The Wrongful Death Law Coalition would like to ask you for your endorsement of HB 2262 and SB 6015 towards amending RCW 4.20.020 (Wrongful death- Beneficiaries of Action)- Concerning nonresident beneficiaries of wrongful death actions.

The Issue:
On September 24, 2015, five students were killed and 69 others were injured from North Seattle College when their charter bus was hit by a neglected and defective Ride the Ducks of Seattle vehicle on Aurora Bridge. Those students were Haram Kim (South Korea), Runjie Song (China), Mami Sato (Japan), Ivan Putradanto (Indonesia), and Claudia Derschmidt (Austria).

Because of Washington’s “Wrongful Death Law” (RCW 4.20.020) from 1917, only immediate family who are U.S. residents at the time of death can claim damages. This statue was added during the time of racism and discrimination against Chinese laborers in the 1900s, leaving the state not liable for wrongful death based merely on national origin.  

Haram Kim’s donated organs were utilized to save the lives of ten Washington State residents, yet her family has still not seen justice. Like other victim’s families of the Ride the Ducks accident, Haram’s family have tried suing and have been unsuccessful due to this old, anti-immigrant statute.

These families deserve justice. RCW 4.20.020 (Wrongful death—Beneficiaries of action) needs to be amended to include language in-line with current existing legislation, recognize the loss of an adult child to maintain a cause of action, and allow non-Washington residents to seek benefits of deceased persons.  

Our ask:
Please take the time today to show your support and endorse the SB 6015 and HB 2262. Help us tell WA State policy makers that we need language in-line with current existing legislation to allow people the right to seek benefits of their deceased loved ones, regardless of residency status.

Bill sponsors:
Senator Bob Hasegawa is the main sponsor for the Senate bill- SB 6015 - Concerning actions for wrongful injury or death, while Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos is the main sponsor for the House Bill- HB 2262 - Concerning actions for wrongful injury or death.

The Wrongful Death Law Coalition:
Haram Kim’s family and the lawyer was looking for an organization to advocate on behalf of them and got connected with National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) Seattle Chapter in early 2016.  Their request is to not have any family to experience the pain from losing their child and the injustice they faced from Washington State. Therefore at the request of Haram Kim's family, NAPAWF formed the coalition-the Wrongful Death Law Coalition along with other organizations in 2017 so that in the future, families can get justice. The organizations under the coalition are:

National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum - Seattle (NAPAWF)
Seattle Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
OCA- Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater Seattle Chapter (OCA)
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance- Seattle Chapter (APALA)
Chinese American Citizens Alliance- Seattle Chapter (CACA)
Washington State Association for Justice (WSAJ)
ASUW Asian Student Commission (ASUW ASC)