Wrongful death usually brings a lot of grief and pain to your close family members and loved ones. When your loved one passes away due to the carelessness or misconduct of another person, you have a legal right to sue them for wrongful death. This lawsuit will enable you to seek compensation for the losses incurred as the survivor. Some of these losses are lost friendships, lost wages from the departed, and funeral cost.
Below, we explore what you need to know about wrongful death claims in Cocoa Beach, FL.
What are wrongful death claims?
A wrongful death claim emerges when an individual passes on due to another person’s negligence. Filing of wrongful death lawsuit is a new notion. However, in the USA, all states have laws that establish procedures for filing wrongful death. A wrongful death claim includes all kinds of catastrophic accidents, from minor vehicle accidents to complex medical malpractices.
Some of the situations that can result in wrongful death claims include:
Deliberate killing
A wrongful death claim can be applied when one person deliberately kills another. For instance, when the respondent kills a victim, the respondent will face criminal charges. The victim’s kin may file a wrongful death lawsuit against the respondent. The wrongful death case will be a civil matter unrelated to the criminal case.
Medical Negligence
Suppose a doctor fails to detect a condition causing one to die, or the physician carelessly treats a patient and neglects them resulting in their death. Survivors can file for wrongful death against the physician and the hospital under medical negligence status.
Car accidents
When people die because of a car accident, and the investigation finds the driver to have negligently caused it, a wrongful death lawsuit can be applied. Driving negligence includes drunk driving, careless driving, and failure to obey traffic laws.
Persons who can sue for wrongful death lawsuits
A wrongful death claim should be filed by an assigned person acting on behalf of the survivors suffering from the damages caused by a person’s death. The appointed person usually is the executor of the deceased estate. However, interested parties will vary among states. Some of the people who can sue for wrongful death are:
Close family members
In several states, immediate close relative members such as wives, children, and parents can legally sue for the wrongful death of a loved one.
Lifetime companions, monetary dependents, and accepted spouses
A life partner, people who were financially dependent on the deceased and accepted spouses in some states, have a right to bring a lawsuit against the people or company responsible for the death.
Distant kin members
Distant family members, including grandparents, sisters, and brothers, are allowed in several states in the USA to file wrongful death lawsuits. For instance, grandparents who are raising children can bring an action.
All monetary dependents
In some states, all people who are suffering financially due to the wrongful death of a person, even if they were not closely related to the victim through marriage or blood, are allowed to file a lawsuit.
Parents of a deceased unborn child
The death of an unborn child can be a basis for a wrongful death lawsuit. However, it varies from one state to another. In some states, parents cannot bring wrongful death suits to regain emotional and monetary losses resulting from the death of an unborn baby but are allowed only if the child is born alive and then passes away. You need to consult a wrongful death attorney with extensive experience to discover if such actions are permitted in your state.
Persons who can be sued for wrongful death lawsuit
Wrongful death suits can be brought against various people, government institutions, companies, agencies, or employees. For instance, in an automobile accident involving a damaged roadway and an intoxicated driver, a wrongful death lawsuit will include the following respondents:
- The Intoxicated driver who caused the car accident
- The engineer of the damaged roadway
- Government employees who failed to provide sufficient warnings about the road hazard.
- People responsible for selling alcohol to the intoxicated driver
- The Owner of the place where the alcohol was bought
What are the wrongful death damages?
A plaintiff in a wrongful death claim can receive compensation for different losses, including:
- Pain and suffering incurred by the deceased person before death
- Hospital bills and costs the dead victim incurred due to negligence before death
- Burial costs
- Inheritance lost due to death.
- Value of services that the dead person could have offered
- Loss of partnership
- Loss of protection, counsel, and support that the dead would have offered
- Deprivation of the death expected remuneration.
- Loss of affection and friendship the deceased could have provided to surviving family members
Determination of wrongful death settlement amounts
Several factors can determine the sum you will receive in a wrongful death settlement. These factors include the age of the dead person, damages like medical and funeral expenses, and the value of your suffering and pain determined by the per diem technique.
Looking for a wrongful death attorney in Cocoa Beach, FL? Contact us today
If you lose a loved one due to an accident, injury, or medical malpractice you need to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the liable person or institution. You can bring a claim within one year. But don’t wait that long to file a wrongful death suit. Contact your wrongful death attorney as soon as it is clear that a loved one’s death was caused by negligence or misconduct.
At Alpizar Law firm, we help people throughout Brevard County, and central Florida fight for just compensation after an accident and help them file lawsuits for wrongful death. Our attorneys have years of experience and a proven track record of 65 years.
If you are looking for attorneys who will treat you like family and fight for your rights, you have come to the right place. Call 321-676-2511 for a case review.
