$15,000 to $20,000 in funeral and burial costs can hit a Lee's Summit family before the first insurance call is even returned.

Say a rideshare passenger is killed in a construction-zone crash near Lee's Summit after a lane shift or flagger-controlled backup. In Missouri, the first people allowed to file a wrongful death case are the deceased person's spouse, children, or parents under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.080. If none of them can file, then a sibling may file. If there is no eligible close family member, the court can appoint a plaintiff ad litem to bring the case.

That wrongful death claim belongs to the family members who qualify by law. It can seek money for funeral expenses, the person's lost wages and financial support, medical bills caused by the fatal injury, and the family's loss of the person's companionship, guidance, consortium, comfort, instruction, and care. Missouri also allows damages for the suffering and losses the family experiences because of the death.

A different claim, often confused with wrongful death, is a survival-type claim through the estate. That is for losses the person had before death, such as conscious pain and suffering or property damage, depending on the facts. The estate handles those claims, while the wrongful death claim is for the legally entitled family members.

The filing deadline is usually 3 years from the date of death for a Missouri wrongful death case. That is much shorter than Missouri's 5-year deadline for many ordinary personal injury claims. If a government vehicle, roadwork contractor, or public entity is involved, notice rules and deadlines can tighten fast.

Early on, families should identify whether the claim is against the rideshare driver, another driver, a construction contractor, or multiple insurers, because carriers often try to shift blame while the clock keeps running.