Your loved one’s death can be challenging to categorize, especially when malicious intent and case details are fuzzy. These and other variables factor into whether the killer is charged for a criminal act with a prison sentence or wrongful death, providing you financial compensation. It is imperative to under how to sue the defendant so they do not get away with taking an innocent life and a judge can serve justice.
There are several common causes of wrongful death that you can compare to your circumstances to see whether they match. This practice is an excellent starting place as you file independently or with a wrongful death lawyer. If you are up to your neck with funeral bills, lost wages, and medical costs, you should look into wrongful death causes.
If you are a surviving spouse or were dependent on your loved one for financial support, you should not have to suffer the monetary consequences without legal assistance.
Typical Wrongful Death Causes
Most people have limited knowledge of wrongful death and may even confuse it with murder or homicide, where someone intentionally kills your loved one. Or you might be under the impression that wrongful death scenarios occur only within auto and workplace accidents. However, your family may be eligible for financial compensation in other situations where wrongful death causes exist that you were unaware.
Medical Malpractice
Hospitals, doctors, and other medical professionals play a significant role in causing wrongful death through medical malpractice cases. They could have erred their treatment of your loved one, such as announcing a misdiagnosis, committing birth injuries, or making surgical errors.
On the flip side of wrongful death with medical malpractice situations, your doctor could have operated faulty equipment that killed your family member or friend.
For example, they could have gone into surgery for stem cell therapy on their spinal cord, and the anesthesia machine could have malfunctioned, over gassing with medication. These example cases frequently occur in legal courts, as sad as they are, and you do not have to suffer the consequences of someone else’s mistake alone.
Automobile Accidents
Automobile accidents that fall under the wrongful death category include all vehicle types: car, motorcycle, and truck accidents. They are the leading cause of wrongful death in the United States and result when the opposing driver did not provide the duty of care they owed your loved one.
On highways, backroads, and neighborhood streets, the law requires them and other drivers to be alert and aware of their surroundings to avoid car accidents. You can file a wrongful death lawsuit if they were intoxicated with alcohol or drugs, drove aggressively, or operated their motor vehicle with little to no sleep.
Airplane Accidents
Plane crashes are an obvious cause where wrongful death occurs, but you could be confused about liability. There are various reasons how and why a plane crashes that can affect the party you sue and how much compensation you are eligible for. Two common types of accidents you could hear about on the news are due to airplane design problems and defective plane parts, condemning the aircraft’s engineer and/or manufacturer.
Similarly, pilots could be negligent for similar reasons as automobile accidents, such as flying with alcohol in their system or without sleep. It is also possible the airline company did not hire, train, and supervise their staff properly, which led to the plane crash. We recommend working with a wrongful death attorney in these case scenarios where liability is tricky and can impact your compensation dollar amount.
Product Liability & Workplace Accidents
Outside automobile, medical malpractice, and airplane accidents, you may be unfamiliar with other wrongful death causes that are just as crucial to determine whether your family can get paid. Product liability, for example, can compensate you if a product manufacturer, supplier, or retailer did not explain warnings for the products you buy. Children’s toys, power tools, appliances, and other items across different industries are all potential wrongful death causes.
As an employee for a company, you probably understand worker’s compensation as a reimbursement tool when receiving injuries on the job. However, workplace accidents can also lead to unexpected deaths that require a legal case instead of a run-of-the-mill insurance claim. Construction sites are notorious for workplace accidents with dangerous machinery and physical risks, but your loved one is also suspectible from the common retail store. Cleaning and other chemicals could accidentally mix, causing a gas explosion and fatal reaction.
We Find the Cause and Deliver Courtroom Results
You can reference our list of wrongful death causes to help you identify patterns in your loved one’s death, giving you clarity while proceeding in the court system. However, liabilities can be hard to unravel if you are not professionally trained in legal speak, even if the killer committed negligent actions. Wrongful death causes could dip into a criminal case depending on the situation, and you need to be adaptive in your legal approach.
Our team is always available to meet with you for a free case evaluation to discuss your specific wrongful death claim, evaluating whether it constitutes wrongful death or something else. We offer advice tailored to your personal story and deliver the results you need in the county court because your family deserves it.
You can call our law firm at (334).269.3230 to learn more about our services and file a wrongful death case. We would love to help your family regain financial stability and discover your average wrongful death settlement amount.