Wrongful Death

Wrongful Death

A wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the decedent was killed as a result of the negligence (or other liability) on the part of the defendant’s, and that the surviving dependents or beneficiaries are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the defendant’s conduct. If a Loved One Has Been a Victim of a Wrongful Death, contact us for a free Wrongful Death case evaluation.

Under “common law” (the general legal principles passed from England to the United States over hundreds of years) this type of claim did not exist. It was reasoned that the claim died with the victim, and the surviving family members could not claim damages from the person who caused the victim’s death. To correct this injustice, the individual states have passed “wrongful death statutes” over the years, and some form of wrongful death claim action exists in all state jurisdictions today. While they all follow some general principles, each state jurisdiction is unique, since each state has drafted its own form of “wrongful death statute.”

In order to bring a wrongful death action, a death must have been caused by the wrongful, negligent, careless, or reckless act of a person, company or municipality.

The decedents’ survivors are able to file a Wrongful Death Claim. These survivors are defined as: the decedents spouse, children, parents, and, when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support, any blood relatives and adopted brothers and sisters. This includes children born out of wedlock of a mother, but not the child born out of wedlock of the father, unless the father has recognized a responsibility for the child’s support.