Virginia common law prohibits another person bringing a wrongful death claim on behalf of another. This arises from the principle that personal legal actions die with the individual from whom they arise. However, if one examines the Virginia Workers’ Compensation statutes it is clearly stated that the insurers and the Attorney General, in some circumstances, may be subrogated to the wrongful death rights of their insured. Therefore, if the Virginia Assembly were to pass a similar statutory provision regarding life insurers it would not be a groundbreaking proposal. In fact, the logic would be exactly the same as that employed when carving out a statutory exception for the Workers’ Compensation insurers.
Insurance companies could begin lobbying Virginia lawmakers on this point and potentially see real movement on the issue.
