If you were injured in an accident caused by someone else’s carelessness, you may be entitled to pursue a personal injury claim. However, if someone you love died as the result of someone’s negligence or error, you may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim in order to obtain justice and compensation on their behalf.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy, but if their death was caused by some act of recklessness or inattention, it can be especially difficult to face. Although wrongful death claims can occur for a variety of reasons, they all have a few things in common. When someone loses their life because of a serious error or act of carelessness, their immediate relations and/or their estate may be entitled to compensation for certain losses.
In a wrongful death case, you may be able to recover the following types of damages:
- Medical expenses
- Loss of the deceased person’s income
- The deceased person’s pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial costs
- Loss of society, love and companionship or care
- Loss of services the deceased person would have provided
- Loss of inheritance
In general, the damages in a wrongful death case are split into two broad categories. Some can be brought by the heirs and some can be brought by the deceased person’s estate. The first category of damages encompasses everything the deceased person experienced between the time he or she was injured and the time of death. This includes his or her pain and suffering, medical bills, funeral expenses, and so on. The second category or damages usually includes everything that happens thereafter and affects the deceased person’s loved ones, including their spouse, and/or children, and/or other immediate family members. This includes loss of love, society and companionship, and future earnings and loss of future services.
Who Can File?
Not everyone can file a wrongful death lawsuit. In fact, depending on whether the deceased person was married or had children, often only the spouse and children of the deceased may file a wrongful death claim in most cases, though there are some exceptions. If deceased person had no spouse or children, their parents or siblings may file a claim on their behalf. Or, if the deceased person is a minor child, the parents will be the most likely parties to recover damages for the loss of their child.
If you lost someone you love due to another person’s negligence, our firm is here to help. Whether your loved one died in a car crash, a work-related incident, or some other type of dangerous situation, we want to help you seek justice for your loss.
Contact Samster Konkel & Safran today to discuss your wrongful death case with our Milwaukee personal injury attorneys.
