Wrongful Death Lawyers in New York

Wrongful Death Claims are claims for the most severe personal injuries that a person can suffer from another person’s negligence or deliberate wrongdoing – death. Although the person who suffered this injury cannot file a wrongful death lawsuit, the wrongful death personal injury laws are in place to allow surviving family members to file the lawsuit on their behalf. Most wrongful death personal lawsuits come after criminal trials and use similar evidence presented in the criminal case but with a lower standard of proof. In short, it is common to see different outcomes in the civil case and the criminal case because of how the evidence is treated.  

What Can Cause Wrongful Death?  

Generally speaking, a wrongful death claim can be filed due to various contributing circumstances, which may be related to any of the following incidents:  

• Car accidents, and other motor vehicle accidents
• Occupational exposure to hazardous conditions and/or substances
• Criminal behavior
• Death during a supervised activity
• Medical malpractice

How to Prove Wrongful Death  

Proving a wrongful death cause of action is a very complicated lawsuit and must be thoroughly analyzed by a personal injury attorney, but generally, a lawsuit can be brought if the following elements have occurred:  

• A human being died
• Another’s negligence, or intent to cause harm, caused that death
• The surviving family members left behind are facing monetary injury due to that death
• A personal representative has been appointed for the decedent’s estate

Determining Damages  

Once the above elements have been proven to be present, a trial court will typically measure damages based on pecuniary or financial injury. According to Courts, “pecuniary injuries” include loss of support, loss of services, loss of prospect of inheritance, and medical and funeral expenses.  

Determining pecuniary loss takes into consideration everything about the decedent/deceased, including age, character,  condition, earning capacity, life expectancy, health, intelligence, and circumstances of the distributees. Although these measures are considered in the investigation, the deceased dependents’ circumstances are usually the main consideration taken by the trial court. The jury then determines the damage award size once the jury has had a chance to hear the above evidence. This award is subject to change and can be altered if the trial court has a good reason for doing so.   

In addition to pecuniary loss, punitive damages may be awarded in cases where the wrongdoer was particularly malicious. By awarding punitive damages, the court aims to deter others from similar behavior. Although the recovery of punitive damages exists in some states, plaintiffs may not recover punitive damages in a wrongful death action in most states.   

Lawsuits for Relatives of those Affected by Wrongful Death Personal Injury Claims  

Many times, wrongful death claims allow relatives of those affected by these personal injury lawsuits to bring claims if they are distributees. A careful legal analysis is necessary in order to ascertain whether a relative has the potential to recover damages for personal injury to the deceased individual or decedent. Because these personal injury actions survive the person who passed away, they are called “survival actions.”   

A court will determine damages for a survival action based on the following inquiries:  

• Degree of consciousness
• The severity of pain
• Apprehension of impending death, in addition to the duration of such suffering

If someone you love has suffered a wrongful death from from another person’s negligence or deliberate wrongdoing, contact the wrongful death attorneys at IX Legal Today Personal Injury and get a free consultation.