The term “wrongful death” may be misunderstood when filing a lawsuit. Many people assume that if someone is killed in an accident, there can automatically be a wrongful death lawsuit against the person or group responsible for the accident. Although this is often the case, there are times when wrongful death suits are inappropriate or impossible. Additionally, there may be damages that are granted in some wrongful death lawsuits but not in others. In order to fully understand what a wrongful death lawsuit is and how it applies to any given situation, it is helpful to look at the facts and laws surrounding the term.
Wrongful Death
ATV Accidents On the Rise
Nothing could be more exciting than riding a speeding snowmobile or a fast-moving ATV across the beautiful Alaskan landscape, but this recreational activity comes at a steep cost for some. ATV accidents tend to cause serious life-changing and life-threatening injuries, particularly among young people, and the number of these types of accidents seems to be increasing.
What Is a Wrongful Death?
Whenever someone dies in an accident, it can be difficult to assign blame. After all, most people have no intention of harming someone else when they take actions that lead to a fatal accident. However, under the law, certain types of accidents can be deemed as wrongful deaths, depending on their cause. If your loved one has been lost to a fatal injury caused by an accident, it is important to know if you have the right to recover compensation from the person or entity that caused the death.
How Are Wrongful Death Claims Handled?
No one wants to imagine that a loved one could be the victim of a fatal accident. Unfortunately, it happens every day: a loving family loses someone due to the negligence or carelessness of another party. While the person who died may not be able to seek justice, family members can through the process of a wrongful death lawsuit.
Wrongful Death Claims
You may have heard the term “wrongful death claim” without truly understanding what it means. It is obvious that a “wrongful death claim” includes a victim’s death, but who brings such a claim against a defendant? How do you know if a death is wrongful or just an accident? What type of compensation is available for wrongful death and who collects it?
These questions are all good ones to pose to an attorney who focuses on wrongful death and personal injury, like those at Barber & Associates. Here are some facts about wrongful death cases that will help you understand this sometimes confusing area of the law.
What is Wrongful Death?
You may have heard the term “wrongful death” from a variety of places, from the news to crime shows. Over our decades-long career, we’ve handled numerous wrongful death lawsuits. But for the everyday citizen, it may not be clear what a wrongful death lawsuit involves.
Discover How You Can Get the Justice You Deserve Through a Wrongful Death Claim
Statistics tell us that roughly 29 percent of all traffic fatalities each year involve an alcohol-impaired driver. Running the numbers even further, that’s one death directly related to drunk driving every 48 minutes.
What happens to the family members who are left devastated in the aftermath?
This Jury Sidestepped a State’s Cap on Wrongful Death to Award Family $27 Million
An incredibly dangerous and bewildering game of cat-and-mouse between drivers of two trucking companies resulted in a $27 million wrongful death decision for the family of an Oregon woman caught in the wrong place at the wrong
In this issue, the Alaska personal injury lawyers with Barber & Associates will talk about the specifics of the incident – including how the jury was able to sidestep Oregon’s cap of $500,000 on wrongful death decisions.
Suppression of Evidence Leads to $20 Million Settlement in Drunk Driving/Wrongful Death Case
A disturbing case in Chicago involving the suppression of records about a man who caused a drunk driving accident that killed two young men has resulted in a $20 million settlement from the City of Chicago to the family of the victims.
In this issue, we’ll talk more about the case and the specifics of why you need a skilled and dogged Alaska personal injury lawyer on your side to obtain justice on your behalf.
Faulty Design of Toyota 4Runner Leads to $12 Million Wrongful Death Verdict
If you own a Toyota 4Runner, you’ll definitely want to pay attention to this story. The family of a high school senior killed because of a fractured axle in her 4Runner has received a $12 million decision by a jury. During the trial, documentation revealed that there is a record of such incidents with 4Runners. … Read more