A wrongful death claim is a claim made against a person who can be held liable for the death of another, typically due to negligence or intentional killing.
In the case of intentional killing, a wrongful death case differs from a murder case in that a plaintiff’s lawyer in a wrongful death case only has to prove preponderance of the evidence as opposed to evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. For example, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of the wrongful death of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, but was not found guilty of murder.
Wrongful death cases can be confusing, and the law regarding them often differs from state to state; so a wrongful death case in Provo, Utah might be different from a similar case in the Empire State. Take a look at our overview of wrongful death cases.
