5.14 Wrongful Death

• Library: Virginia Law and Practice: A Handbook for Attorneys (Virginia CLE) (2020 Ed.)

5.14 WRONGFUL DEATH

The provisions of the Virginia Death by Wrongful Act statute, ⁷³ which includes, in Va. Code § 8.01-53, the designation of beneficiaries, are indivisible and substantive. A designation of a class of beneficiaries within a statute creating both a cause of action and a right of action that did not exist at common law is more than a remedy. Therefore, in a wrongful death action based on a vehicle accident in New York, the beneficiaries are to be determined under New York law. ⁷⁴

5.1401 Cap on Noneconomic Damages. The Maryland cap on noneconomic damages does not affect one's substantive rights in a wrongful death action but rather merely affects one's remedy. As a result, the cap is procedural. Consequently, because the cap is procedural, pursuant to Virginia's conflict of law rules, lex fori governs, and the Maryland cap does not apply. ⁷⁵ In Quinichett v. Waggy's Towing, LLC, ⁷⁶ the court noted a conflict among circuit court decisions in Virginia: "In their briefs and...