Va. Code » Title 8.01. Civil Remedies and Procedure » Chapter 3. Actions » Article 5. Death by Wrongful Act
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-56 (2026)

When right of action not to determine nor action to abate

✓ current as of May 2026
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The right of action under § 8.01-50 shall not determine, nor the action, when brought, abate by the death, dissolution, or other termination of a defendant; and when a person who has brought an action for personal injury dies pending the action, such action may be revived in the name of his personal representative. If death resulted from the injury for which the action was originally brought, a motion for judgment and other pleadings shall be amended so as to conform to an action under § 8.01-50, and the case proceeded with as if the action had been brought under such section. In such cases, however, there shall be but one recovery for the same injury.

Code 1950, § 8-640; 1954, c. 333; 1977, c. 617.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 29 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1984–2024 · leading case: Bulala v. Boyd, 389 S.E.2d 670 (Va. 1990).
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Bulala v. Boyd, 389 S.E.2d 670 (Va. 1990). · cites it 6× “" Code § 8.01-56 provides, in pertinent part: when a person who has brought an action for personal injury dies pending the action, such action may be revived in the name of his personal representative.”
Centra Health, Inc. v. Mullins, 670 S.E.2d 708 (Va. 2009). · cites it 9× “Code § 8.01-56, which in part governs the maintenance of a pending personal injury action as a survival action following the death of the plaintiff, provides in relevant part: .”
Campbell v. Harmon, 628 S.E.2d 308 (Va. 2006). · cites it 6× “" To support this contention, the Trustees cite Code §§ 8.01-56, 8.01-57, 8.01-63, 8.01-173, 64.”
Boyd v. Bulala, 647 F. Supp. 781 (W.D. Va. 1986). · cites it 5× “Motion to Convert to Wrongful Death Action Defendant’s motion to amend the action to convert it to an action for wrongful death requires an interpretation of Va.Code § 8.01-56, which reads in pertinent part as follows: [W]hen a person who has brought an action for personal…”
Antisdel v. Ashby, 688 S.E.2d 163 (Va. 2010). · cites it 2× “1 plainly permits a circuit court clerk to appoint an administrator for the purpose of bringing both personal injury survival actions and wrongful death actions.”
Hendrix v. Daugherty, 457 S.E.2d 71 (Va. 1995). · cites it 3× “Code § 8.01-56, which is one of Virginia’s Death by Wrongful Act statutes, states: The right of action under § 8.”
Wright v. Eli Lilly & Co., 65 Va. Cir. 485 (Portsmouth Cir. Ct. 2004). · cites it 9× “Va. Code § 8.01-56, in turn, provides that: The right of action under § 8.”
Dammarell v. Islamic Repub. of Iran, 404 F. Supp. 2d 261 (D.D.C. 2005). “See Va.Code § 8.01-56 (“there shall be but one recovery for the same injury”).”
Tucker v. Ware, 10 Va. Cir. 454 (Richmond County Cir. Ct. 1988). · cites it 4× “01-25 states that "if the cause of action asserted by the decedent in his lifetime was for a personal injury and such decedent dies as a result of the injury complained of with a timely action for damages arising from such injury pending, the action shall be amended in…”
Lucas v. HCMF Corp., 384 S.E.2d 92 (Va. 1989). · cites it 2× “Code § 8.01-56. Code § 8.01-25 entitles a decedent’s personal representative to file a motion for judgment seeking damages for personal injuries sustained by the decedent; however, if the injuries cause death, the recovery must be sought under Code § 8.”
Jones v. Prince George's Cnty., Maryland, 355 F. App'x 724 (4th Cir. 2009). “2d 71, 75 (1995); see also Va.Code Ann. § 8.01-56 (explaining there can “be but one recovery for the same injury”).”
Wright v. Eli Lilly & Co., 66 Va. Cir. 195 (Portsmouth Cir. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “As this Court pointed out in its Opinion and Order of September 21, 2004: “an action arising during the decedent’s lifetime for injuries which subsequently caused the decedent’s death is, in effect, transformed into a wrongful death action by Virginia Code § 8.01-56.” Friend,…”
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