What Exactly is Wrongful Death?

When someone’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional wrongdoing results in a fatality, it’s considered a wrongful death. This might be due to car accidents, medical malpractice, or even faulty products. Legally speaking, the responsible party can be held accountable in a civil court.

Common Causes

There are many circumstances that could lead to a wrongful death claim. A few common ones include:

1. Medical Malpractice:

This happens when healthcare professionals, such as doctors or nurses, fail to provide the standard of care expected in their profession, which results in a patient’s death. This could include misdiagnosis, surgical errors, incorrect medication dosage, or neglect during childbirth. It’s important to note that not all medical errors constitute malpractice; it must be proven that the healthcare professional’s negligence directly resulted in the patient’s death.

2. Motor Vehicle Accidents:

These are one of the most common causes of wrongful death. Fatal accidents can occur due to several reasons, such as negligent driving, drunk or impaired driving, distracted driving, or reckless behavior. Additionally, accidents may be caused by defective vehicles, where a manufacturing defect or faulty part led to the crash. This could involve brake failures, tire blowouts, or malfunctioning airbags.

3. Workplace Accidents:

These often occur in high-risk industries like construction, manufacturing, and mining. But they can happen in any work environment. Causes can include equipment malfunctions, insufficient safety measures, exposure to hazardous materials, and employer negligence. It’s the employer’s responsibility to ensure a safe working environment, and failure to do so can lead to wrongful death claims.

4. Unsafe Property Conditions:

Also known as premises liability, this involves fatal accidents caused by unsafe conditions on a property. For instance, a person might slip and fall due to inadequate lighting or wet floors. Other examples include improperly maintained equipment, building code violations, and inadequate security leading to violent crime. Property owners have a duty to maintain a safe environment, and failure to address potential hazards can result in wrongful death lawsuits.

5. Defective Products:

Defective or dangerous products can sometimes result in death. This could include faulty electrical appliances, toxic food products, dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, or unsafe children’s toys. Product manufacturers, distributors, and sellers have a legal responsibility to ensure their products are safe for use. If a product is found to have a design flaw, manufacturing defect, or inadequate usage instructions that directly led to a person’s death, it could lead to a wrongful death claim.

The Importance of Compensation

Compensation serves a few key purposes. Primarily, it provides financial support for survivors to cover expenses such as medical bills and lost income. Secondly, it holds the negligent party accountable, discouraging such behavior in the future.

Types of Compensation Available

Survivors may be eligible for different types of compensation, including:

• Economic Damages
  This category of compensation is intended to cover the concrete financial losses that are a direct result of the wrongful death¹. Some of the costs that can be considered here include:

• • Medical expenses: This could include any medical care that the deceased required prior to their death as a result of the negligent action. This could encompass hospital stays, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, and more¹.
  • Funeral costs: The costs of a funeral and burial can be surprisingly high, and they are an unfortunate reality following a death. Economic damages can help to cover these costs.
  • Lost income: If the deceased was a primary breadwinner for their family, the loss of their income can have a significant economic impact on the surviving family members. Lost income compensation aims to cover the salary or wages that the deceased would have earned had they lived.

• Non-Economic Damages
  These damages are meant to compensate for the more abstract or intangible effects of a wrongful death. This category might include:

• • Pain and suffering: The emotional trauma experienced by the surviving loved ones can be compensated under non-economic damages. This might include mental anguish, grief, and suffering.
  • Loss of companionship or consortium: The loss of a loved one also means the loss of their love, companionship, comfort, guidance, and even the loss of marital relations, which is referred to as loss of consortium.

• Punitive Damages
  These are not awarded in every case, but rather they are reserved for situations where the wrongful act was particularly egregious or carried out with malice. The purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the survivors but to punish the responsible party and to act as a deterrent for similar actions in the future.

How Compensation is Calculated

Calculating compensation requires evaluating various factors. These can include medical and funeral expenses, loss of financial support, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship.

Role of an Attorney

Wrongful death cases can be complex. Having a skilled attorney by your side can make all the difference. They can guide you through the legal process, negotiate with insurance companies, and advocate for fair compensation.

One such attorney is Steve Baric. With over 25 years of legal experience and recognition as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, Steve is well equipped to handle wrongful death cases. Baric Law offers prospective clients a 100% free complimentary case review and does not charge any fee until the case is won.

Settlements vs. Trials

Cases can either be resolved through out-of-court settlements or trials. Both have their pros and cons. Settlements are quicker and cheaper, but may offer less compensation. Trials can potentially result in higher compensation, but are costlier and more time-consuming.

Emotional and Legal Considerations

While dealing with a wrongful death case, balancing emotional healing and legal matters can be challenging. Seek support from loved ones and professionals to navigate this difficult time.