Legal Definition of survival action
: an action for the recovery of damages for injury to a fatally injured person that is brought by his or her personal representative — compare wrongful death action
Note: A survival action depends on the existence of a cause of action that the decedent would have had if he or she had survived. A wrongful death suit is concerned with injury to beneficiaries, not the decedent.
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“Survival action.” Merriam-Webster.com Legal Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/survival%20action. Accessed 20 Oct. 2021.
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