If someone dies because of the reckless, negligent, or deliberate behavior of somebody else, the surviving family members are going to have the ability to file a wrongful death lawsuit to collect damages for their loved one’s death. Basically, it’s what a wrongful death lawsuit entails – a civil court action that is filed to decide the quantity of damages which surviving family members ought to collect because of the wrongful death of a loved one.
Grounds for Filing Wrongful Death Lawsuits?
The premise behind wrongful death lawsuits are that not only did the person who died lose their life because of somebody else’s recklessness, negligence, or deliberate act, yet the members of their family have been directly impacted both financially and emotionally because of the death.
To be successful within a wrongful death lawsuit, the family member who survived have to establish the following things:
- They first must prove that their loved one’s fatality was indeed caused by somebody else’s recklessness, deliberate act, or negligence, and not by their loved one’s inaction or action.
- If the grounds for number one are met, the surviving members of the family next must establish that they experienced measurable damages because of thee loved one’s wrongful death.
Typical wrongful death lawsuit grounds involve an accidental death that was caused by a car accident, medical malpractice, work-associated death, or death that was caused by an unlawful action during the commission of a crime.
Who’s able to File Wrongful Death Lawsuits?
State laws will dictate who is able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Within all states surviving children and spouses may file, whereby within some states extended family members, which include siblings and grandparents may file.
For more information contact Woodruff Johnson & Palermo Injury Law Offices today at 866-891-9211.