What do the following accident and injury scenarios have in common?
- Automobile Driver Collides with a Pedestrian
- Medical Doctor Botches a Surgery
- Poorly Designed SUV Rolls Over on the Interstate
- Customer Is Assaulted in a Poorly Lit Parking Lot
The answer is that any one of these can result in a fatal injury for the victim due to someone else’s negligence. When someone dies as a result of another party’s negligence, legally it is known as a “wrongful death.”
Obviously, losing a family member can be emotionally devastating. But when the death is related to carelessness on the part of another person, then the loss becomes much harder to accept. The death of a person has an IMMEDIATE impact on the family members left behind. In an instant, lives are changed forever. That’s why the law provides a legal remedy for surviving family members in the form of a wrongful death claim. If successful, the family members may be rewarded compensation for:
- Medical Expenses
- Funeral Expenses
- Loss of Future Wages
- Mental Suffering
It is important to remember that just because a person dies in an accident, the death may not be “wrongful.” Instead, a wrongful death suit is valid only where someone else causes the person’s death through a wrongful act, neglect, or carelessness. In other words, a suit for a wrongful death should be filed only if the death is caused by the intentional acts or negligence of someone else.
While nothing can replace a lost loved one, a successful wrongful death lawsuit can provide some level of comfort and assurance in the face of uncertainty and grief. No one would trade the life of a family member for a check, no matter how large. However, there are some kinds of losses the law cannot fix, such as death. The damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death suit are intended to make the loss more bearable by compensating the family.
A wrongful death lawsuit is complex, so you need our firm on your side to help you. And remember: If a family waits too long to file a wrongful death suit it may lose the right to file suit at all.