House Bill hb0795

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 795

        By Representative Seiler






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to wrongful death; amending s.

  3         768.21, F.S.; specifying conditions for the

  4         determination of whether there is a surviving

  5         spouse under certain circumstances; providing

  6         an effective date.

  7

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9

10         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 768.21, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         768.21  Damages.--All potential beneficiaries of a

13  recovery for wrongful death, including the decedent's estate,

14  shall be identified in the complaint, and their relationships

15  to the decedent shall be alleged. Damages may be awarded as

16  follows:

17         (3)  Minor children of the decedent, and all children

18  of the decedent if there is no surviving spouse, may also

19  recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and

20  guidance and for mental pain and suffering from the date of

21  injury. For the purposes of this subsection, if both spouses

22  die within 30 days of each other or if both spouses die as a

23  result of the same wrongful act or series of acts arising out

24  of the same incident, each spouse shall have been deemed to

25  have been predeceased by the other.

26         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

27  law and shall apply to any action filed on or after such date.

28

29

30

31

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 795

    794-113-02






  1            *****************************************

  2                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  3
      Revises a provision of law dealing with damages for
  4    wrongful death to provide that under described
      circumstances, if both spouses die within 30 days of each
  5    other or if both spouses die as a result of the same
      wrongful act or series of acts arising out of the same
  6    incident, each spouse shall be deemed to have been
      predeceased by the other.
  7

  8

  9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.