Offshore Injury Help
1. Who can file a DOHSA claim
Only the personal representative of the deceased person's estate can file a DOHSA claim. That representative brings the case for the exclusive benefit of the decedent's spouse, parent, child, or dependent relative. So when families ask who can file a DOHSA claim, the answer is a single court-appointed filer acting on behalf of those named beneficiaries.
The Death on the High Seas Act is a federal wrongful death statute. When someone is killed by a wrongful act, neglect, or default far out at sea, the Act gives the family a way to recover. But it does not let every grieving relative march into court on their own. The right to sue belongs to the estate's personal representative, and the money is held for the people the statute names. If you want the broader picture of how these cases work, our explainer on DOHSA wrongful death claims walks through the full framework.
This split between who files and who benefits trips up a lot of families. A widow, a parent, or an adult child may be the person who suffered the loss, yet still need a personal representative to be appointed before a single document can be filed. Understanding that distinction early saves time that families rarely have to spare.
Think of the personal representative as the trustee who drives the lawsuit, and the spouse, parent, child, or dependent relative as the passengers it is built to protect. One person steers; the law says who rides.
Bottom line: The personal representative of the estate is the only proper filer of a DOHSA claim, acting for the benefit of the decedent's closest family.
2. When DOHSA applies: the three-mile line
DOHSA applies when a death is caused by a wrongful act on the high seas beyond 3 nautical miles from the shore of the United States. It does not apply on the Great Lakes or within a state's territorial waters, where the Jones Act, general maritime law, or state wrongful death law may govern instead.
The statute is explicit about geography. Section 30302 reaches deaths that occur more than three nautical miles from the U.S. shoreline, and Section 30308 expressly carves out the Great Lakes and waters inside a state's territorial limits. That single boundary changes which law applies, who can recover, and what kind of damages are even on the table. Where a death happened is often the first thing a maritime lawyer pins down, and our overview of what counts as an offshore injury explains why location drives the entire analysis.
This matters because two deaths that look identical can be governed by completely different rules. A worker killed two miles out may have access to broader state or general maritime remedies. A worker killed fifty miles out falls squarely under DOHSA, with its narrower damages. The distance from shore, not the severity of the loss, sets the rules.
Bottom line: DOHSA governs deaths beyond three nautical miles offshore. Closer to shore, or on the Great Lakes, a different body of law usually applies.
3. Who counts as an eligible beneficiary
DOHSA names four classes of beneficiary: the decedent's spouse, parent, child, or dependent relative. The personal representative files for their exclusive benefit, and under Section 30303 the court apportions any recovery among them in proportion to the loss each person actually sustained.
The eligible beneficiaries are set by statute, not by the family. A surviving spouse and children are the most common claimants, but a dependent parent or another dependent relative can also share in a recovery. What ties them together is dependency and loss: the statute is built to replace the financial support and services these people would have received had their loved one lived. These rules sit inside the broader framework of wrongful death at sea, which covers both DOHSA and the remedies that apply closer to shore.
Because the court divides the award by each beneficiary's proven loss, the math is not automatic. A young child who lost decades of support may receive a far larger share than an adult relative with limited dependency. Documenting that dependency carefully is one of the most important things a family and its lawyer do.
Bottom line: Spouse, parent, child, and dependent relative are the four eligible classes. The court splits the recovery among them based on each person's actual financial loss.
4. The personal representative requirement
A personal representative is the court-appointed executor or administrator of the estate, not merely an heir. Federal courts have held that a relative who has not been appointed lacks standing to bring a DOHSA action, so the appointment step usually comes before the lawsuit.
This requirement is strict. In Alcabasa v. Korean Air Lines, a federal appeals court barred a spouse from suing under DOHSA because she had not been appointed personal representative of the estate. As the court put it, a personal representative is by definition a court-appointed executor or administrator, not simply a family member. Without that appointment, there is no standing to sue.
In practice, a family member often petitions a probate court to be named representative, and then that person files the DOHSA action on behalf of all the eligible beneficiaries. The table below shows how standing typically breaks down.
| Role | Can file a DOHSA claim? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Court-appointed personal representative | Yes | The statute grants standing to the estate's representative |
| Spouse or child, not yet appointed | Not until appointed | Eligible beneficiary, but lacks standing to sue alone |
| Dependent relative | Shares in recovery | Named beneficiary, but does not personally file |
The appointment is not a formality to rush past. The representative owes duties to every beneficiary and helps shape how the recovery is later divided. Getting the right person appointed, and doing it promptly, keeps the case on track.
Bottom line: Only a court-appointed personal representative can file. An eligible beneficiary who has not been appointed must be appointed first, or have the representative sue on their behalf.
