How Do You Prove Wrongful Death?

Fighting for justice for your loved one won’t be an easy journey. But you can lighten the load by building a solid case before the courtroom.

Proving wrongful death requisites establishing negligence or intent. Typically, four key elements determine the validity of a wrongful death claim. Wrongful death elements include:

• Duty of Care
• Breach of Duty
• Causation
• Damages

Struggling with the loss of a loved one? You deserve a compassionate team of lawyers with years of experience pursuing and winning civil suits. 

With over four decades of experience supporting victims of horrific circumstances, Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire is here to help you get justice. 

We give every client the same level of service, effort, and respect. 

We love what we do, and we take our job seriously. We will work to ensure your compensation covers medical bills, future care needs, lost wages, and more. Reach out online or by phone at 619-236-9363 and get the justice you deserve.

Duty of Care

As the plaintiff, you must show that the defendant owed a duty of care to the deceased. This means the defendant had a legal obligation to act in a way that would prevent harm to the deceased. 

Examples: Doctors owe a duty of care to their patients, and drivers owe a duty of care to other road users.

Causation

You must show a direct link between the breach of duty and the death of the deceased. That is to say, you must demonstrate that the defendant’s actions were the proximate cause of the death. 

Examples: Showing medical records, forensic evidence, and expert testimony that establish causation.

Damages

You must show that the death resulted in quantifiable damages endured by the deceased and their family.

Examples: Medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of income, and pain and suffering.

In addition to the evidence needed to build your loved one’s case, your claim may fall under different aspects of negligence or liability.

Wrongful Death by Product Liability

Wrongful death by product liability occurs when defective products cause fatal injuries. You can hold irresponsible manufacturers, distributors, and retailers accountable if their product has design flaws, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warnings that lead to your loved one’s death. 

Common cases involve faulty medical devices, automotive parts, household appliances, or toxic substances. To prove such a claim, you must show the product was defective, the defect caused the death, and the product was being used as intended. 

Wrongful Death by Workplace Accident

Wrongful death by workplace accidents occurs when an employee dies due to unsafe working conditions, employer negligence, or regulatory violations. Common causes include falls, machinery accidents, exposure to hazardous materials, and inadequate safety measures. 

Employers must provide a safe working environment, and failure to do so can result in liability. To establish a claim, you must prove that the employer’s negligence directly caused the fatal accident. 

Wrongful Death by Premises Liability

Wrongful death by premises liability occurs when a person dies due to unsafe conditions on someone else’s property. Property owners are responsible for maintaining a safe environment, whether a private residence, commercial building, or public space. 

Fatal accidents can result from slips and falls, structural collapses, inadequate security, or exposure to toxic substances. To prove a premises liability claim, you must demonstrate that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to address it. 

Wrongful Death by Negligence

Wrongful death negligence occurs when an individual’s careless actions or failure to act result in another person’s death. This can happen in various situations, such as car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian and bicycle accidents, medical malpractice, or inadequate supervision. 

To prove negligence, you must show that the responsible party owed a duty of care to the deceased, breached that duty, and directly caused the death. 

Compensated Elements of a Wrongful Death 

Typically, compensation in a wrongful death claim will cover economic and non-economic losses for the survivors. This includes the deceased’s children, spouses, the parents of a deceased minor, the deceased’s estate, and dependent blood relatives or adoptive siblings.

If you’ve lost a loved one due to negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for damages from the injury to the point of death, plus interest. Don’t hesitate–reach out online or by phone at 619-236-9363 and get the justice you deserve.

Expenses You May Be Entitled To

Wrongful death claims, such as through reckless driving, are civil tort claims separate from criminal charges. The negligent party may be required to compensate the deceased’s survivors or estate.

While this isn’t an adequate substitute for punishment by a governing body, it’ll help ease economic roadblocks that come with sudden deaths.

Depending on your state, economic losses in a wrongful death lawsuit might include hospital and medical expenses before death, lost wages between the accident and death, and funeral expenses paid by the survivor or estate. 

Non-economic losses might cover the pain and suffering experienced by the deceased before death, the surviving spouse’s loss of companionship, and parental guidance for minor children. 

Compensation can also include the financial and emotional support the family expects from the deceased, like daily assistance or savings. 

Factors determining the amount include the survivor's relationship to the deceased, costs to replace services the deceased provided, and the deceased’s net income.

What To Expect for a Wrongful Death Settlement

Death compensation aims to support families of the deceased struggling financially and emotionally due to lost income and support. 

Settlement amounts vary widely, considering factors such as the circumstances of the death, the victim’s suffering before death, age, earnings potential, and available insurance coverage. 

Laws Concerning Wrongful Death Compensation

There is often a statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Usually, the deceased’s estate representative files the wrongful death claim for the estate and surviving family members, listing every survivor with an interest in the case. If no representative is named, the court may appoint one.

Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire Wrongful Death Lawyers

How do you prove wrongful death? With a good lawyer. 

Our team at Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire has built our practice by providing quality, straightforward legal guidance to our clients. In fact, our firm was one of the first contingency fee firms in San Diego to win over $2 billion in verdicts and settlements.

Several of our cases have established important legal precedents; pioneered technology, such as digital media, at trial; or were defined by extraordinary public interest. 

We fight smart and hard both in and out of the courtroom, which has earned our firm numerous commendations for the successes that we have brought to our clients. 

If your loved one’s life has been fatally claimed by negligence, intent, or liability, reach out online or by phone at 619-236-9363.