Frequently Asked Questions about Wrongful Death

Frequently Asked Questions about Wrongful Death

There are few emotions that could overwhelm an individual, the whole family, or even the closest individuals following a car crash accident and likely left the victims involved in the crash confused and wonder what would be their next step and even worse mental and potential financial damage would be inflicted when someone has died. This specific case of death is legally called wrongful death, it is a claim filed against a person who can be held liable for a death of someone by a cause linked to negligence or malice. Its difference to manslaughter is that wrongful death is a civil case where the victim seeks compensation benefits for the people left behind while the previously mentioned is a criminal case wherein it punishes the culprit for the murder committed. From a retrospect, around 98,000 people die every year from wrongful death, specifically from cases of preventable misdiagnosis and surgical error, while the work places rendered 5,840 fatal accidents that occur as well every year. Unfortunate enough that these deaths were all preventable but had happened by negligence, in this blog, we are going to share knowledge what are some common questions by related people who have experienced wrongful death. 

Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit?

In most states, the jurisdiction recommends the decendant's chosen representative such as surviving spouse or partner, children may have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If none of these mentioned related by blood individuals are present, parents or siblings of the deceased person may file.

What is the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit?

In most state's jurisdiction, the statute of limations for filing a wrongful death claim is three years, and if three years have passed and haven't filed for one, you may lose the right to sue.

How is a wrongful death lawsuit valued?

Similar to other civil lawsuits, the settlement value of a wrongful death claim depends upon factors such as financial, emotional, and propertial loss and includes the type and amount of insurance available in the ends of the insurer to compensate the loss.

Can I sue for non-economic losses in a wrongful death lawsuit?

Family members of the deceased person can add value to the settlement pay for the inclusion of love and companionship, pain, and suffering felt by the family left if survival action is observed.

What is a survival action?

Survival action is a term used when the person does not die immediately after the incident and has suffered from physical, emotional, and mental pain while they were fighting for their lives at that point, this occurrence take in to account as factor for addition of settlement value.

How do I know if my loved one’s death was due to negligence?

After a car crash, usually there should be at least one individual that has submitted a detailed police report on what happened to the accident and the victim's attorney has the right to obtain a copy of the police report as well as phone history and photographs wherein it could contain videos or narratives of some form of negligence.

Ryan LLP 

If ever one of your family members or closests friend has been involved in an accident who have sustained either minor or significant injuries and even a possible case of amputation because of a driver has shown apparent negligence and recklessness and caused an accident and render the victim to have life-threatening injuries and condition, you can always refer help from a professional experienced injury lawyer to smoothen things out as your hired lawyers can help you decide from their factual and legal advices. Ryan LLP is an Ohio based injury lawyer that represents victims of personal injury caused by car accidents, medical malpractice due to medical professional's negligence, and even wrongful death against large companies, agencies and even individuals. We have 40 years of experience doing our service in this field and evidently successful with our civil litigations. Call our office now for free legal consultation.