In the event of wrongful death, the surviving individuals who intend to file a claim have various elements to prove to win the lawsuit and receive financial compensation from the accused party. This means for the accused to be charged with the suit, the plaintiff first needs to satisfy the same types of burden of proof expected from the victim, had the victim been alive.
For this nature of claim, a wrongful death attorney is required to provide appropriate legal representation.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?
When a person is killed through the negligent act of another person or entity, the heirs of the victim can file a lawsuit as permitted by all states. There are 4 elements based on the accused negligence, which the plaintiff is required to substantiate to win a wrongful death claim.
What Are the 4 Fundamental Elements of Fault for a Wrongful Death Claim?
The functional damages pertaining to a wrongful death case are different from a typical negligence claim; however, the same elements that a plaintiff is required to prove are in both types of lawsuits. The elements in question include damages, causation, breach of duty, and negligence.
1. Negligence
The plaintiff must prove that the death of their relative is either wholly or partially a result of the recklessness or carelessness of the defendant.
Before anything else, the defendant is compelled to owe the victim the duty of due care; failure to give a duty of care is what proves negligence in a wrongful death claim.
In a wrongful death lawsuit, instead of the jury, the judge is the one who decides whether the defendant owed the deceased the duty of due care.
2. Breach of Duty
After proving the existence of the duty of care owed to the deceased by the defendant, the plaintiff now has to prove the breach of the owed duty. For instance, in a case where a motorist causes death due to careless driving, the plaintiff should be able to prove how the duty of due care was breached and how it’s connected to the defendant’s negligent behavior.
3. Causation
Next, the plaintiff is required to prove how the breach of duty caused harm to the deceased. Using a similar example from above, the plaintiff must prove that the accused and the vehicle they were driving is what actually caused harm to the deceased, leading to their death.
Matters to do with causation can sometimes be complex. In a case where the victim was first hit by another vehicle before the defendant hit them, then the jury may find that the defendant’s breach of duty was not what caused harm to the descent.
4. Damages
After substantiating negligence, breach of duty, and causation, the plaintiff must now prove the damages suffered by the deceased. These include quantifiable expenses such as loss of income, medical charges, funeral and costs, the victim’s pain and misery before death, and loss of probable income.
In some wrongful death claims, the plaintiff may manage to prove the first three elements but lose the case because of failure to prove that the victim suffered any real damages.
Our Two Cents
To prove all the four elements in a wrongful death claim, you will have to provide strong and credible evidence. With the help of legal counsel, you will be able to build your case around the events and use the evidence you gather to prove each element and get well-deserved justice for the family suffering the loss of a loved one.
