Do You Have A Viable Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Posted on: 31 July 2020
Did a family member recently pass away due to the fault of another person? If so, you could have a viable wrongful death lawsuit. Here are some questions to ask to determine if your case is worth pursuing.
Was Negligence Involved?
The first thing to ask yourself about the situation was if there was any type of negligence involved that directly led to the person's death. For example, if someone was in an auto accident, know that there are factors that make negligence more apparent than others. Causing an accident by mistakenly cutting someone off is very different than if someone drinks and drives. When dealing with an auto accident, reckless behavior can easily cause a death to lead to a wrongful death lawsuit.
Was There Intent To Harm?
You must look at someone's accidents and decide if there was an intent to harm the other person. It is possible that a situation escalated and, while the original intent was simply to hurt the other person, that it eventually led to an unexpected death. For example, someone may start a fistfight, but all it takes is one bad punch to cause someone to fall to the ground and crack their head on the pavement. Actions taken that had an intent to harm and that directly led to someone's death can validate a wrongful death lawsuit.
Was A Medical Condition Not Diagnoses?
If someone is seeing a doctor to treat an ailment, the doctor has a duty of care to correctly diagnose a patient to treat their condition. There are some situations where a doctor gives the wrong diagnosis or fails to give a diagnosis at all, which results in the patient passing away unexpectedly. These cases can be very complicated since you must demonstrate that the doctor failed to perform their duty of care and did things incorrectly.
When Did The Wrongful Death Happen?
It is important to become familiar with all the laws regarding wrongful deaths in your state, especially when it comes to the statute of limitations laws. There is a time limit for how long you have to file a wrongful death lawsuit after the person passes away. You may be completely out of luck if you let too much time pass between the death and when you take legal action. Make sure you meet with a lawyer early on in the process so that you meet the deadlines for a wrongful death lawsuit in your state.
To learn more, contact a wrongful death lawyer.
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