Nevada’s wrongful death law recognizes two different types or classes of plaintiffs – the estate of the deceased and the heirs of the deceased. Each class of plaintiff can recover different types of damages. The personal representative of the estate can recover special damages, such as medical expenses incurred or sustained before death, and funeral expenses. The personal representative can also recover exemplary or punitive damages that the deceased could have recovered if the person had lived. The monies recovered by the personal representative go to the estate and are distributed according to the terms of the will, or Nevada intestacy laws if the person died without a will.
Each heir of the deceased (spouse, children, parents, siblings, etc.) may also bring a wrongful death claim against the party responsible for causing the death. Heirs can financially recover for their personal grief or sorrow, and their loss of probable support, companionship, society, comfort, and consortium. Heirs can also recover compensation for the pain, suffering, or disfigurement of the deceased.
