In Fabiano v. Philip Morris USA Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court considered whether a personal representative can bring a wrongful death claim when the statute of limitations for the decedent's underlying personal injury claims had already expired. The court held that wrongful death actions are derivative in nature, and if the decedent could not have brought a claim at the time of their death, no wrongful death claim can be initiated.
Grace Fabiano and Mary Fuller filed separate wrongful death lawsuits as personal representatives of Ralph Fabiano and John Fuller, respectively. Both decedents had smoked cigarettes for decades and were diagnosed with smoking-related illnesses more than three years before their deaths. Ralph died of COPD in 2014, and John died of lung cancer in 2016. The lawsuits, brought in 2017, alleged negligence, breach of warranty, and conspiracy against various tobacco companies and retailers.
In each case, the defendants argued that because the decedents' claims for personal injuries were time-barred at the time of death, the derivative wrongful death claims could not proceed. The trial courts agreed and dismissed the claims. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court granted direct appellate review.
The court reaffirmed its earlier holding in GGNSC Admin. Servs., LLC v. Schrader, concluding that wrongful death actions under Massachusetts law are not independent causes of action. Instead, they are derivative of the decedent's personal injury rights. If the decedent had no surviving right to sue at the time of death—due to expiration of the limitations period or other legal bar—then the estate has no wrongful death claim.
The plaintiffs argued that the three-year statute of limitations for wrongful death actions under G. L. c. 229, § 2, should allow their claims to proceed because it begins at the time of death. The court disagreed, explaining that the wrongful death statute only provides a limitations period for an action that has already vested. If no underlying claim exists at the time of death, the statute of limitations is never triggered.
The court also examined the 1981 amendment to the wrongful death statute, which removed a prior restriction that barred recovery if death occurred more than two years after injury. The court determined that this amendment did not alter the derivative nature of wrongful death actions, nor did it create an independent right for personal representatives to bring claims.
Massachusetts thus aligns with the majority of jurisdictions that treat wrongful death claims as dependent on the decedent's ability to sue for the fatal injury at the time of death. The court cited supporting precedent from Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, Texas, and other states.
The court concluded that because the decedents' claims were time-barred before they died, no wrongful death actions ever vested in their estates. The judgments dismissing the plaintiffs' claims were affirmed.
For support with claims involving fatal injuries or questions about time limits under wrongful death statutes, our team at Whitcomb, Selinsky, PC can assist with legal evaluation and next steps.