These two legal concepts often get combined into one lawsuit, but they compensate for different things.

• A survival action covers damages the deceased person could have claimed had they lived, such as their pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages between the time of injury and death.
• A wrongful death claim covers losses suffered by surviving family members, such as loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and funeral and burial expenses.

In many Michigan cases, both claims are pursued together as part of the same case, since they draw from the same underlying incident but compensate different parties for different losses. The distinction can matter quite a bit for how a case is valued and who receives what. If you're facing this after losing someone in Metro Detroit, we're glad to explain how it applies to your family's specific situation in a free consultation.