Minors and Wrongful Death

Through my clients, I am able to feel the justices, and injustices, of the statutory scheme that make up Washington’s laws that both compensate injured victims and hold accountable those responsible for the injuries to those victims. Nothing stands more blatantly unjust than the laws governing the wrongful death of a child.

The statutory scheme is complex—difficult for even seasoned legal scholars to understand. In the interest of time, space, and well, interest, I’ll forego an in-depth discussion of the nuances of that scheme and focus only on RCW 4.24.010, the statute that governs whether a parent may pursue an action for injury or death of a child associated with “the loss of love and companionship of the child and for injury to or destruction of the parent-child relationship.” The statute reads in pertinent part:

“A mother or father, or both, who has regularly contributed to the support of his or her minor child, and the mother or father, or both, of a child on whom either, or both, are dependent for support may maintain or join as a party an action as plaintiff for the injury or death of the child.”

Unless you are a really deliberate reader, you may have missed the gaping hole of injustice left by this law. Specifically, by using the word “minor” to modify the word “child,” the legislature ensured a situation that embraces the great value in the relationship between a seventeen year old child and his or her parents, but coldly discards that relationship when the child turns eighteen.

By way of example, Christopher Gormley, was your typical high-achieving teenager. He obtained his Eagle Scout award and graduated high school in 2011. Upon graduation he was awarded a prestigious scholarship given to just one student from each high school in his school district. To receive the scholarship, the recipient must be ranked within the top five percent of their graduating class and score within the top five percent on national SAT exams. To put it mildly, Christopher was a motivated, intelligent, and driven student. Upon graduation, he enrolled as an Honors student at Gonzaga University as a double major—political science and Spanish. Despite it being his first year at Gonzaga, because of the hard work he put forth in high school, Christopher had enough credits to enroll as a junior.

Christopher Gormley was a student at Gonzaga University when a kayak trip turned fatal. Photo courtesy the Gormley family.

Christopher turned eighteen years old on March 27, 2012.

Just four days later, on April 1, 2012, Christopher was one of seven people on a kayak trip to Rock Lake in Whitman County, Washington. The outside air was a brisk 35 degrees and the weather conditions were uncharacteristically stormy. The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory warning of sustained winds of 25 to 30 mph with gusts of up to 50 mph. Water temperatures dipped to only 40 degrees. The trip was sponsored by Gonzaga Outdoors, “a Gonzaga Student Life organization run by students for students” that “provide[s] students with the opportunity to explore and challenge themselves in the outdoors through trips, gear rentals, and [its] resource center.” Gonzaga Outdoors had contracted with the Spokane Parks & Recreation Department to provide equipment and a guide for the trip.

The thing is, in light of the severe weather patterns, and the dangerous conditions of the water, either Gonzaga Outdoors or the Parks and Recreation Department guide should have cancelled the trip. All other would-be boaters on the lake that day recognized the danger and stayed off the water.

Instead, the inexperienced group of students ventured out into the icy and choppy waters. Conditions worsened and approximately thirty minutes after entering the water some of the kayakers attempted to paddle to shore. Still the conditions deteriorated. Five foot waves beat upon the small kayaks. Three of the kayaks, including Christopher’s, capsized plunging Christopher and two other students into the frigid and unrelenting water. Despite his efforts to reach the shore and notwithstanding a valiant effort by rescue personnel, Christopher was too long immersed in the near-freezing water temperatures and ultimately succumbed to hypothermia at a nearby hospital.

On behalf of Christopher’s estate, a lawsuit was filed against both the University and the City. Recognizing their negligence and fault in Christopher’s death, ultimately both Gonzaga and Spokane settled the claims against them. Unfortunately, because of the statute outlined above, the recovery was limited to the economic damages incurred by his estate. In this scenario, economic damages include only funeral expenses and the loss of Christopher’s estimated future income, reduced by his future consumption. This often represents a relatively nominal amount which can vary wildly based on the child’s expected income.Because Christopher was eighteen at the time of his death, his parents were left with nothing but memories to compensate for the loss of their son. Had the tragedy happened the weekend prior, when Christopher was still seventeen, Christopher’s parents would have been able to bring their own claim for the loss of their son—the loss of a very real, very meaningful relationship. It is not unusual for juries around the state to value this loss in excess of one million dollars—sometimes more.

This issue, one I would categorize as an absurdity, has been looked at several times by the Washington State legislature. Each time the legislature has failed to take definitive action that would honor the relationship of all parents—not just those of minor children. The last significant effort was several years ago, when we came close to passing the necessary amendment, but ultimately lost by just a few votes. If this issue concerns you as much as it concerns me, contact your legislator and express your concern for the state’s refusal to fully honor the parent-child relationship of all of Washington’s parents. Urge them to amend RCW 4.24.010 to allow a parent to recover for the loss of a child—regardless of that child’s age.

I spoke with Mr. Gormley, Christopher’s father, in preparing to publish this column. He commented that, “the continued heartache and burden is as painful today as it was yesterday.” He noted that “he just celebrated his third birthday without Christopher.” His life has literally been torn into two halves—the first half, the full life before Christopher was taken from him. A life filled with pride, and honor, and love. And the second half, the empty life after Christopher was taken from him. No college graduation. No wedding. No grandkids. All gone. He and his wife received nothing for this loss.

In words as applicable today as when spoken by the reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” The parent-child relationship matters. It matters to you. It matters to me and it matters to the parents of all children, even children who have reached their eighteenth birthday. To remain silent is to accept the injustice of Washington’s laws. Only by knowing and understanding these laws and by standing up against those we find to be distasteful or against our core beliefs and values will we be able to stand proud in knowing we did our part to honor those parents our state has refused to honor for so many years.