Find the Right Wrongful Death Attorneys

When a person dies because of the negligence or reckless conduct of someone else, the survivors of the decedent (the person who died) almost always have a valid legal claim for wrongful death.

Generally, a wrongful death case begins as any other personal injury case would: one person causes injury to another due to a negligent, reckless, or intentional act. In these cases, however, the injury results in the death of the victim.

LegalMatch Law Library Managing Editor, , Attorney at Law

Finding the Right Wrongful Death Attorneys

The main difference from a wrongful death suit, and any other personal injury suit, is that it is brought by the family of the victim, rather than the victim personally, for obvious reasons. Typically, only close family members of the decedent have standing to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. How closely-related the plaintiff must be to the decedent varies from state to state. Generally, however, only a spouse, domestic partner, legal parent (including adoptive parents), or child (including adopted children) of the decedent can sue for wrongful death. It should be noted, also, that the right of domestic partners to sue is contingent on your state's recognition of such relationships. Only a minority of states currently recognize such relationships. Read more.


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Recoverable Damages in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

In a wrongful death lawsuit, the plaintiffs can recover damages that often aren't available in other lawsuits. Obviously, the family can recover the costs associated with the death of a family member, including medical bills and funeral expenses. In addition, the survivors can recover for the economic support that the decedent provided, which has now been lost - essentially, lost wages. Of course, it's impossible to figure out exactly how much money a recently deceased person would have made over their entire lifetime, had they not died. However, courts are willing to come up with rough estimates, based on the decedent's level of education, their job and income at the time of their death, their age at the time of their death, and their projected lifespan had they not suffered an untimely death.

Additionally, families can recover for "loss of consortium," which is designed to provide some compensation for the loss of love, companionship, and emotional support that the decedent provided. The survivors can also recover for emotional distress, as a separate injury from loss of consortium.

If, tragically, you have recently lost a family member in an accident, you may have a right to recover against the person or company that caused the accident, and should speak with a wrongful death attorney.


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