- Wrongful Death: its Causes and Legal Implications

Wrongful Death: its Causes and Legal Implications
by: Rainier Policarpio

Legal Definition of Wrongful Death

As the defined under the law, wrongful deaths are those fatalities that resulted from another party’s negligence, illicit acts or even inactions. These may involve a person, a business entity, an organization or a combination.

Every year, thousands of wrongful death claims are being filed across the United States. These lawsuits vary from each other. Legal remedies also depend on the manner of the victim’s death and the actions undertaken by the defendant.

Common Causes of Wrongful Deaths

Numerous incidents lead to unjustifiable death of most victims. These include:

• Vehicular accidents – examples of these are car collisions, pedestrian accidents, airplane catastrophes and boat capsizing in which the drivers, vehicle manufacturers or owners are found to be guilty of failing to perform their duties of ensuring people’s safety.

• Use of defective products – under the product liability laws, the manufacturers, designers and distributors of a merchandise found to be having flaws can be charged if it caused injuries or the death of its end user

• Medical Malpractice – health care professionals have their own standards of providing cure to their patients. Any misjudgment to their patients ailments that leads to death can result in a wrongful death lawsuit

• Visiting or working on hazardous places – various laws compel the employers or even property owners to ensure the safety of the workers or people who visit their properties. If they fail to maintain a hazardous free environment, then it may also cause them serious legal actions if someone dies in their property.

• Animal attacks – animal handlers and owners have full responsibility over the behavior of their pets. If it happens that their animals attack an individual who consequently die from the incident, they will be the ones responsible under the law.

These scenarios are often associated with negligence, which is the primary ground why the defendants may be charged and demanded of damages.

Pursuing a Legal Action

The families of the departed victim may pursue several legal procedures in order to seek for justice. However, due to the intricacy of going through the process of wrongful death litigation, many rely on resolving the case in an out of court settlement.

In pursuing settling a case outside the court, both parties, the plaintiff and the defendant, may prevent hearing most of those technical terms used in a formal litigation proceedings. Hence, they will certainly have better chances of arriving at a common point wherein both of them will benefit.

Unlike court litigations, which may range from six months to several years to conclude, this type of alternative dispute resolution may last in just a few meetings. If both parties have agreed on their first talk, this would mean that the case is near to resolution.

Yet, a settlement procedure definitely has to have the proper guidance and representation of a qualified wrongful death settlement attorney. This is to make sure that both parties are not violating the rules that may nullify their agreement. Further, the respective counsels of each side will ensure that their rights are well protected.