Wrongful death is legally described as, “the death of an individual caused by recklessness or negligence of other people or entities.” When an individual passes due to this reckless behavior of another party, it can leave the victim’s family in ruined in more ways than you could imagine. But what exactly are the legal elements that make up a wrongful death victim? From car accidents to medical malpractice and even product recalls, there are several situations that could ultimately result in the wrongful death of an individual. At Robert J. DeBry and Associates, we know that the families of those who have fallen victim to such tragic accidents need to be compensated fairly.
How does one of our wrongful death lawyers know if the victim was a victim to wrongful death? Well, we have written this blog to highlight the four main elements of a wrongful death case.
Negligence
The first and most important aspect of proving that the victim was a wrongful death victim is negligence. The surviving family members along with any legal representatives must be able to prove that the death of the victim was caused by the recklessness or negligence of the defending party. For example, if the reckless driving of the defending party caused an accident that led to the death of the victim, it would need to be proven the defendant was driving in an unsafe manner or was driving under the influence.
Damages
In order for the case to be considered a wrongful death, the victim must have generated a quantifiable amount of damages, which can include hospital bills, medical expenses, funeral costs, lost wages and potential loss of protection, guidance and inheritance; pain and suffering can also be paired in with these damages.
Breach of Duty
Breach of duty refers to the defendants “owed duty” to the victim. For example, a driver maintains the duty to drive safely and with courtesy to other drivers. In a medical malpractice case, the doctor owes the patient their duty to perform all required medical procedures with adequate care to keep the patient safe and well.
Causation
Tying back to breach of duty, the victim’s attorney must be able to prove what the cause of the accident was and what the direct cause of death was as well.
These are the four main elements that make a wrongful death victim, and our team of experienced attorneys here at Robert J. DeBry and Associates are always on-call if you are in need of representation in the event of a tragic case such as this.