business records when a company is involved
  • Expert analysis when necessary
  • Documentation of medical and funeral expenses
  • Evidence of the services and support the deceased provided to the family
Different accidents create different evidence issues. In a commercial truck case, for example, trucking records may be important, while a dangerous-property case may focus on inspection, maintenance, or notice of the hazardous condition.

What Damages Can Be Recovered in an Alaska Wrongful Death Claim?

Alaska’s wrongful-death statute directs the court or jury to consider the facts and circumstances and determine an amount that fairly compensates for the injury resulting from the death.

The statute specifically identifies considerations that include:

  • Loss of expected financial benefits
  • Loss of contributions for support
  • Loss of assistance or services
  • Loss of consortium
  • Loss of prospective training and education
  • Medical expenses
  • Funeral expenses

The losses in a wrongful-death case are therefore not limited to the deceased person’s paycheck. The financial support, household services, assistance, and family relationships affected by the death can also be relevant under Alaska law.

No standard formula determines what a wrongful-death claim is worth. The value depends on the evidence and circumstances of the individual case.

How Are Future Financial Losses Evaluated?

A wrongful death can affect a household financially for years after the initial accident.

Evaluating those losses may require looking at factors such as the deceased person’s:

  • Income and employment history
  • Expected future earning capacity
  • Contributions to household expenses
  • Benefits and other financial contributions
  • Services provided to the household
  • Dependents and family responsibilities
When significant future losses are involved, employment, financial, tax, or economic records may become important in documenting the claim.

What Is Loss of Services in a Wrongful Death Claim?

Financial loss is not limited to wages.

A person may contribute substantial value to a household through childcare, transportation, home maintenance, caregiving, cooking, household management, and other services.

Alaska’s wrongful-death statute specifically identifies the loss of assistance or services as a factor that may be considered when determining damages.

This can be particularly important when the deceased person performed significant family or household responsibilities that did not appear on a paycheck.

What Is the Difference Between Wrongful Death and a Survival Claim?

Wrongful death and survival claims address related but different legal issues.

A wrongful-death claim generally focuses on losses resulting from the death and, when statutory beneficiaries exist, the losses suffered by those beneficiaries.

Alaska also has a survival statute, AS 09.55.570, which generally allows causes of action belonging to a person to survive that person’s death and be pursued by the personal representative.

Depending on what occurred between the initial injury and death, both wrongful-death and survival-law issues may need to be evaluated.

What Happens If the Deceased Person Was Partly at Fault?

A wrongful-death claim does not necessarily disappear because the person who died may have shared responsibility for the accident.

Alaska applies comparative negligence principles. When more than one party contributed to an accident, responsibility can be allocated among them, and the percentage of fault attributed to the deceased person can affect the amount recovered.

Evidence about exactly how the accident occurred is therefore important when an insurance company or another party argues that the deceased person contributed to the incident.

What If More Than One Person or Company Was Responsible?

Some fatal accidents involve more than one potentially responsible party.

For example, a commercial truck accident might require investigation of the truck driver, motor carrier, maintenance provider, or another company. A dangerous-property case might involve a property owner, tenant, management company, or contractor.

Identifying all potentially responsible parties can be important both for establishing how the death occurred and determining what insurance or other sources of recovery may be available.

What If There Is Also a Criminal Case?

A criminal prosecution and wrongful-death lawsuit serve different purposes.

The government brings a criminal case to determine whether someone committed a crime and, if so, what criminal consequences should follow.

A wrongful-death claim is a civil action involving responsibility for the death and compensation for legally recognized losses.

Both proceedings can arise from the same event. For example, a fatal crash caused by an impaired driver may result in criminal charges while the deceased person’s personal representative separately pursues a civil wrongful-death claim.

The outcome of one proceeding does not automatically determine every issue in the other.

How Long Do You Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Alaska?

Alaska Statute 09.55.580 generally requires a wrongful-death action to be commenced within two years after the death.

Families should not rely on that general deadline as a reason to postpone investigating a potential claim. Evidence can become harder to obtain, witnesses can become more difficult to locate, and businesses or other parties may maintain records according to their own retention schedules.

Different legal claims or circumstances can also involve different procedural requirements, so the applicable deadline should be evaluated based on the particular case.

Talk With an Alaska Wrongful Death Lawyer

A wrongful-death claim cannot undo the loss of a family member. It can, however, provide a legal process for determining responsibility and addressing the financial and personal losses recognized under Alaska law.

Barber & Associates represents Alaska families in wrongful-death claims involving motor vehicle accidents, commercial trucks, impaired drivers, unsafe property conditions, and other negligent or wrongful conduct.

See examples of matters the firm has handled on our case results page. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in another case.

Who hurt you?

Contact Barber & Associates to discuss your truck accident with an Alaska personal injury attorney, or call 907-276-5858.

Alaska Drunk Driving Accident FAQs

Does a family member file the wrongful death lawsuit directly in Alaska?

Generally, Alaska’s wrongful-death statute provides for the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate to bring the action. The recovery may then be for the benefit of a surviving spouse, children, or other dependents, depending on the circumstances.

Yes. Not having a will does not automatically prevent a wrongful-death claim. If necessary, Alaska’s probate process can be used to appoint a personal representative.

Alaska has a separate statute providing that a parent may maintain an action for the injury or death of a child below the age of majority. Claims involving the death of a child should be evaluated carefully because more than one Alaska statute may be relevant.
Simply being a sibling does not automatically make someone a statutory wrongful-death beneficiary. Alaska’s wrongful-death statute focuses on a spouse, children, and other dependents when determining who benefits from the recovery. Whether a particular family member qualifies as a dependent requires examination of the circumstances.

Yes. Wrongful death is a civil claim and does not necessarily require criminal charges or a criminal conviction. Many wrongful-death cases arise from negligence rather than criminal conduct.

Yes. A wrongful-death claim may potentially be resolved through negotiations without a trial. A lawsuit may become necessary when responsibility, damages, insurance coverage, or other issues cannot be resolved through negotiation.

When available insurance may be insufficient, the investigation can include whether additional insurance policies or other responsible parties exist. The answer depends on what caused the death and who was involved.

It depends on the beneficiaries. When the deceased person leaves a spouse, children, or other dependents, Alaska’s wrongful-death statute provides that the recovery is for their benefit. When none of those statutory beneficiaries exist, recovery is administered as other personal property of the deceased and is limited to pecuniary loss.

Evidence may include employment records, earnings history, tax records, benefits information, household financial records, and documentation showing the financial contributions the deceased person made or was reasonably expected to make.

There is no benefit to waiting merely because Alaska generally provides a two-year filing period. When liability is uncertain or important evidence is held by another person or business, earlier investigation can help identify what information should be requested and preserved.