Wrongful death is a death due to a serious injury or accident from the negligent actions of another individual. A claim filed following the person’s death to get compensated for economic, non-economic, and financial losses is known as a wrongful death claim. It’s a civil lawsuit as opposed to a criminal one. These claims commonly include death by vehicle accident, medical malpractice, and workplace accidents. To ensure you know everything about wrongful death claims, here’s the when, who, why, and how of filing a medical malpractice claim.
When Can One File for a Wrongful Death Claim?
Most of the claims must be filed within a certain time limit. The wrongful death claim must be filed within two years from the date of death.
Who Can File for Wrongful Death?
Not all the family members of the deceased are entitled to file the claim. According to the Family Law Act, the following are the members who can sue for wrongful death.
Parents- Spouse
- Children
- Siblings
- Grandchildren
- Grandparents
How to Know If You Have a Wrongful Death Case?
Following are some of the things that you need to look for. If you have all the four elements present, you have a wrongful death case.
- Death of a Person– As the name implies, the case should involve a fatality. If the person hasn’t died but has suffered serious injuries, you can file a personal injury claim instead.
- Negligence– The death of the deceased should be caused due to the negligent actions of another individual or organization.
- Suffering and Damages– The claimant should have suffered monetary damages and other losses such as the loss of guidance, care, and companionship.
- Eligibility– For you to have a case, you need to be eligible to file the claim. As mentioned above, only certain members of the family can sue for a wrongful death claim.
Why Should One File for a Wrongful Death Claim?
A wrongful death claim helps you get compensated for all your damages and financial losses. It helps you to pay medical bills and funeral costs. Following are some of the damages and losses you can claim for:
- Loss of financial support provided by the deceased before the incident
- Loss of income sustained by the other family members due to emotional distress due to the death of the loved one
- Medical expenses for hospitalization before death
- Loss of household services provided by the deceased before death
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of guidance, care, and companionship
All of these are provided taking into account the relationship of the deceased with the claimant. The maximum amount compensated in Ontario for the loss of guidance, care, and companionship is $125,000.
Wrongful Death Can be Intentional or Unintentional
Wrongful deaths can be both intentional and unintentional. An intentional death could be a blow to the head while fighting that causes the death of another person. An unintentional death could be a car accident caused by the driver’s negligent actions, which claims the life of an individual.
Most Common Types of Wrongful Death Claims
Some of the most common types of wrongful death claims are:
- Vehicle Accidents– Wrongful death due to car, motorcycle and truck accidents are the most common type of claims.
- Medical Malpractice–It’s also one of the most common reasons for wrongful death claims. The claim is filed if the deceased’s family members believe that the deceased wasn’t provided with the accepted standard of care.
- Product Liability – Manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers can be liable for wrongful death if the product that they have manufactured, supplied, or sold has defects that result in death.
- Workplace Accidents – Wrongful death claims can be filed against employers if they weren’t able to provide proper training, a safe working environment and protection against dangerous chemicals that resulted in death.
Key Elements of a Wrongful Death Claim
There are four key elements of a wrongful death claim. To make sure your claim is successful, you must have all four of them:
Negligence
The claimant needs to prove that the death of the deceased was caused solely or partially due to the defendant’s negligent actions.
Breach of Duty
The defendant should have a duty towards the deceased, which he must have breached by committing negligence. For example, medical professionals’ duty towards their patients is to provide the required standard of health care and maintain the patient’s health. Every vehicle driver must drive safely and cautiously while following the traffic rules.
Causation
The death of the deceased should be caused due to the defendant’s negligent actions and breach of duty.
Damages
For the claimant to have a strong case, the deceased’s death should have led to some significant damages. The damages compensated in a wrongful death claim are already mentioned above.
All Claims Must be Brought in One Lawsuit
Some of the provinces have a law to bring all the wrongful injury claims in one lawsuit. Make sure about the law in your province before you apply for the claim.
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How to File a Wrongful Death Claim
As mentioned above, the claim needs to be filed within two years from the death. Once you’ve decided to file for a wrongful death claim, hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to discuss your case. If the lawyer thinks that the case has a solid basis and if there’s an insurance company or estate against whom the claim can be filed, you should proceed with your claim. Following is how your case will proceed.
Step 1 – Drafting Pleadings
This is the step where all the damages are considered and put together.
Step 2 – Notices
All the parties involved are served with notices.
Step 3 – Documentary and Oral Discoveries
More research and depositions to gather facts about the case.
Step 4 – Mediation
In some states, mediation between the two parties is necessary before moving towards a trial.
Step 5 – Pre-Trial Conference
If mediation doesn’t work, a pre-trial conference takes place where either the judge tries to convince the parties to settle or creates a trial management plan.
Step 6 – Trial
A trial for the wrongful claim begins either with a judge alone or with a judge and a jury.
Hiring Personal Injury Lawyers
If you’ve recently lost a loved one and you’re planning to hire a personal injury lawyer, contact Nanda and Associate Lawyers Professional Corporation. We have a team of experienced lawyers that handle complicated persona
l injury and wrongful death claim cases.
If you’re looking for any type of legal advice, book a free consultation with us. We have a team of personal injury, civil litigation, family law, real estate, and Canadian immigration lawyers to help you with your legal trouble. To live, work, and study in Canada, visit our website.
