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Wrongful deaths happen every day from car accidents, truck accidents, and even off-the-wall construction mishaps. Perhaps the most common, however, is trucking accidents. Typically these crashes happen at high speeds with exceptionally large and heavy vehicles, and many people aren’t lucky enough to walk away. If you’re going to be involved in a wrongful death case, you may have some questions about your role. Should you be the one to file the claim, and what should happen if you want to file, but the rest of the family doesn’t want to?
It’s a huge issue for many families as they may need financial support, but they may also want a greater sense of justice, while other family members may simply want to move on from the incident. If you’re in the middle of a wrongful death case, call a wrongful death attorney in Cincinnati for help.
What is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death includes the death of any person who died at the hands or under the liability of another person. That goes far beyond murder or homicide and often includes unintended accidents, mistakes, and neglectful behavior. If a person drivers in a way that leads to an accident, they didn’t plan on killing someone, but their neglectful or careless behavior certainly lead to it.
Other instances of wrongful death can come from on-the-job accidents that lead to death, assault, and even animal attacks. The purpose of having a wrongful death element within personal injury law is so that the family surviving the victim can take legal action to bring to light or showcase the behavior which led to the death and take action against the person responsible.
Who Can File?
Technically a surviving family member, usually the spouse or surviving child, files on behalf of the deceased. The case isn’t the family against the person who caused the death; it is a lawsuit with a representative for the deceased against the defendant. These cases are usually put forth by a spouse, child, or parent, and outside of that scope, you’ll have a hard time getting a case filed.
Cousins, aunts, friends, and even siblings just aren’t on the roster to file wrongful death claims in most situations. What happens is that a family will work together and handle the claim as a family and then evaluate any compensation for disbursement afterward.
Will You Be Included?
Depending on your connection to the deceased, you may be included. If you’re the spouse and in that instance the closest to the deceased, then you would be the most included in the process. Now, if you’re a distant relative, then no, you would not have much involvement.
Victims of a wrongful death such as children may be able to add particular elements to the claim, such as missing their parents at their wedding or graduation. Additionally, they may be able to claim the loss of a mentor in their life, or the support and security financially that their parent provided.
Typically if you’re not the spouse or the child of the deceased, then you shouldn’t expect much in the way of a wrongful death case.
Who Will Benefit from the Case?
Ultimately the people closest will benefit, often it’s only the spouse, and the children benefit as a natural effect of the spouse benefit. In cases where the spouse was not the children’s shared parent, then they may benefit separately, and that would often be decided by a judge.
For example, a judge may declare that the spouse surviving the victim would receive a certain amount or percentage of the compensation. Then the surviving children would receive a separate amount of divisions of the remaining percentage. Ultimately, a judge will decide who can or cannot benefit as these cases usually don’t go to trial. Instead, they are simply heard by a judge.
Who Should Contact the Wrongful Death Attorney in Ohio?
While anyone can approach a wrongful death attorney, there are many restrictions on who can actually file the lawsuit. As you’re looking at a lawsuit that may involve an insurance company rather than an outright insurance claim, you’re going to need someone who can take the case all the way to court. Some situations nearly demand the court’s involvement, such as seeking punitive damages as part of a case involving a drunk driver.
When you turn to Young, Reverman, and Mazzei in Cincinnati, OH, you can find not only the necessary support but also the information you need to make decisions on the wrongful death case. Contact our personal injury law firm in Ohio to work with compassionate and understanding attorneys in your area.
