Wrongfull

What is wrongful death?

A wrongful death lawsuit makes the claim that a person was killed as a direct result of negligence of the person or company that is being sued, and that the victim’s surviving family or beneficiaries are entitled to compensation in the form of monetary damages.

A wrongful death claim is not the same as a normal negligence lawsuit, which is usually filed by the person who was injured. In the early days of our country’s existence, wrongful death claims did not exist…the claim effectively died with the victim. The surviving family, then, was unable to claim damages from the person responsible for the death of their loved one.

Individual states have, over time, passed laws to address the wrongful death situation. These laws enable compensation for persons who are affected by the death of the victim, and create a legal  incentive to parties to act carefully and safely. Each of our 50 states now have some form of support for wrongful death claims.

While each states laws for  wrongful death were created independently, they do follow the same patterns.  A wrongful death lawsuit usually has four major tenets:

• the death was caused, either in whole or in part, by the defendant’s  conduct
• the defendant was either negligent or directly liable for the death of the victim
• a surviving family, beneficiaries or other dependents exists
• the death of the victim created demonstratable monetary damages