The Basics Of Wrongful Death Claims | Wrongful Death Lawyer

Understanding the Basics of Wrongful Death Claims

A person’s carelessness can someone’s death. When that terrible reality occurs, the law may permit surviving family members to pursue a wrongful death claim.

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Wrongful Death Laws Vary By State

Laws regarding wrongful death claims vary from state to state. In Virginia, for example, a number of statutes set forth the law regarding wrongful death claims. The Virginia laws explain who can bring a claim. Those laws also explain what types of harms and losses surviving family members can seek. The statutes even explain how and when family members can pursue a wrongful death action.

Wrongful Death Claims are Not Criminal Prosecutions

Parties to a wrongful death claim bring a civil claim for money damages. In this way, wrongful death claims are different than criminal law matters, where the government prosecutes. Criminal law imposes criminal sentences like jail time or steep penalties.

A civil wrongful death can can also exist alongside a criminal action. Or, the government may decide that a crash or event that causes someone’s death does not justify criminal prosecution. That can be the case if the wrongdoer was negligent but did not act intentionally to cause harm.

Parties can bring a wrongful death claim even when the government does not criminally prosecute. So even though there may not be enough evidence to convict someone of a crime, family members may be able to hold a wrongdoer responsible for the wrongful death.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death Claims

Many different causes of death can support a wrongful death claim. Below are different examples of deaths that may lead to a wrongful death claim:

Criminal or negligent acts that cause harm or death to someone deliberately. This will likely result in both a criminal prosecution and a wrongful death claim.
A defective product that causes an injury or event that leads to a death.
Airplane, truck, and car accidents that cause the death of occupants, passersby, or others.
Negligence by a medical professional, commonly known as medical malpractice, that results in a loss of a life.
Unsafe or hazardous workplace conditions.

Money Damages Recoverable in Wrongful Death Claims

A loved one’s wrongful death can create an immense financial burden for surviving family members. Medical bills that typically follow are intensely overwhelming and left to be the survivors’ responsibility. Medical providers like hospitals, doctors, and emergency responders will seek reimbursement for those expenses.

Surviving family members like spouses or children may have been financially dependent on the deceased. Those families may need to recoup those past and future lost wages, particularly if the deceased family member was the major breadwinner. A skilled and knowledgeable attorney can work with expert witnesses to build a full and robust claim for lost wages. This may include working with a vocational rehabilitation specialist to prove future lost earning capacity.

Virginia law also permits surviving family members to recover various types of noneconomic damages. As set forth in Virginia Code sec. 8.01-52, survivors may claim compensation for “sorrow, mental anguish, and solace which may include society, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices and advice of the decedent.”

These categories of damages permit survivors to obtain compensation for the lost relationship. This includes the grief and emotional distress that accompanies a devastating loss of a loved one. But it also includes the reality of what was lost. Lost advice and guidance from a trusted and wise family member. This might be “society, companionship, and comfort” which includes the lost opportunities for time spent together, personal fellowship, and personal growth.

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How Family Members Can Pursue a Wrongful Death Action

The law requires that someone needs to have the legal right to bring a wrongful death action. By law, a deceased person’s estate executor or administrator has the right to bring a wrongful death case. The law sets forth that the clerk appoints a personal representative, either an executor or an administrator, under Va. Code sec. 64.2-500.

Many times the deceased did not create a will or name someone to pursue a wrongful death action. When that occurs, the law allows the clerk to appoint someone to act as the estate’s personal representative for purposes of bringing a wrongful death case. That statutory provision, found at Va. Code sec. 64.2-454, permits the clerk to name a personal representative solely to bring a wrongful death action.

Who Gets the Money From a Wrongful Death Case

The law also explains who receives the money from a wrongful death case. To begin with, parties that are owed money due to the wrongful death will be entitled to repayment. Those include parties who covered the funeral expenses, emergency responders, or medical providers.

The proper parties to receive the rest of the money from a wrongful death lawsuit are specific family members. These family members are called “beneficiaries.” According to Va. Code sec. 8.01-53, the law orders which beneficiaries receive money. This provision explains who is eligible to receive compensation in a wrongful death action.

The surviving beneficiaries can then make a claim for what amount or percentage of the wrongful death proceeds they should receive. Those proceeds are based on how the death impacted them, and that is based on the factors set forth in Virginia Code sec. 8.01-52.

Sometimes the beneficiaries do not agree on how the wrongful death proceeds should be distributed. When that happens, the judge or jury who is hearing the case can apportion the funds.

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What You Can Do To Take the Next Steps

The loss of a loved one is already heavy enough. If you or a loved one is in a connection with someone who has died a wrongful death it is imperative that you speak with a lawyer that is experienced in wrongful death claims. It is likely that you will go against insurance companies that are represented by very skilled lawyers, so it is best that you also hire a very skilled wrongful death lawyer that will be able to negotiate for you and demand the compensation that you and your loved ones deserve.

Call MartinWren, P.C. today for a free consultation.