DiDonato v. Wortman

EAGLES, Judge.

The only question presented by this appeal is whether a viable child en ventre sa mere who dies as a result of a third party’s negligence may obtain civil redress under our wrongful death statute, G.S. 28A-18-2. On appeal, plaintiff has apparently abandoned his analogous non-statutory claim for “wrongful deprivation of life.”

The Supreme Court has not passed directly on the question before us. In Gay v. Thompson, 266 N.C. 394, 146 S.E. 2d 425 (1966), the court reserved the question, but held that the speculative nature of damages required dismissal of plaintiffs action. The court…