A wrongful death lawsuit claims that the victim was killed due to negligence (or different kind of unjust action) on the part of whomever or thing being sued, knowning that the victim’s survivors have entitlement to financial damages due to the improper conduct.
This type of claim differs from a normal negligence litigation, which is filed by the person injured for the resulting loss. Formerly under “common law” (the typical legal principles passed from England to the United States over hundreds of years), a wrongful death claim did not exist considering the reasoning that the claim died with the victim where there is no way to compensate him or her for damages. The surviving family members then could not claim damages from the person who caused the victim's death. Throughout the years, states have passed wrongful death laws that supply payment for persons who may have been damaged from the death of the victim along with an incentive to act carefully and safely. Nowadays, all states have some type of a wrongful death claim action in effect.
While state “wrongful death statutes” were drafted individually of one another and are often unique, each of them keep to the same general principles. A wrongful death claim generally comprises four elements: (1) the death was caused, in whole or part, by the conduct of the defendant; (2) the defendant was negligent or strictly liable for the victim’s death; (3) you will find there's surviving spouse, children, beneficiaries or dependents; and (4) monetary damages have resulted from the victim’s death.
