PROVING HOW A CAR CRASH RESULTED IN A PERSON’S WRONGFUL DEATH

Driving is dangerous whether you’re operating a car or a motorcycle. Distracted driving is one of the main reasons why.

Take, for example, a 2014 statistic compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). That survey year, 3,179 people were killed in car crashes as a result of distracted driving, but a staggering 431,000 were injured as a result of their involvement in them.

Distracted driving coupled with either unsafe or careless driving, the infliction of either intentional or accidental harm or car manufacturer’s defects result in wrongful death lawsuits being filed each year. In the case of wrongful death claims, the burden falls on the plaintiff to show that the defendant was either a reckless or negligent driver or that an individual’s death resulted from a car defect.

While each state has their own requirements that must be met in order to justify the filing of a wrongful death claim, there are some fairly standard burdens that a plaintiff must meet to do so.

One requirement is that the plaintiff is able to prove that someone else was responsible for the car crash that resulted in the death of the victim. To do this, it’s important to show that the responsible party engaged in some type of negligent behavior that resulted in their loved one’s death.

Wrongful death lawsuits have to be brought by someone within the immediate family of the victim, whether it is by their children, spouse or parents. However, a personal representative of the deceased’s estate may initiate the lawsuit as well. The damages that survivors can claim include non-monetary and monetary damages.

In working with a Bowling Green wrongful death attorney, families can paint a picture of who their loved one was and how their loss will impact their lives in the long term. This, in turn, will help to substantiate the survivors’ claim for compensation.

Source: findlaw.com, “Wrongful death in a car accident,” accessed May 11, 2017