# Virginia HB528: Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act; approval without a hearing.

Virginia HB528, Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act; approval without a hearing., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Virgil Thornton (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0399)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB528-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB528
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act; approval without a hearing.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0399)
- Sponsor: Virgil Thornton (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (221 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Compromise of claim for death by wrongful act; approval without a hearing. Allows the court to approve a proposed compromise of a claim for death by wrongful act if the parties in interest agree to and endorse an approval order relating to such proposed compromise. The bill further requires that the endorsement of any such approval order by a beneficiary shall be notarized unless the endorsement is made by an attorney acting as guardian ad litem for such beneficiary. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Court splits wrongful-death settlements when disputed: benefit, medium. If the court approves a compromise and the parties cannot agree on how to split the money, or someone cannot legally agree, the court must decide the split. The court uses the same factors a jury would use in a wrongful-death case. Money paid under an approved compromise is treated the same as mone…
- Faster wrongful-death settlements and notice rules: mixed, low. A court can approve a wrongful-death settlement without a hearing when every party in interest, including any guardian ad litem, signs the approval order. The court can still hold a hearing if it decides one is needed. Parties count as convened if they sign the order or get the legally required not…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Virgil Thornton (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 19 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-21 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (27)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0399) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 399 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB528) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB528ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-01-30: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-21: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB528) (House)
- 2026-01-19: Assigned HCJ sub: Civil (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103506D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217671.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217670.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210747.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210746.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084818.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084817.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217671.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217670.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210747.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210746.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084818.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084817.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB528-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).