When a person dies due to the negligence or intentional misconduct of another person, the victim’s family may be able to recover money damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death claims are similar to personal injury claims, except that in wrongful death claims, the victim of negligence has died and the lawsuit is brought by his or her family members. In a personal injury lawsuit, the legal claim is brought by the victim himself or herself.
Although wrongful death lawsuits can involve a wide range of accidents and injuries, they often involve car accidents, trucking accidents, construction accidents, workplace accidents, and medical malpractice. Depending on the cause of the death, a wrongful death lawsuit will either involve negligence (i.e., the failure to take reasonably safe action) or strict liability (which holds a manufacturer liable regardless of whether it knew of a fatal defect).
Wrongful death lawsuits are time-consuming, complicated, and involve a number of legal issues. For this reason, it is important to contact a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible.