Bibbs v. Toyota Motor Corporation

Summary

The court held that a decedent’s full settlement of a personal injury action limits the damages recoverable by survivors in a later wrongful death action because the wrongful death claim is derivative and double recovery is prohibited. Damages previously recovered or recoverable in the personal injury action cannot be recovered again, including economic damages based on the decedent’s permanent disability. Although no additional economic damages remained recoverable here as a matter of law, the court held that the survivors could litigate whether the decedent’s life in a permanent coma retained some residual non-economic value. All Justices concurred.