Distribution of amount recovered.
(1) Whenever the death of a person results from an injury inflicted by the negligence or
wrongful act of another, damages may be recovered for the death from the person
who caused it, or whose agent or servant caused it. If the act was willful or the
negligence gross, punitive damages may be recovered. The action shall be
prosecuted by the personal representative of the deceased.
(2) The amount recovered, less funeral expenses and the cost of administration and
costs of recovery including attorney fees, not included in the recovery from the
defendant, shall be for the benefit of and go to the kindred of the deceased in the
following order:
(a) If the deceased leaves a widow or husband, and no children or their
descendants, then the whole to the widow or husband.
(b) If the deceased leaves a widow and children or a husband and children, then
one-half (1/2) to the widow or husband and the other one-half (1/2) to the
children of the deceased.
(c) If the deceased leaves a child or children, but no widow or husband, then the
whole to the child or children.
(d) If the deceased leaves no widow, husband or child, then the recovery shall
pass to the mother and father of the deceased, one (1) moiety each, if both are
living; if the mother is dead and the father is living, the whole thereof shall
pass to the father; and if the father is dead and the mother living, the whole
thereof shall go to the mother. In the event the deceased was an adopted
person, "mother" and "father" shall mean the adoptive parents of the deceased.
(e) If the deceased leaves no widow, husband or child, and if both father and
mother are dead, then the whole of the recovery shall become a part of the
personal estate of the deceased, and after the payment of his debts the
remainder, if any, shall pass to his kindred more remote than those above
named, according to the law of descent and distribution.
History: Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 89, sec. 1. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208,
sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 6.
Notes of Decisions
Phelps v. Louisville Water Co., 103 S.W.3d 46 (Ky. 2003).
· cites it 16× “LWC maintains that Kentucky's wrongful death statute, KRS 411.130, requires that a defendant acted with malice.”
Conner v. George W. Whitesides Co., 834 S.W.2d 652 (Ky. 1992).
· cites it 18× “The statute creating a wrongful death action, KRS 411.130, is not among the statutes listed nor is a wrongful death action "mentioned" explicitly in the listed statutes.”
Dep't of Educ. v. Blevins, 707 S.W.2d 782 (Ky. 1986).
· cites it 18× “KRS 411.130. In addition two separate claims were filed, one on behalf of the decedent's father and one on behalf of her mother, seeking damages separately for loss of affection and companionship that they would have derived from their child during her minority.”
Pete v. Anderson, 413 S.W.3d 291 (Ky. 2013).
· cites it 10× “130, which, in its present form, states: (1) Whenever the death of a person results from an injury inflicted by the negligence or wrongful act of another, damages may be recovered for the death from the person who caused it, or whose agent or servant caused it.”
Ping v. Beverly Enter., Inc., 376 S.W.3d 581 (Ky. 2012).
· cites it 3× “Duncan’s successor, brings on its own behalf, and the wrongful death claim, under KRS 411.130, which the Estate’s representative brings not on behalf of the Estate, but on behalf of the statutory wrongful death beneficiaries.”
Robertson v. Vinson, 58 S.W.3d 432 (Ky. 2001).
· cites it 10× “He moved for summary judgment, claiming that he and his sisters were entitled to recover the UM proceeds under the wrongful death statute, KRS 411.130. Appellant also filed for summary judgment, claiming that she was entitled to the UM proceeds because the wrongful death statute…”
Giuliani v. Guiler, 951 S.W.2d 318 (Ky. 1997).
· cites it 4× “" This statute, as amended, was later compiled as General Statutes, ch.”
Extendicare Homes, Inc. v. Whisman, 478 S.W.3d 306 (Ky. 2015).
· cites it 3× “Based upon well-settled precedent and upon the constitutional and statutory structure of Kentucky’s wrongful death law,, we determined that a wrongful death claim does not “derive from any claim on behalf of the decedent, and [the wrongful death beneficiaries] do not succeed-to…”
Sand Hill Energy, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 83 S.W.3d 483 (Ky. 2002).
