Posted by A lawsuit is not always a priority for most people who lose a loved one. However, survivors can use the help of a wrongful death lawyer to ease their minds during the grieving process.
An attorney can investigate the death of your loved one, help you determine liability, inform you of your legal rights, and help you file a lawsuit to seek compensation.
What Is a Wrongful Death?
A wrongful death is when someone loses their life due to negligence, misconduct, wrongful act, breach of contract, or warranty.
The deceased person’s estate may file a lawsuit to seek compensation such as funeral expenses, loss of wages, or lost companionship.
A wrongful death claim exists when a person dies due to another party’s fault. This could be a bartender who served alcohol to a drunk driver or the at-fault driver in a car accident.
While wrongful death statutes differ from state to state, they generally define how and who may file a claim for wrongful death.
Wrongful death statutes were originally created to offer support to orphans and widows.
Do I Qualify to File a Wrongful Death Claim?
One of the key duties of a wrongful death lawyer is determining grounds for pursuing damages against the negligent party.
One of the critical elements of a wrongful death claim is the decedent’s ability to bring a personal injury claim if they had survived.
If the circumstances of the accident would have qualified the deceased to bring a personal injury claim, their estate may be entitled to file a wrongful death claim.
How Can a Wrongful Death Attorney Help?
So, how can a wrongful death help you find the justice you deserve? Let us find out:
Investigating the Death of Your Loved One
Often, the facts surrounding a wrongful death claim can be unclear. There may be conflicting reports from the deceased’s estate and the at-fault party due to confusion, grief, or misunderstandings.
A liable party may also try to shift blame or cover up the facts around the case to avoid responsibility. A wrongful death attorney helps you investigate the true circumstances around your case and get the truth.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports over 33,000 car accidents annually. If you have lost a loved one in a car accident, a wrongful death lawyer can help you review witness statements, police reports, and photographic or video evidence.
They can also help you find surveillance cameras that may have recorded the accidents, which can provide crucial evidence of the liable party.
Your attorney can also review medical records and find experts to determine whether the deceased received the standard of care.
Should the investigation uncover medical negligence such as inaccurate diagnosis or surgical errors, you can file a claim against the hospital.
Explain Your Legal Rights
Legal requirements around wrongful death claims vary from state to state. You may not qualify for compensation if your state limits the rights to sue to immediate family only.
On the other hand, some states allow non-relatives to file wrongful death claims under specific circumstances.
In other states, any financial reward is distributed to all eligible relatives. Some states may also have a statute of limitations. This is the time within which you can file a wrongful death lawsuit.
The statute of limitations differs from state to state. Even if your claim is legitimate, you forfeit the right to sue if you miss the deadline.
Your attorney can help you learn your rights to have the statute of limitations tolled or extended and help you file your claim.
Help You Seek Financial Compensation
When a loved one dies, there are economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include medical expenses for the deceased before their death, loss of income to the remaining family, and funeral or burial expenses.
Non-economic damages are usually difficult to quantify and may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship, love, affection, or support
- Emotional distress
In some instances, your attorney can help you pursue punitive damages. These additional damages serve as a warning to others by punishing the liable party for grievous behavior.
Hiring a wrongful death attorney who is familiar with such cases helps you learn the relevant facts and determine fair compensation. The attorney can also negotiate an out-of-court settlement on your behalf.
If the parties involved cannot agree, a wrongful death attorney can help you take the claim to court and let a jury determine compensation.
Prove the Chain of Causation
While criminal negligence is not a requirement in a wrongful death case, you must prove reckless behavior, intention, or neglect. You must also show that the negligence or reckless behavior caused the death of your loved one.
A wrongful death attorney can help you prove negligence. They can show that you and your family suffered damages from the death.
Hiring an experienced attorney also helps you demonstrate a lack of reasonable case that led to losing a loved one.
Reasonable care is acting like any other person would under the same circumstances. For instance, reasonable drivers would slow down or stop when pedestrians cross the road until they are safely across.
In this case, negligent behavior would be texting while driving or getting distracted while driving, causing the driver to operate the car inattentively. As a result, they may not see the pedestrian and hit them, causing loss of life.
Examples of Wrongful Death
- Murder or Manslaughter: You may be entitled to sue for wrongful death if a physical attack resulted in death. Had the deceased survived, they would be qualified to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover medical expenses, loss of wages, or even punitive damages.
- Medical Malpractice: As earlier discussed, a doctor who does not practice the standard of care causing loss of life may be sued for wrongful death. Had the deceased survived, they would have filed a personal injury claim to hold the medical practitioner accountable for their errors.
- Negligent Actions: Surviving family members can sue for wrongful death in case of accidents caused by unsafe conditions, poorly maintained premises, or defective products.
Summary
Losing a loved one is emotionally and financially devastating. An experienced attorney can help you get financial compensation to recover medical bills, funeral expenses, and lost wages.
If you believe a loved one died due to negligence, get in touch with a wrongful death attorney to learn your rights.