H 7207Civil Procedure

Courts and Civil Procedure - Procedure in Particular Actions - Death by Wrongful Act

Extends the deadline to file wrongful death lawsuits for unborn babies and infants under six months old to ten years.

Introduced

Population
Affected

Introduced Jan 21, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the "Death by Wrongful Act" laws in Rhode Island to significantly extend the time limit for filing a lawsuit in specific tragic circumstances. Currently, most wrongful death suits must be filed within three years. Under this bill, if a death involves a child still in the womb or a baby within six months of birth due to negligence or a wrongful act, the family is granted ten years from the date of death to file a lawsuit. This provides grieving parents much more time to seek legal justice.

For younger readers

Sometimes, if a person dies because someone else made a big mistake, their family can go to court to ask for help. Usually, the family has to start this process within three years. This new rule changes that for very sad cases involving babies. If a baby dies before being born or is less than six months old when they die, the family will now have ten years to go to court. This gives the parents a lot more time to deal with their sadness and figure out if they need a judge to help them.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Parents of deceased infantsObstetricians and GynecologistsHospitals and Birthing CentersMedical Malpractice InsurersPersonal Injury Attorneys

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Provides grieving families, who are often paralyzed by trauma, significantly more time to process their loss before being forced to navigate the complex legal system to seek justice.
Increases accountability for medical institutions and providers by allowing a longer discovery period, ensuring that negligence resulting in infant mortality does not go unpunished due to arbitrary time limits.
Helps protect vulnerable and low-income parents who may lack the immediate financial resources or legal knowledge to launch a malpractice suit within the standard three-year window.
May lead to higher medical malpractice insurance premiums, which could be passed down to patients, thereby increasing the cost of healthcare for lower-income families.
Could inadvertently discourage obstetricians and pediatric specialists from practicing in the state due to fear of long-tail liability, potentially creating "care deserts" for pregnant people.
Focuses on retroactive legal compensation rather than funding proactive systemic reforms that would prevent infant and maternal mortality in marginalized communities.

For Conservatives

Strengthens legal protections for the unborn and newborns, aligning with the fundamental belief in the sanctity of life and the need to value it from its earliest stages.
Ensures that individuals and organizations are held strictly accountable for negligent actions, upholding the principle of personal responsibility within the justice system.
Provides a fair opportunity for families to gather evidence and prove wrongdoing, ensuring that the civil court system functions effectively to address legitimate grievances regarding loss of life.
Creates an excessive liability period (ten years) that creates uncertainty for businesses and insurers, potentially interfering with the free market and driving up healthcare costs.
Undermines the legal purpose of statutes of limitations, which are intended to ensure disputes are resolved while evidence is fresh and witnesses are available, rather than a decade later.
May encourage an increase in litigation and frivolous lawsuits against medical providers, burdening the courts and penalizing doctors for outcomes that may have been beyond their control.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 6 additions

SECTION 1. Section 10-7-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 10-7 entitled "Death by Wrongful Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 10-7-2. Persons who may bring actions — Limitation of actions — Minimum recovery period.

(a) Every action under this chapter, other than one brought under § 10-7-1.2, shall be brought by and in the name of the executor or administrator of the deceased person, whether appointed or qualified within or without the state, and of the amount recovered in every action under this chapter one-half (½) shall go to the husband or widow, and one-half (½) shall go to the children of the deceased, and if there are no children, the whole shall go to the husband or widow, and, if there is no husband or widow, to the next of kin, in the proportion provided by law in relation to the distribution of personal property left by persons dying intestate; except that no person who is adjudged to be in willful contempt of being in excess of six (6) months in arrears of an order to pay child support for the deceased individual shall be allowed recovery pursuant to this chapter and a person so adjudged shall be deemed to have predeceased the child for the purpose of determining distribution under the intestacy statute.

(b) Every action brought under § 10-7-1.2 shall be brought by and in the name of the person or persons sustaining the loss of society, companionship and/or consortium and the amount recovered shall go to the person or persons who sustained the loss.

(c) Except as otherwise provided, every action brought pursuant to this chapter shall be commenced within three (3) years after the death of the person. With respect to any death caused by any wrongful act, neglect, or default that is not known at the time of death, the action shall be commenced within three (3) years of the time that the wrongful act, neglect, or default is discovered or, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have been discovered. With respect to any wrongful act, neglect or default resulting in the death of a child in utero or within six (6) months after the birth of the child, the action shall be commenced within ten (10) years after the death of the child. Whenever any person or corporation is found liable under §§ 10-7-1 — 10-7-4 the person or corporation shall be liable in damages in the sum of not less than three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000).

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.