A wrongful death claim arises when there is a fatal injury due to the negligence of another party. Usually, the close family relatives of the deceased who suffered a wrongful death can claim compensation. This blog post will give you the knowledge to better understand the process.
Wrongful death case:
A wrongful death case is a case against a person or an organization who is responsible for the death of a person. Wrongful death contains two types of proceedings.
- The Criminal
- The Civil
There are specific rules in each state which will explain the extent to which people can get the reward and the procedure to follow. There are also rules about who can file the civil case on behalf of the individual who died, in order to get the damages. In some cases, it is the immediate family member of the deceased person i.e. his spouse, children or parents.
Categories of damages in the wrongful death case:
There are two types in which the people can get the damage in the monetary value of the wrongful death case. These categories are in the form of two types.
Pain and Suffering
The first type will involve all the damages of the death caused by the defendant. The time duration of the calculation of damages will start from the second of the incident till the death of the person. If you take an example of a car accident, the damage will start counting from the time when the car hits a person till the death of that person. The defendant must pay all the damages of this duration to the individual or family filing the lawsuit. You are entitled to obtain compensation for the medical bills, pain and suffering, funeral and burial expenses.
Financial And Emotional Losses
The second type is the one which provides the plaintiff to get compensation for damages in a broader sense. The immediate family member(s) could claim the expenses which the death person would have gave to his family if he/she were alive regarding value. The defendant would be entitled to pay all future expense to the plaintiff(s). For example, wages of the deceased and his increments till his retirement. You should note, the rules and regulations are different for every state. Some states will allow you to claim compensation for the loss which you have suffered which is commonly referred to as “loss of consortium.” For example, if a father died his children can sue for having their parental guides taken away from them.
Are you entitled to compensation in a Wrongful Death Case?
In a wrongful death case, the court will figure out who the immediate members are entitled to the compensation. Here are some types which are eligible to get the damages:
Children:
If the person who died has small children, these children will get the damage because they need it for their future. These children need to be minor i.e. they are not adults. They will get the damage because they lost the love and guidance of a dead parent.
Spouses:
Wives and husbands are eligible to obtain compensation because they both depend on each other financially.
Parents:
Parents are qualified to receive compensation of their child if they have suffered a wrongful death.
The law surrounding getting compensation and the people eligible to receive it is different in every state. It is better to have a personal injury lawyer who can guide you in this process. This blog post was written by Percy Martinez a Miami wrongful death attorney with over 20 years of experience handling complex accident cases.