Privacy Policy

Wrongful Death

Definition and causes

Death is the end of the human life which may happen at any time. It may be natural or unnatural. Unnatural death of a human being is caused by poisoning, starving, drowning, striking, murder, motor accidents, and by a hundred different ways. Wrongful death comes under the category of unnatural death. It can be described as the death of a human being by the wrongful action of another person.

Wrongful death can be caused in any of the following ways:

• Death caused by accident or misfortune.
• Negligence of the other party (ex. Careless or rash driving, Toxic exposure, etc.)
• Death caused by injury against the body such as stabbing or cutting, battering,  shooting, etc.
• Death caused by a child, or a person of unsound mind, or an intoxicated person.
• Death caused unintentionally by act done in good faith meant for the benefit of the person who is accidentally killed.
• Death due to personal injury
• Death due to the medical malpractices, toxic exposure, death as a result of using defective drugs, etc.
• Death due to malpractice.
• Some examples:     
• A, using a gun for target practice, shoots into the woods and kills Z, who is walking through the woods.  Although A was doing an unintentional act, it comes under wrongful death.
• A and B get into a knife fight in a parking lot.  Z tries to stop the fight and gets stabbed by A.  A is guilty of murder, although he may not have had a premeditated design to kill any particular individual.

• Wrongful death claim

 In any death, the family of the deceased loses the support, love and caring of their loved one. Moreover many of the dependent family members will suffer financial problems after their bread-winner’s death.  In the case of wrongful death, the law has given them the chance to sue for the suffering and loss.  This suit can be filed against the person who is held liable for the death. Various states have different statutes, regarding  wrongful death cases. The existing laws in the states will give maximum support and care to the victim’s family in this matter.

For example, in the state of Michigan if you file the suit, the court will consider how much money the family lost in terms of financial support, and things such as medical or funeral costs when determining damages. The compensation will also include the interest payable to the plaintiff. As per the Michigan law the court has the right to give extra punishment to the defendant if there is cruelty involved in the wrongful death.  The Michigan law lays down rules for the minimum amount to be recovered in damages from the defendant.  This may be varying from year to year.

In most of the auto accident cases the auto insurance coverage may used to settle the claim. This includes for the death of a person which happened as a result of the carelessness or negligence by the driver. Many states follow the investigation report of the police in this matter.

Generally, states do not allow a lawsuit to be filed against another family member.       In some states, the law will not allow people to file litigation against the state or the local government for wrongful deaths (Sovereign Immunity). But now many states have given up this rule (eg.Michigan).

How to calculate wrongful death claim

Wrongful death compensations are determined on the basis of the irreparable loss incurred to the victim’s family because of that death. If the deceased was employed, the compensation will calculate on that basis. What he/she earned is multiplied by the number of years he/she probably would have lived....

Inflation will also be taken into consideration. The deceased’s age, health, earning capacity, and number of dependents  at the time of death are other factors that determine the death damages. But this type of calculation may not be suitable for the all persons. If the deceased were not employed, the court can make a decision to fix some yearly dollar amount for the plaintiffs, to meet their family expenses. The damages will include the medical and funeral expenses in addition to the above mentioned compensations.

The award for a wrongful death may include:

• Payment for the mental, physical and financial agony suffered by the deceased’s  spouse, children, or other family members.
• Compensation for the deceased person’s pain, suffering, etc. during the period  between the time of injury and death.
• Medical, funeral and burial expenses.

Time to file litigation

One can file for litigation immediately after the date of wrongful death. Different states have different statutes of limitation for filing the suit. The court will not accept any request after the expiration of the statute of limitation.  An experienced lawyer can help you in this matter. For example as per Michigan Law, the medical malpractice death should be filed to the court within two years of the occurrence.  Some states begin the time period in which a lawsuit can be brought to when the injuring incident occurs,  not when the person dies.  That is the same statute of limitations that would have applied had the deceased merely been injured [Hawkins Vs Regional Medical Laboratories, 415 Mich.420,329 N.W.2d 729 (1982)] .

Who is eligible to make a claim from the wrongful death?

• The family members (e.g. spouse of the deceased, children, dependent parents,    grand parents, etc.) of the victim can file civil action against the defendant for the death of their close relative.
• If none of the family members are alive, then the very next legal heirs can file the suit. If a will is in place, then the beneficiary designated in the will or trusts can make a suit for the claim.
• The death damages cannot be asked in the case of an unborn child. But the parents can sue if the infant born and died because of pre-birth or post-birth injuries.
• Wrongful death attorneys

A wrongful death attorney is a lawyer specializing in various types of wrongful death cases and claims.  The wrongful death attorney knows the law in the jurisdiction where the accident occurred.  The attorney  will help the victim’s family sue the party who has been held liable for the death.  In Michigan, a wrongful death attorney’s fee is limited to one-third of the amount recovered as per the decree (Mich.Ct.R.8.121). Some of the law specialization areas are listed below:

• Personal injury with expertise in car and truck accidents
• Automobile accidents
• Defective products
• Medical negligence including Nursing home abuse and neglect
• Boat, cruise ship, and Air crashes
• Workers’ compensation cases
• Elder Law
• Personal injury lawyer: Personal injury death lawyers are dealing with cases resulting from personal injury. Attorneys specialized in car and truck accidents are dealing that specialized cases only. In workplace accident cases an efficient lawyer can communicate effectively with the victim’s family as well as the various authorities.

Product liability attorney: The death arising out of the use of a defective product is handled by a product liability attorney.  For example, an auto accident may occur due to the substandard quality of the products, resulting in things like brake failure, engine failure, or faulty tires, etc.

Medical malpractice attorneys: Wrongful death due to medical negligence can be chargeable in the case of surgical negligence, Cerebral palsy, birth injury, and other kind of medical carelessness. Birth injury cases are growing in many states now.

Cruise ship attorney: Cruise ship related accidents are dealt by this kind of attorneys.

Elder law attorney: Elder law deals with the laws regarding older people. Most common cases include nursing home abuse and other type of injuries. Nursing home abuse includes physical torture, rape, giving excessive medications, failure in giving food, malnutrition, bedsores, etc.

Workers’ compensation cases: This type of case involves the occupational hazards, loss of life on the job etc. The laws are very complex in these matters. Most of the companies have their own workers’ compensation plans for the protection of their worker.  An expert lawyer can help you in mediation-related issues.

Tax on wrongful death claim

The wrongful death compensation received under the decree is exempted from the taxable income of the deceased person. But the amount of medical reimbursement sanctioned for the deceased shall be included in his taxable estate.