Under the Wrongful Death Act, an unborn child who dies as a direct or proximate cause of someone else’s negligence does not constitute a person within the definition of a “person” of the Wrongful Death Act. In order to be considered a person, the child must be born viably alive, and acquire a separate and independent existence from the mother. To prove that the child has a separate and independent existence from the mother, there must be a showing of evidence that the child’s body was expelled from the mother or removed and that the umbilical cord was cut and the infant had independent blood circulation. An experienced wrongful death attorney may present evidence by an medical expert to testify regarding whether the child had attained a separate and independent existence prior to the child’s umbilical cord being severed, and to the death.

However, the Florida Supreme Court has recognized an exception to the rule that the unborn child is not a person, an emotional distress cause of action for a negligently caused stillbirth. The parents of an unborn child are not barred from bringing a cause of action for wrongful death based on emotional distress resulting from the negligently caused stillbirth. The surviving parents may recover damages for mental pain, anguish, medical expenses resulting from the incident to the pregnancy.

To determine your rights under the Wrongful Death Act, you need the experienced attorneys at Sharmin & Sharmin P.A. 1-800-74-TRIAL.