It's never easy to accept death, but it's even worse when it could have been avoided. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there are more than 173,000 unintentional deaths per year in the U.S. The family of someone who has died due to someone else's carelessness or criminal negligence deserves answers, justice, and financial compensation.
Wrongful death can occur because of things like drunk driving, car accidents, failure to maintain safe premises, drunken assault, or construction accidents. If you have lost a loved one as a result of someone else's negligence, you will undoubtedly have many questions and want answers. You'll also want an attorney who will carefully listen to your story and aggressively demand compensation on your behalf.
The fact that death results from either purposeful or inadvertent activity by a negligent party is an essential distinction of wrongful death. For example, wrongful death can occur when someone intentionally harms another person, and the victim dies as a result of their injuries. Death could also result from carelessness, such as failing to fence off a public swimming pool, resulting in a child drowning.
When a person dies due to another's wrongful conduct or neglect, this is known as wrongful death. A wrongful death action is a legal action brought against the person or persons responsible for the death. The case could be brought by the deceased's family members who have lost their loved one and their financial support.
The court may appoint a trustee to pursue a wrongful death case on behalf of the surviving spouse, children, or next of kin. Determining who has the legal authority to pursue this type of action in any given circumstance is critical, but your attorney will be able to help you make that decision based on the specifics of your case.
The foundation of a wrongful death lawsuit is showing the wrongdoer's negligence. The term "negligence" is defined by the courts as "doing carelessly in a way that causes injury or death to another person." Negligence is made up of four elements that prove the accused acted carelessly:
Duty
The first stage in proving negligence is to prove that the defendant breached some legal duty of care. These legal responsibilities are commitments that one person owes to another to protect them from damage. Doctors, for example, have a legal obligation to provide the best possible treatment to their patients. Employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment for their employees. If you are driving a car with a passenger, you are responsible for operating the vehicle safely and with sufficient care to avoid an accident.
Breach
Once the plaintiff and defendant's relationship has been established, evidence of a breach of this duty, whether deliberate or accidental, is required. A breach might be defined as doing or not doing something in a similar scenario that a reasonably sensible person would do. A legal word that describes how an average person would act is "reasonably prudent".
A breach of duty arises when a defendant acts in a way that a reasonable person would not, knowing that it may result in unfavorable repercussions. Running a red light, for example, might be regarded as a violation of duty, as every motorist has a responsibility to follow traffic regulations and laws.
Causation
It is insufficient to establish that the defendant violated their legal obligations. You must also prove that the negligence was a direct cause of the wrongful death. Negligence that does not result in injury or death is not punishable. In practice, just because someone ran a red light doesn't mean they may be held accountable for a traffic accident that wasn't caused directly by them.
Second, the court must demonstrate that the defendant might have reasonably anticipated the consequences of their actions. The defendant may not be held accountable if the behavior was deemed unforeseen.
Damages
The three elements listed above are sufficient to determine whether the defendant was negligent and therefore accountable for the wrongful death. The fourth step is to figure out how much money or other losses were incurred as a result of the wrongful death. Damages are frequently computed and paid out as part of a settlement that both parties agree on.
In most cases, the statute of limitations for bringing a wrongful death or personal injury claim is two years from the date of the incident. This is outlined in detail in Arizona Revised Statute 12-542. You will be precluded from recovering financial compensation if you wait too long to initiate your complaint. There are, however, some exceptions.
The statute of limitations in a medical malpractice action, for example, is two years from the day you knew or should have known that malpractice had occurred. When a minor has a claim, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the child reaches the age of eighteen. The statute of limitations will, however, begin to run when they reach the age of eighteen.
Other statutes of limitations are shorter. A written claim for a specific sum of money must be filed against a governmental municipality or government employee within 180 days of the cause of action occurring. Furthermore, any lawsuit against a government body or public employee must be filed within one year of the occurrence of the cause of action.
One of the things that can happen when a person wins a civil lawsuit is that they are awarded damages or money. Many factors can influence the number of damages awarded in your case, but common damages include things like:
Damages can be awarded in three different ways:
Compensatory damages, also known as pecuniary damages, are typically used to compensate victims for their injuries, lost wages, property losses, and treatment of their injuries.
General damages are sometimes sought in conjunction with compensatory damages. They are typically awarded when the victim has suffered a less tangible loss or an injury that is difficult to quantify. General damages can include things like pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and mental anguish.
Punitive damages are not compensation in the same way as other damages are defined, but rather are intended to punish the wrongdoer and deter future wrongdoing by the offender and others. Punitive damages are sometimes known as "exemplary damages" and are designed to serve as a warning of what not to do. Punitive damages are not always awarded, and they might be more challenging to acquire than compensatory and general damages. The party seeking punitive damages must show that the perpetrator acted in an outrageous and aggravating manner.