What Qualifies As a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
If you lost a loved one due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, motorist, property owner, or another entity, you could have the basis of a wrongful death lawsuit.
To qualify, you must prove the following:
- The at-fault party owed your loved one a duty of care.
- This obligation was violated.
- As a result, your loved one passed away.
- You suffered hardships as a result.
Our law firm has over a century of legal experience when it comes to advocating on behalf of wrongful death claimants. We can review your case for free and determine whether you qualify to take legal action.
Wrongful Death Lawsuits are Based on Negligence
Most wrongful death cases (with the exception of those involving defective products) are based on the principle of negligence. This means that because of someone’s reckless or careless actions, you lost a loved one.
With our New York law firm on your side:
We Can Help You Prove Your Loved One was Owed a Duty of Care
If your loved one was injured in a motor vehicle accident, then the at-fault driver likely owed them a duty of care. If your loved one was the victim of medical malpractice, a healthcare professional owed them the standard of care. Same with property owners––regardless of whether they oversaw public or private properties.
Essentially, this aspect involves proving that the at-fault party had an obligation to act in your loved one’s interest. How we can prove this element rests on the details of your situation, but for the most part, it involves conducting an investigation.
We Can Help You Prove the Other Party’s Breach of this Duty of Care
We must prove that the at-fault party ultimately failed to keep your loved one safe. This usually involves a reckless or careless action on the other party’s part. Here are some things that could breach one’s duty of care:
- Recklessly operating a motor vehicle. Speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, and failing to obey traffic signals can breach one’s duty of care.
- Delivering inadequate medical care. If a healthcare professional failed to diagnose your loved one, render necessary treatment, or consult their medical history, this could constitute a breach of the standard of care.
- Failing to maintain a safe premise. All property owners (whether they are homeowners or business owners) must make their properties safe for guests. By allowing hazards to exist, they breach their duty of care.
This is not a comprehensive list regarding the ways that people can breach their duties of care.
We Can Help You Prove that this Breach Caused Your Loved One’s Passing
Once our firm understands how the other party breached their duty of care, we can get to work proving how they caused your loved one’s passing. The specific evidence we need will, again, depend on your situation.
However, in general, we can use the following (if they apply):
- Security camera footage
- The incident report
- Your loved one’s lab test results, imaging scans, and medical history
- Photos of your loved one’s condition or the accident scene
- Testimony from consultants, like from accident reconstruction specialists and healthcare providers
We can also use statements from eyewitnesses to attest to the cause of your loved one’s injuries and subsequent passing.
We Can Help You Prove You Suffered Losses
To qualify for a wrongful death lawsuit, you do not need to prove that you exclusively have financial losses. Your losses can be financial, emotional, or physical in nature. The losses you can recover will be divided into both economic and non-economic damages, meaning those that have financial values and those that do not.
Some compensable losses in a wrongful death lawsuit can include:
- Pain and suffering
- Lost income
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of parental guidance
- Medical expenses
- Funeral costs
- Loss of household benefits
You can learn more about what types of damages you can recover in a wrongful death case by reading EPT §11-3.3.
You Must File Your Case Within New York’s Statutory Deadline
To qualify as a wrongful death lawsuit, you must file your case on time with the court system. Per EPT §5-4.1, you generally have two years to file your wrongful death lawsuit.
By failing to file within this timeframe, you risk giving up the chance to seek compensation through litigation. This could significantly limit the options you have when seeking compensation. You could even lose the chance to seek compensation at all.
Our Attorneys Can Help You Determine Whether You Have a Case
Do you still have questions about whether your situation qualifies as a wrongful death lawsuit? Then connect with the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP.
During your free consultation, a member of our team can review your case and explain whether you have the right to seek compensation. You can also find out about what damages you can recover and how long it could take to settle the matter.
