The idea of going to court and suing someone may be foreign to many people. You may have never filed a civil lawsuit before and have no idea what to do or if you even have a case.
When it comes to a situation where you have a loved one who died because someone else was negligent, you have every right to sue for damages.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death occurs when one person causes the death of another because of their actions that were negligent in some way. Whether your loved one died in a car accident caused by someone else or a malfunctioning product took his or her life, you have a wrongful death case as long as the death was a situation where someone else’s actions or lack of action caused the death.
Relationship
One thing that might hold up your ability to make a wrongful death claim is your relationship with the deceased. You need to be close to the person with a strong legal relationship. In general, a spouse or child has the first option to sue. But if the person was unmarried without children, then a parent or sibling is next in line. Barring any of those people being available, the next of kin, according to the law, has the right to bring a lawsuit.
It is important to ensure you have the legal ability to bring a case because the court will toss out the lawsuit if you do not. But when you sue for wrongful death, you can collect a wide variety of damages to help compensate you for your loss. While money will not bring your loved one back, it can help to reduce some of the strain the death caused you.
