If you lost a loved one due to someone else’s carelessness, recklessness, or intentional misconduct, you may want to seek justice. A wrongful death claim can help you pursue financial compensation for your loss.
Wrongful death is a death that occurs at the hands of another person, intentionally or unintentionally. The family members of a wrongful death victim often seek compensation from the at-fault party as a small way to help make up for the loss that occurred.
This post discusses wrongful death claims, including what they are, who can file them, and what compensation you may seek.
What Is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death is due to someone else’s wrongful acts, such as carelessness, recklessness, or intentional misconduct.
Unlike criminal homicide or manslaughter cases, wrongful death lawsuits are civil actions. Both types of cases can arise from the same incident, but civil claims seek financial retribution rather than incarceration, probation, or fines.
Wrongful death claims occur when the deceased person’s family or estate representative sues for compensation. Both individuals and entities (such as businesses, organizations, and government agencies) can face wrongful death claims.
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Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death?
Family members of the deceased person or a representative of the estate can typically file a wrongful death lawsuit. Depending on the state, the following people may be able to sue for wrongful death:
- Immediate family: In every state, spouses, children, and parents of unmarried children can seek compensation for the wrongful death of their loved one. Many state statutes give them priority over other survivors.
- Domestic partners: In some states, domestic partners, life partners, and putative spouses (people who believed they were legally married) can also file a wrongful death action.
- Extended family: Some states permit siblings, grandparents, and other more distant family members to sue for compensation.
- People who suffer financially: Anyone who suffers financially from a death can bring a wrongful death claim, even if they are not related to the decedent.
- The decedent’s estate: Some states permit only a personal estate representative to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Any compensation goes to survivors according to the deceased person’s will or state intestate laws.
Who Can Be Sued for Wrongful Death?
Just as several parties may sue for wrongful death, several parties may be sued for wrongful death. Potentially negligent parties include the following:
- Individuals: Drunk drivers who cause car accidents, property owners who fail to fix dangerous conditions, doctors who provide substandard care, or architects who design faulty structures can be legally liable for wrongful death.
- Companies: Manufacturers of defective products, companies that fail to warn people of their product’s or service’s risks, or bars that serve alcohol to drivers causing fatal crashes may face wrongful death lawsuits.
- Employers: The employer of anyone causing a death while performing work duties can be held responsible for their employee’s actions. Examples include a trucking company that hires an unqualified truck driver or a hospital that employs a doctor who commits malpractice.
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When Must Wrongful Death Lawsuits Be Filed?
All states have statutes of limitations, which are deadlines for filing lawsuits. Most states have wrongful death statutes of limitations of two or three years. In Tennessee and Louisiana, the time frame is only one year. Kentucky gives the personal representative one year after the appointment to file suit or two years after death if the personal representative is not appointed within one year of death.
Some states have different statutes of limitations depending on the circumstances. For example, the statute of limitations in Mississippi is generally three years for wrongful death, but it is only one year if the death was due to an intentional act. Illinois typically gives two years but extends it to five years for violent intentional conduct.
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What Types of Wrongful Death Cases Are There?
A deceased person’s survivors can file wrongful death cases whenever a death is due to someone else’s carelessness, negligence, intentional act, or criminal behavior. Common examples include the following:
- Criminal actions: The family of crime victims may sue the at-fault party in civil court, regardless of the outcome of the criminal trial. Thanks to a lower standard of proof, civil courts may find the defendant responsible even if a criminal court found them not guilty.
- Traffic crashes: Even if a dangerous driver’s reckless conduct isn’t a criminal offense (like driving under the influence), survivors may seek justice by filing a civil suit for financial compensation.
- Slips and falls: If a homeowner or business owner fails to maintain reasonably safe conditions and a visitor dies because of it, they may face a wrongful death action.
- Defective products: If someone dies from defective airbags, car seats, medical devices, power tools, or other products, the manufacturer or distributor may be legally responsible.
- Construction accidents: If falling objects, unsecured holes, or heavy equipment leads to someone’s death, survivors may sue the contractor, property owner, or equipment manufacturer.
- Medical malpractice: When a patient dies from medical negligence, wrongful death lawsuits can provide answers and compensation to the family.
What Kind of Compensation Do Wrongful Death Lawsuits Seek?
Wrongful death lawsuits help surviving family members seek compensation for their loved one’s death. Known legally as “damages,” this compensation includes both the economic and non-economic costs of the accident.
Economic
- Medical expenses
- Lost earnings
- Funeral costs
- Loss of inheritance and financial support
Non-Economic
- Emotional distress
- Loss of companionship, guidance, and care
- Pain and suffering the victim experienced before death
Estimating the value of future lost earnings or pain and suffering is not always simple. How much a wrongful death case is worth depends on the age and health of the deceased, their potential future earnings, and how much they suffered before they died. Wrongful death lawyers, accountants, economists, and other professionals can help families calculate these damages.
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Accident Hotline connects injured people across the country with qualified local attorneys. If you lost a family member in a car crash, slip and fall, or another type of accident, an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you file a wrongful death lawsuit.
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