Wrongful death claims occur, as the name suggests, when a person is killed through the wrongful conduct of a person or company. When proved, the issue of what damages can be claimed are critical.
What is a wrongful death case? It is a civil action to prove the death of a person was caused by negligence, intentional conduct or some other cause that gives rise to liability under the law. The action is not a criminal matter, to wit, nobody goes to jail. Instead, it is focused on proving fault and then awarding damages to the injured parties for the untoward conduct.
A classic wrongful death case is one involving medical malpractice. A person goes in for surgery and dies during it. A medical malpractice wrongful death claim is filed arguing that some tortuous action of the doctor or hospital caused the death. In turn, the defendants argue that it was a tragedy, but they are not at fault. Assuming the jury finds for the plaintiff, the issue of damages is then considered.
What are damages? They are the losses suffered by a party because of the action of another. The awarding of damages is primarily designed to "make the damaged parties whole." This essentially means to reimburse them in a manner that will return them as close as possible to their normal state of being prior to the incident.
In wrongful death cases, there are a host of damage claims that can be made. The first is pain and suffering for what the deceased experienced between the liable act and the time of death. The second is to cover their medical and burial costs. From there, the awards shift to the immediate surviving family members. This can include loss of financial support, parenting training and guidance for kids, loss of companionship for a spouse and so on.
Wrongful death cases are centered on showing liability. Once that occurs, the damages are usually very large because the loss of income, for example, with a decedent who had 25 years before retirement can be huge. That doesn't really make up, however, for that loss of that person.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3012400
What is a wrongful death case? It is a civil action to prove the death of a person was caused by negligence, intentional conduct or some other cause that gives rise to liability under the law. The action is not a criminal matter, to wit, nobody goes to jail. Instead, it is focused on proving fault and then awarding damages to the injured parties for the untoward conduct.
A classic wrongful death case is one involving medical malpractice. A person goes in for surgery and dies during it. A medical malpractice wrongful death claim is filed arguing that some tortuous action of the doctor or hospital caused the death. In turn, the defendants argue that it was a tragedy, but they are not at fault. Assuming the jury finds for the plaintiff, the issue of damages is then considered.
What are damages? They are the losses suffered by a party because of the action of another. The awarding of damages is primarily designed to "make the damaged parties whole." This essentially means to reimburse them in a manner that will return them as close as possible to their normal state of being prior to the incident.
In wrongful death cases, there are a host of damage claims that can be made. The first is pain and suffering for what the deceased experienced between the liable act and the time of death. The second is to cover their medical and burial costs. From there, the awards shift to the immediate surviving family members. This can include loss of financial support, parenting training and guidance for kids, loss of companionship for a spouse and so on.
Wrongful death cases are centered on showing liability. Once that occurs, the damages are usually very large because the loss of income, for example, with a decedent who had 25 years before retirement can be huge. That doesn't really make up, however, for that loss of that person.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3012400
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