One of the most difficult cases to deal with are the ones that surround wrongful death. It is well known that if someone’s negligence or carelessness causes premature fatality a wrongful death action lawsuit may be impending. If you have lost a loved one and their succumbence can be attributed to negligence, you and your loved ones could be entitled to a wrongful death claim. Contact a Columbus, Ohio wrongful death attorney at HeIt Law to receive counsel and representation during this difficult time.
Exhausting Your Options
Clearly, this is the most troublesome scenario when it comes to any legal situation. Often times, it is difficult to establish the careless acts of another caused deathly harm. Also, it proves difficult to entirely gain complete evidence surrounding the case. Reason being, the grieving family of the victim is forced to relive the series of events and may have difficulty recalling every particular detail which proves pertinent to these types of cases.
It is crucial to differentiate between the range of possible capabilities and outcomes that may come about throughout a wrongful death process. Here are some important things to consider in regards to this tragic situation:
Crucial Considerations to take into Account
- The decedent’s medical expenses and funeral costs can be recouped. Even though the decedent is no longer alive, a wrongful death lawsuit can be initiated on their behalf to recover damages for those expenses they sustained. For instance, if the decedent was transported by EMS personnel and admitted to a hospital for several days before they perished, these expenses can be pursued through a wrongful death lawsuit. Additionally, the cost for providing a funeral and burial, cremation, or otherwise caretaking for the decedent’s body can be included in wrongful death proceedings.
- Heirs should check the wrongful death statute in the decedent’s jurisdiction to determine the consanguinity of relatives allowed to take part in a wrongful death suit.
- Nearly any adult over the age of 18 can bring a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a decedent, although the decedent’s family and/or close friends are usually the ones who file a wrongful death lawsuit. In filing such a suit and seeking damages on behalf of the deceased, the person who files the suit is acting on behalf of the decedent.
- Only certain close family members can pursue damages for their own injuries like loss of the decedent’s companionship and the family member’s own pain and suffering. The limitations on who can constitute an action seeking compensation for their own losses after a wrongful death are set out in statute. Certain noneconomic damages are impacted depending on if a child is over or under the age of 25. For example, a child who is over 25 years old cannot recover any damages for lost parental companionship if his or her parent dies as a result of someone else’s negligence. Parents of a child over the age of 25 can recover damages for their own pain and suffering but only if no one else survives the child but the parents.
It is important to note that during a wrongful death case that findings must be compounded. Meaning, in order to allege negligence as a result of causation, there must be additional causes of action involved. The two must be compounded together in order to prove wrongdoing and is mandatory for jurisdiction for causation purposes. In cases where a fatality is involved, the types of viable claims that may be pursued are varied and complicated. The heirs to a decedent’s estate may have questions about potential recovery from a negligent act, and while the nomenclature may be difficult to understand, the concepts between the two actions are not.
Our reputable Columbus wrongful death attorneys at Heit Law, LLC, serve clients throughout Columbus and Ohio. There are many different choices of wrongful death lawyers Westerville, Ohio, but few will give your case the personal, in-depth attention it requires. Please call me, the wrongful death attorney in Westerville, Ohio, who will give your case the caring, professional, and expert attention.