RCW 4.22.020′s “dependent on support” Definition Broadened

In Armantrout v. Carlson, the Washington Supreme Court held that parents who are dependent on a child, may bring a wrongful death claim for under RCW 4.22.020 without actual financial dependence.

RCW 4.22.020 establishes two-tiers of beneficiaries in a wrongful death action. The first tier are the decedent’s spouse or state registered domestic partner and children. Then, if there are no first tier beneficiaries, the action can be maintained for the benefits of parents, sisters, or brother “who may be dependent upon the deceased person for support.” The standard has previously been that the second-tier beneficiaries must be “substantially” dependent on the decedent. The dependence cannot be based on emotional support alone. Phillipedes v. Bernard, 151 Wn.2d 376, 384-85, 88 P.3d 939 (2004). Up until Armantrout, “dependent for support” had required a showing of financial dependence. Here, a child who provided non-economic services to the parent.

At the time of her death, Kristen Armantrout was 18 years old and living at home with her mother who has diabetes and is blind. Kristen cared for her mother and provided services such as driving, reading, and helping with glucose readings and insulin injections. The Court held that “dependent for support” under RCW 4.22.020 need not be based on monetary contributions alone, but instead “allows triers of fact to consider services that have a monetary value when assessing a claimant’s dependency on the decedent for support.”