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

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

The three-year rule and where it comes from

The wrongful death statute, RCW 4.20.010, has no deadline of its own. Courts apply the three-year period for injury claims in RCW 4.16.080(2). In Deggs v. Asbestos Corp. (2016), the Washington Supreme Court confirmed that period and quoted its 2007 decision in Atchison v. Great Western Malting Co.: wrongful death actions “accrue at the time of death.”

Deggs also held that the family’s claim depends on the claim the person could have brought while alive. In that case, the man’s asbestos injury claim against the companies his daughter later sued had expired years before he died, so the wrongful death case against them was barred as well.

Who files the case and who it benefits

Only the personal representative of the estate can file. If no will names one, a court appoints one, with priority to the spouse or registered domestic partner, then children, parents and siblings (RCW 11.28.120).

Any recovery goes to the beneficiaries in RCW 4.20.020: the spouse or state registered domestic partner and the children, including stepchildren. If there are none, parents or siblings recover. Parents and siblings once had to prove financial dependence on the person and U.S. residence. Substitute Senate Bill 5163 (chapter 159, Laws of 2019) removed both requirements as of July 28, 2019, for every claim not already time-barred, according to the Legislature’s final bill report.

The same law updated the survival statutes, RCW 4.20.046 and RCW 4.20.060. They let the personal representative recover the estate’s economic losses and the pain and suffering the person went through before death, for the same family members.

Deaths caused by medical negligence

In Fast v. Kennewick Public Hospital District (2016), the Supreme Court held that RCW 4.16.350(3) governs deaths caused by negligent health care. The deadline is three years from the act or omission, or one year from when the injury and its cause were or should have been discovered, whichever is later. A written good-faith request for mediation before suing adds a year (RCW 7.70.110). Because this clock starts at the act, a death months after a missed diagnosis can leave less time.

The statute still prints an eight-year outer limit. The court struck it down in DeYoung v. Providence Medical Center (1998) and, after the Legislature reenacted it in 2006, struck it down again in Bennett v. United States (2023).

Claims against a city, county or the state

If a public employee or agency caused the death, a claim on the standard tort claim form comes first. Claims against cities, counties, special districts and public hospitals go to the entity’s designated agent within the limitations period (RCW 4.96.020). Claims against the state go to the Office of Risk Management (RCW 4.92.100). A lawsuit can be filed only after 60 calendar days, and the clock is tolled during that wait (RCW 4.96.020(4); RCW 4.92.110).

Deaths at work and L&I

Industrial insurance generally replaces lawsuits against the employer (RCW 51.04.010; RCW 51.32.010), except when the employer deliberately intended the injury (RCW 51.24.020). The family’s application for L&I death benefits is due within one year after their rights accrued (RCW 51.28.050).

RCW 51.24.030 allows a suit against a third person outside the worker’s employ, such as an equipment maker or a driver for another company, and its definition of injury includes death. L&I benefits continue either way (RCW 51.24.040), but L&I or a self-insured employer shares in the recovery (RCW 51.24.060). Our guide to Washington work-injury third-party claims explains how they fit together.

If the person who died was partly at fault

Washington uses pure comparative fault. Under RCW 4.22.005, a claimant’s share of fault reduces the award but does not bar it. In a wrongful death case, RCW 4.22.020 charges the decedent’s fault to the family. As a hypothetical example, if a jury found the person who died 30 percent at fault, the family’s damages would be reduced by 30 percent.

Washington wrongful death deadlines at a glance

What this means for your case

Write down the date of death and the date of the event or treatment that led to it, since the medical clock can start earlier. If a public agency was involved, leave room for the claim form and the 60-day wait. After a work death, file with L&I within the year and find out which outside companies were on site. Open the estate early, because only a personal representative can sue. Parents and siblings who would not have qualified under the pre-2019 rules may qualify now.

Michael Shemtoub, Beverly Law’s trial attorney, is licensed in Washington and works with families in Seattle and across Washington. For a free consultation, call (310) 552-6959. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Common questions

Related pages

FAQs · Washington work injuries and third-party claims · Seattle injury lawyers · Washington · Practice areas

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.