Landmark ruling restricts parents’ wrongful-death damages
By Alan M. Singer

In a wrongful-death action, parents of an adult child may recover for loss of consortium only if they were financially dependent on the child, the Washington Supreme Court has held.

In Philippides v. Bernard, 88 P.3d 939 (April 22, 2004), 22-year-old Ianni Philippides, an unmarried man, was struck and killed by a vehicle while riding his bicycle as a courier in downtown Seattle. Philippides's sister, as personal representative of his estate, filed a wrongful-death action, and his parents brought wrongful-death claims for loss of consortium, both under Washington's wrongful-death statute, RCW 4.24.010.

Plaintiffs and defendant cross-moved for summary judgment as to whether the parents could recover for loss of consortium claim even though they had not been financially dependent on their son when he died. The trial court held that the parents could maintain such a claim. A jury later returned a verdict of $891,809 in economic damages to the estate and $900,000 for loss of consortium.

The Washington Supreme Court granted direct review and consolidated Philippides with several other cases.

The Philippides Court addressed three issues: First, does RCW 4.24.010 permit the parent of an adult child to recover damages for loss of consortium if they were not financially dependent on the child? Second, regardless of financial dependence, should the Court recognize a common-law loss of consortium cause of action in such cases? Third, does the dependency requirement under RCW 4.24.010 violate the state or federal constitutions?