Many unfortunate circumstances result in a person’s death. If the deceased was somebody close to you, you might be dealing with hefty funeral expenses and a significant loss of income. How do you know if this tragedy meets the qualifications? What circumstances constitute a wrongful death?
Medical Malpractice and Negligence
Your loved one’s doctor has a duty of care—they must provide the best possible care and treatment to their patient. Surgical errors, medication mismanagement, and outright misdiagnosis can lead to preventable deaths. That’s part of the tragedy of wrongful deaths: they aren’t inevitable or foreseeable.
Even if accidental negligence caused the death—if the doctor did their best but made fatal mistakes—you can still hold them liable for that death.
Auto Accidents
Many fatal car accidents occur because one driver behaved negligently behind the wheel, whether they were drunk, texting, or otherwise distracted from the road ahead of them. If investigators determine that your loved one’s death was a direct result of the other driver’s negligence, consult an attorney. They can give you cogent advice and walk you through the wrongful death lawsuit process, should you have a valid case and decide to move forward.
Intentional Killing
Wrongful death doesn’t only include accidents or negligence. Any willful act that results in the death of another also qualifies. If someone intentionally killed your loved one, the liable party will stand trial in a criminal court.
In the meantime, you can also file wrongful death charges in civil court. A settlement can help you pay medical bills and funeral expenses and make up for income and companionship lost due to the person’s death. When O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, the victims’ families sued him in civil court and won over $30 million.
Unforeseeable deaths can completely devastate a family. As you work through your feelings and sort through medical bills, consider whether the tragedy was a wrongful death. Knowing what circumstances constitute a wrongful death can help you make decisions going forward.