Who can bring a wrongful death lawsuit?
Your family may be eligible for financial compensation if your loved one is wrongfully killed. Vaval Law in Miami can represent you or a friend who lost a loved one due to an accident. They will fight for your rights and get the best possible results.
A wrongful death lawsuit seeks to shift the financial responsibility for someone’s death from their surviving family members to the person or organization responsible. It is unjust for grieving relatives to be financially burdened when they are not to blame. The Florida Wrongful Death Act permits the personal representative of an estate to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for:
- The spouse of the victim
- Minor children of the victim
- Dependent adult children of the victim
- Parents of the victim
According to law, the following groups are financially most affected by the death of a loved one. Children and spouses have strong emotional bonds with their parents and can rely on them for guidance and support. The law will compensate for these relationships. Florida law does not allow for filing wrongful death suits against distant relatives such as siblings and cousins.
Other beneficiaries may bring a suit if the personal representative fails to file a wrongful-death lawsuit within six months of the beneficiary’s death.
You may be entitled to damages for funeral and burial expenses, future income loss, pain and suffering, loss of consortium (loss of a loved one’s companionship or care), and punitive damages intended to punish the defendant.
No amount of money can ever replace or bring your loved one back. It may bring closure for your family to know that justice was served against the people responsible for your loved ones’ wrongful death. This will also give you peace of mind knowing that your family will be cared for well into the future.
What do you need to prove?
A “derivative” wrongful death claim can be described as putting you in the deceased’s shoes and bringing any lawsuits they would have got if they had lived. If your loved one died from a defective product, they could have brought a product liability suit if they had lived. If the victim was killed due to negligence, they might have been able to get a negligence suit if they had lived.
You will be the one bringing the wrongful death suit. You might have to prove that a defective product made it dangerous. This defect could be a manufacturing defect or a design defect. You might also show that the manufacturer failed to provide sufficient safety instructions and warnings. After proving that the product was defective and caused the death of your loved one, the manufacturer will be held strictly responsible for any injuries.
Many wrongful death suits are also brought on the grounds of “negligence,” which refers to carelessness. Many people are responsible for keeping construction sites safe. You can file a wrongful death case based upon negligence if they fail to exercise reasonable care and your loved one dies. These are the elements you will need to prove:
- Duty: Your loved one is owed a commitment by the defendant to exercise reasonable care.
- Breach: The defendant failed to exercise proper care (a violation).
- Damages: Your loved ones died.
- Causation: The death was caused by the defendant breaching reasonable care.
The job site owner may not have told the contractor or construction crew that the soil is constantly shifting. You might be able to sue the premises owner if the ground shifts and causes the death of your loved one.
Family members who are grieving do not have to decide whom to sue. Your loved one died unexpectedly. You were not at the accident scene and therefore had no information about the circumstances. Your family’s emotional and physical well-being should be your primary focus in the wake of your loved one’s passing. Vaval Law can help you find the responsible party by visiting the job site and interviewing witnesses.
Preservation of Evidence
If you have suffered the loss of a loved one due to a construction accident, you must contact an attorney immediately. Because construction sites are constantly in flux, they must be inspected, photographed, and documented in the same state as when they happened. The property owners might try to cover up or hide the dangers that led to the accident, or they may decide to eliminate it from the original construction plans. It would help if you had an attorney who could work quickly and efficiently to ensure you have the most robust case possible so you can fully recover.
A skilled personal injury lawyer is capable of building a solid wrongful-death lawsuit. If you are suing a manufacturer of a dangerous product for making it defective, an expert witness will be needed to identify the defect. You may also need an expert witness to prove that the job site was unsafe due to negligence.
It takes time to find the proper expert witnesses. This is something you cannot do by yourself. Expert witnesses must have the necessary knowledge and experience and be able to explain complex issues to laypeople. Our injury lawyers at Vaval Law have years of experience building cases using expert witnesses.
Don’t Delay Talking To A Wrongful Death Lawyer.
Families in grief need to be compensated to cover their expenses and get back on track. It can be challenging to communicate with others or leave your home when you are grieving the loss of a loved one. You still have to meet with a Miami lawyer for wrongful death. Florida law doesn’t allow you to sue unlimitedly. You have only two years to file a wrongful-death lawsuit in the proper court after the end of your loved one.
You could lose your lawsuit if you delay too long. This will result in no compensation for you or your family members, even if the other party was at fault. Contact an experienced wrongful death lawyer by phone or email to protect your rights.
