Lawsuit Millionaires | Wrongful Death

Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Lately, I've been reading articles relating to lawsuits and whatnot, finding topics of interest for me to write about here. Every now and then a word (or term) comes up that I don't know. Or worse yet, sounds like you know, when you don't know exactly what it means. So, starting with this post, I'll be adding a glossary of law terms to this blog. It should prove helpful for me, and for readers. Today's term is (obviously), Wrongful Death.

Wrongful Death - (Also known as Wrongful Death Action or Wrongful Death Claim)

Wrongful Death, is pretty much just like it sounds. One person is at fault (wrongfully - is it ever considered right?) for the death of another. Here's the interesting tidbit: The victim’s survivors are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the improper conduct.


Dictionary.Law.Com says:

Wrongful death is the basis for a lawsuit (wrongful death action) against the party or parties who caused the death filed on behalf of the members of the family who have lost the company and support of the deceased. Thus, a child might be entitled to compensation for the personal loss of a father as well as the amount of financial support the child would have received from the now-dead parent while a minor, a wife would recover damages for loss of her husband's love and companionship and a lifetime of expected support, while a parent would be limited to damages for loss of companionship but not support.

A wrongful death claim generally consists of four elements: (1) the death was caused, in whole or part, by the conduct of the defendant; (2) the defendant was negligent or strictly liable for the victim’s death; (3) there is a surviving spouse, children, beneficiaries or dependents; and (4) monetary damages have resulted from the victim’s death. - FreeAdvice.com

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