· cites it 2× “" [1] Despite the fact that a wrongful death action cannot be prosecuted by the decedent's estate and amounts recovered under the wrongful death act are not payable to the estate, KRS 411.”
Se. Kentucky Baptist Hosp., Inc. v. Gaylor, 756 S.W.2d 467 (Ky. 1988).
· cites it 4× “It is illogical that a person means one thing under KRS 411.130, the Wrongful Death Statute, but something less in KRS 411.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(1) — 34 cases
Phelps v. Louisville Water Co., 103 S.W.3d 46 (Ky. 2003).
“LWC maintains that Kentucky's wrongful death statute, KRS 411.130, requires that a defendant acted with malice.”
Pete v. Anderson, 413 S.W.3d 291 (Ky. 2013).
“130, which, in its present form, states: (1) Whenever the death of a person results from an injury inflicted by the negligence or wrongful act of another, damages may be recovered for the death from the person who caused it, or whose agent or servant caused it.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(2) — 25 cases
Extendicare Homes, Inc. v. Whisman, 478 S.W.3d 306 (Ky. 2015).
“Based upon well-settled precedent and upon the constitutional and statutory structure of Kentucky’s wrongful death law,, we determined that a wrongful death claim does not “derive from any claim on behalf of the decedent, and [the wrongful death beneficiaries] do not succeed-to…”
Pete v. Anderson, 413 S.W.3d 291 (Ky. 2013).
“130, which, in its present form, states: (1) Whenever the death of a person results from an injury inflicted by the negligence or wrongful act of another, damages may be recovered for the death from the person who caused it, or whose agent or servant caused it.”
Robertson v. Vinson, 58 S.W.3d 432 (Ky. 2001).
“He moved for summary judgment, claiming that he and his sisters were entitled to recover the UM proceeds under the wrongful death statute, KRS 411.130. Appellant also filed for summary judgment, claiming that she was entitled to the UM proceeds because the wrongful death statute…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(2)(1974) — 1 case
Ping v. Beverly Enter., Inc., 376 S.W.3d 581 (Ky. 2012).
“Duncan’s successor, brings on its own behalf, and the wrongful death claim, under KRS 411.130, which the Estate’s representative brings not on behalf of the Estate, but on behalf of the statutory wrongful death beneficiaries.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(2)(a) — 1 case
Pete v. Anderson, 413 S.W.3d 291 (Ky. 2013).
“130, which, in its present form, states: (1) Whenever the death of a person results from an injury inflicted by the negligence or wrongful act of another, damages may be recovered for the death from the person who caused it, or whose agent or servant caused it.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(2)(b) — 8 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(2)(c) — 1 case
Robertson v. Vinson, 58 S.W.3d 432 (Ky. 2001).
“He moved for summary judgment, claiming that he and his sisters were entitled to recover the UM proceeds under the wrongful death statute, KRS 411.130. Appellant also filed for summary judgment, claiming that she was entitled to the UM proceeds because the wrongful death statute…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(2)(d) — 1 case
Dep't of Educ. v. Blevins, 707 S.W.2d 782 (Ky. 1986).
“KRS 411.130. In addition two separate claims were filed, one on behalf of the decedent's father and one on behalf of her mother, seeking damages separately for loss of affection and companionship that they would have derived from their child during her minority.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(2)(e) — 3 cases
Dep't of Educ. v. Blevins, 707 S.W.2d 782 (Ky. 1986).
“KRS 411.130. In addition two separate claims were filed, one on behalf of the decedent's father and one on behalf of her mother, seeking damages separately for loss of affection and companionship that they would have derived from their child during her minority.”
Pete v. Anderson, 413 S.W.3d 291 (Ky. 2013).
“130, which, in its present form, states: (1) Whenever the death of a person results from an injury inflicted by the negligence or wrongful act of another, damages may be recovered for the death from the person who caused it, or whose agent or servant caused it.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(a) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130(e) — 2 cases
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.