Why a Wrongful Death Attorney is Important
When it comes to wrongful death, the one thing that is common from state to state in the US is that a lawsuit can be brought forward for damages in a wrongful death situation.
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In cases of wrongful death a third party is held to be responsible for a death due to misconduct, malpractice or negligence. The responsible “person” can be another individual, an employer, the manufacturer of a product, the driver of a car or truck, a medical provider, and so on. If you are the victim of a wrongful death, that is, if you are the immediate relative of the deceased, you may be eligible for compensation from the responsible party.
To be eligible to bring a suit for damages you must be a spouse, child, or in some cases a parent or sibling of the deceased. In some states it is necessary for a personal representative of the estate of the deceased to bring the suit for damages.
Damages can be claimed for loss of future companionship and mental anguish, as well as loss of support and comfort. Other things that can be claimed include loss of services that have a monetary value, cost of medical expenses of the deceased prior to death, and funeral expenses.
There’s also a thing called survival damages, which are damages the deceased would have recovered had he or she survived. Last, but not least, is the pain and suffering the decedent would have suffered prior to their untimely death.
One can file a wrongful death action for medical malpractice for a car accident which results in death, a boating accident, or abuse and neglect on the part of the staff in a nursing home. Even a defect in the manufacture of a prescribed medicine used by the dead which caused the death can give just cause.
The state or relationship of the spouse with the dead has also a bearing on the amount of the compensation. A recently separated spouse may get a lesser compensation than a just married one. Compensation for wrongful deaths of children also comes under the purview of these laws. But compensation for such claims are lower than those for adults because children have very little or no capacity for earning. An experienced wrongful death attorney can sort out these issues for you.
This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 4:05 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.