When Is A Wrongful Death Claim Applicable?
When a person dies not because of natural causes but because of an entirely preventable situation, had it not been for the negligence or inaction of another party, the grieving family is entitled to seek damages. Though no legal processes can bring anyone back, holding a negligent party accountable for their wrongful actions can ease some of the pain of losing a loved one. One of these ways is filing a wrongful death claim.
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What Is A Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim is when a person’s death can be exclusively attributed to the legal fault of another person. This makes it possible to file a lawsuit for wrongful death either for misconduct or negligence. There are several types of wrongful death cases, ranging from car accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability.
Immediate and distant family members, life partners, and financial dependents are qualified to place wrongful death claims as to the “real parties of interest” who suffer the most damage from the person’s death. In this case, the wrongful death lawsuit’s defendants include the other parties involved during the event, depending on the wrongful death case. The representative can also claim personal injury, suffering, and expenses incurred before the loved one’s death.
Wrongful death damages are the economic and non-economic losses for which the representative might be able to receive compensation. These include the deceased person’s pain and suffering before dying, medical treatment incurred due to the injury before death, funeral and burial costs, loss of support and income, and lost prospect of inheritance.
What Qualifies As Wrongful Death?
Seeking financial compensation because of inflicted injuries resulting in a wrongful death by dependents and family members will depend on the facts of each case. If you’re a representative of a wrongful death claim, it’s imperative to know who to call when you get injured. Underlying a wrongful death claim traditionally includes liability, evidence gathering, and litigation. Below are the most frequent instances in which wrongful death claims are applicable:
Criminal Conduct
Criminal conduct committed to harm someone includes acts such as aggravated assault, murder, and manslaughter.
Workplace Accidents
Workplace accidents are often attributed to negligence on the part of the employer. Employers are obligated to meet safety standards, provide a safe work environment, and prevent common accidents resulting in workplace deaths, such as falls, explosions, burns, and equipment accidents. This is most common among construction workers, miners, electricians, and heavy machine operators, who have the highest number of fatal job-related injuries that workers’ compensation laws should cover.
Medical Malpractice
Wrongful death litigation is valid in cases of medical malpractice and medical care negligence where a critical missed diagnosis or crucial errors were made, leading to the death of the patient. A doctor failing to diagnose a condition properly and a nurse failing to provide the level of care provided can be sued for medical malpractice. This situation applies to nursing homes as well.
Car Crashes
Most vehicle accidents involving crashes between two vehicles or collisions with pedestrians are investigated for negligence. Car crashes are examples of personal injury cases that can turn into a wrongful death claim, especially if the other party was intoxicated or if the crash happened because of the faulty roadway or the lack of hazard warnings.
Product Defects
Deaths that are proven to be caused by product defects such as contaminated food and failing car brakes are applicable for wrongful death claims. Under product liability law, manufacturers, distributors, installers, and product designers are obligated to ensure that the products they sell are 100% safe to use. Neglecting to rigorously test their products to see if they’re acceptable for public sale can lead to potentially harmful risks. If a person is killed because of this negligence, the company is held liable.
Takeaway
In all situations, it’s essential to know who to talk to when you get in legal trouble. In cases of the wrongful death of a loved one, a representative should reach out and seek the assistance of legal counsel. Wrongful death attorneys are well-versed in the policies and the statutes and limitations of filing a claim, as well as proving fault in wrongful death cases. There are virtually no risks in contacting a wrongful death attorney about receiving financial compensation for wrongful death, so rest assured you will get an attorney determined to hold the liable party accountable for their actions.
