3 Elements Of Successful Wrongful Death Lawsuits

When a loved one dies, survivors are often left with a mountain of added responsibilities they must manage, in addition to their grief. How will you support your family? Pay for a funeral? Pay off lingering debt? Help others grieve? Switch accounts to your name? Finishing paying a mortgage? Honor his or her legacy?

The added weight of these questions alone can be overwhelming. Could a wrongful death lawsuit help ease your financial burden and, thus, some of the stress stemming from your loved one’s passing? Perhaps.

We here at McCormick & Murphy personal injury law firm in Colorado review the three elements of successful wrongful death lawsuits to help you judge the viability of your case.

1. A death caused by another, at least in part.
   Your loved one’s death must have been caused, at least partially, by another’s careless actions, or the actions of another that were intended to cause harm. Common defendants include the driver at fault in a fatal car crash, the person who served alcohol to the drunk driver involved in a fatal car crash, the manufacturer of a product that caused death, the hospital where your loved one died due to negligence, or the person accused of murdering your loved one.
2. A failure on the defendant’s part.
   Your lawyer will need to make a case that the person responsible for your loved one’s death had a duty to your loved one and failed to perform that duty. Perhaps the person at fault is a doctor who dismissed your wife’s complaints of chest pain before her fatal heart attack. Or maybe the motorist who killed your son failed to keep his attention on the road and obey traffic laws, resulting in the deadly crash.
3. A family member(s) who is suffering financially because of this death.
   Perhaps your spouse, the family’s breadwinner, died, leaving you with bills you can’t pay. Maybe you’re disabled and your adult daughter, who took care of you and paid your mortgage, passed away, leaving you living in a house tin foreclosure. Or maybe you’re financially independent, but your daughter’s burial costs have left you in the red.

While successful wrongful death lawsuits contain these three elements, there are many additional intricacies involved. If you think you might have a case, the best thing you can do is contact a reputable personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.

You’re going to want to do this as soon as possible.

Retaining a lawyer quickly will ensure that the maximum amount of evidence is retained and no missteps are made in the handling of your case.

The good news: You have nothing to lose. In addition to offering completely free consultations, reputable personal injury attorneys only get paid if you do.

If your loved one tragically passed away due to an incident that could have been prevented, give us a call at 1-719-249-0541 or fill out this form for a free case review. Our veteran wrongful death attorneys, Kirk McCormick and James Murphy, have more than a half century of legal experience and have recovered millions for our clients over the past two decades.