Wrongful Death

Wrongful death is when a death of an individual is either directly or indirectly caused by another party (company, individual etc.). The premature death must be attributed to a specific cause. The wrongful death must be caused by negligence, recklessness, malpractice or inaction by parties mentioned earlier.

Examples of wrongful death circumstances are like when a child is killed by a unruly teenage driver, when a doctor causes death in his patient unnecessarily or when a drunk driver kills a pedestrian or a driver or another car. It should be noted that wrongful death suits must be performed by the relatives or the next of kin of the victim on behalf of the victim.

Generally wrongful death cases are civil cases and don’t extend to the criminal courts. They basically help families recover from the loss of their family member be it the loss of companionship, the loss of financial support or even the medical costs before the victim passed away.

Those people who are eligible to claim for wrongful death are immediate family members such as parents, spouses, and children. If immediate family members are not present then extended family members may also seek claims but with the consent of immediate family members. In the worst case scenario, the next of kin (even if unrelated) can seek claims for wrongful death.

One thing to clear up first is that wrongful death suits follows the statute of limitations. This means that your suit must be made before a certain date after the death of the victim in order for it to be heard by the court. The statute of limitations does vary from state to state and country to country so always remember that although mourning periods are important, claims for damages should be done as soon as possible.

If you believe that you have a valid wrongful death claim then please have a look at our panel of lawyers to try seek compensation for your losses. As mentioned earlier it should be done as soon as possible.