There’s nothing that feels more traumatic and saddening than the sudden death of a loved one. However, in certain cases, you may feel even worse due to the fact that the death in question could have been prevented. Additionally, the death of this loved one could leave you without a source of income. If that is the case and another party was at fault, you may have a wrongful death case to pursue in court to obtain compensation. However, going about that can compound the stress you already feel. Here are some things you need to prove to show you deserve compensation for such a claim?
The Death Was Caused by the Defendant’s Wrongful Actions
To prove you deserve compensation in a wrongful death case, you must first prove that the party you are suing was in fact responsible for the death. However, it must go beyond that. You must also show that a reasonable person could have surmised that the defendant’s actions or lack of action would cause an injury or accident. You must prove they were negligent and that negligence led to your loved one’s death.
You Suffered a Loss from the Death
Another element of proving a wrongful death case is proving that you suffered a loss due to your loved one’s untimely death. If your loved one was your spouse or nuclear family member, this should not be hard to prove especially if they helped provide your family with income. In many jurisdictions, even the loss of love and companionship can be used to calculate damages. Seek out experienced wrongful death accident lawyers, to discuss the possibilities for compensation.
Life-Time Earnings
Another part of calculating the compensation you should receive in a judgment is calculating what your loved one’s lifetime earnings would have been if they had not died. In most cases, this amount can be quite significant especially if your loved one was the breadwinner for your family. The total could be in the millions of dollars.
Settlement
In many cases, however, the lawsuit will not actually go to court and have to go in front of a jury. Instead, the defendant may settle. Lawsuits are expensive and time-consuming. Even worse for many companies, they can hurt their bottom-line through bad PR and negative press. Work with your lawyers to determine a settlement amount that would be appropriate for your loss.
Author information: Anita Ginsburg is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University and now writes articles about health, business, family, and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. You can follow her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.
