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.
§ 8.01-56.When right of action not to determine nor action to abate.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 5. Death by Wrongful Act · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-56 keeps a wrongful death right of action alive despite a defendant’s death or dissolution, lets a pending personal injury suit be revived in the personal representative’s name and converted into a wrongful death action if the injury proves fatal, and limits the plaintiff to one recovery for the same injury.
Full Text of § 8.01-56
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-56 keeps a wrongful death claim from disappearing because of events on the defendant’s side of the case. The right of action created by § 8.01-50 does not end, and a pending action does not abate, merely because the defendant dies, dissolves, or is otherwise terminated as an entity.
The statute also addresses the reverse situation: a plaintiff who sued over a personal injury and then dies while the case is pending. If that plaintiff’s death resulted from the same injury the suit was about, the action can be revived in the name of the plaintiff’s personal representative, and the pleadings amended to conform to a wrongful death action under § 8.01-50 — the case then proceeds as though it had been a wrongful death action from the start.
The statute closes with a limit on double recovery: whether the claim proceeds as a revived personal injury action or is converted into a wrongful death action, there can be only one recovery for the same injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a defendant’s death end a pending wrongful death case in Virginia?
No. Section 8.01-56 provides that the right of action under § 8.01-50 does not end, and the action itself does not abate, because of the death, dissolution, or other termination of a defendant.
What happens if a plaintiff dies from their injuries while a personal injury lawsuit is still pending?
If the death resulted from the injury the suit was about, the case can be revived in the name of the plaintiff’s personal representative, and the pleadings amended so the case proceeds as a wrongful death action under § 8.01-50.
Can a family collect both a personal injury judgment and a wrongful death judgment for the same injury?
No. The statute limits the outcome to one recovery for the same injury, whether the case proceeds as a revived personal injury claim or is converted into a wrongful death action.
Does this section apply if the death was unrelated to the injury in the original lawsuit?
The conversion to a wrongful death action applies specifically where death resulted from the injury for which the original action was brought — the statute is tied to that causal link.
Who takes over a personal injury lawsuit if the plaintiff dies during litigation?
The plaintiff’s personal representative may revive the action in their own name, allowing the litigation to continue rather than ending with the plaintiff’s death.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-640; 1954, c. 333; 1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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