If someone you love has been killed as a result of another person’s or entity’s negligence, you may be eligible to bring a wrongful death civil suit against the negligent offender. However, there are certain aspects that also must be involved in the accident case so that you can stake a legitimate wrongful death claim against a negligent party. San Antonio wrongful death lawyer Michael Grossman provides the following short article to inform you about what constitutes a wrongful death claim.
First, the defendant, or liable party, must be the proximate cause, or one of the proximate causes, of the accident that resulted in your loved one’s death. In other words, their negligence must have played some role in contributing to the fatal accident. There can be multiple liable parties in a wrongful death claim so long as each party held a degree of responsibility in helping to cause the accident. For instance, a drunk driver is responsible for causing a fatal car accident, but the establishment that served that driver alcohol could also be held liable under Texas dram shop law. Both the driver and the bar or restaurant would be proximate causes of the accident.
Secondly, the defendant must have been somehow negligent in their legal duty towards the person killed. In the drunk driving example already given, the drunk driver has a legal duty to every other driver on the road for public safety. When this legal duty is violated, the drunk driver is said to have been negligent of their legal duty to provide for public safety. Negligence can take many different forms, but standard negligence can be considered as simple carelessness resulting in an accident. On the other hand, gross negligence occurs when a defendant knows that the likelihood of an accident occurring was great before attempting the action that could cause the accident. For example, drunk drivers are often guilty of gross negligence since they’re aware of the grave dangers that are posed by drunk drivers, yet they still choose to get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated.
Thirdly, a family member or other beneficiary must exist who can receive compensation for their loved one’s passing. If a person dies in a fatal accident but has no family members or beneficiaries, there is no person or place that can receive compensation for that particular person’s death.
Lastly, the victim or the victim’s family must have incurred damages of some sort. Damages can take many forms, from medical bills to funeral expenses to loss of future earnings, as well as compensation for the remaining family members’ pain and suffering in losing their loved ones. A legal professional will tally the amount of damages incurred by their client or clients, and it is this financial amount that is then sought as compensation from the defendant.
If you believe all of the above aspects are present in your loved one’s fatal accident case, it’s recommended that you contact proper legal help to see what your legal options might be in order to see justice served and to be compensated for your loved one’s passing.