Wrongful death happens when someone dies due to the negligence, willful, or careless act of another person. Surviving family members who lost someone in a personal injury accident may want to file a claim against those at-fault in honor of their loved one taken too quickly. There is no amount of money that can bring a life back, but at the very least, close relatives can get the financial support they need as they grieve this period.
Depending on state law, there are certain family members who may be able to bring forward a wrongful death lawsuit, including the spouse, parents, children, grandparents, or other heirs. There are a multitude of ways that a wrongful death can happen, and the most common of which have been described below:
Auto Accidents
The most prevalent reason why wrongful deaths happen across the nation is due to car accidents. Each year, drivers go out onto the road while drunk, impaired, or aggressive. Innocent people may have to suffer the consequences for a driver’s reckless behavior. Someone who speeds, runs red lights, swerves between traffic, or otherwise engages in hostile maneuvers may cause a tragic car accident where some people don’t survive. All it takes is a few minutes out on the highways or streets to witness car drivers driving in a way that threatens the safety of those nearby.
Workplace Accidents
There are many workplaces that are dangerous in essence, such as construction jobs and other fields that entail working with heavy machinery. But even if a job comes along with inherent dangers, it doesn’t mean workers should accept when serious injury has happened to them. Surviving loved ones may feel further wounded in their grief and suffering after learning that an employer may have been responsible for losing their cherished relative. An employer may have failed to provide proper safety equipment or failed to address a safety-related issue. A deeper look into the factors of the workplace accident may be needed to know whether there are grounds for filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Medical Malpractice
Doctors are held to certain standards of care, essentially meaning that they cannot just practice medicine in any way they want. There are expectations within the medical community that they must follow. A doctor or other medical professional who strays from these expectations which then leads to patient harm or death, may find themselves faced with a wrongful death lawsuit. Basically, a doctor may be held liable for a patient’s death if another doctor with similar experience and in an alike situation would not have made the same mistake. Wrongful death may have happened due to an incorrect diagnosis, delayed diagnosis, surgical error, prescription error, wrong treatment plan, or other oversight.
Before filing a lawsuit, as a personal injury lawyer, families trust from Cashio Injury Attorneys may suggest, that further investigation into the situation may be needed. If you suspect that a loved one has passed away wrongfully, there are actions you can take. By law, surviving family members have the right to pursue a wrongful death case against the individual, company, or other entities responsible.