Proving Fault in a Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death lawsuit is, in a lot of ways, similar to a personal injury case. The main difference, though it may seem obvious, is that the person who was affected became deceased rather than simply injured. Like a personal injury case however, the burden of proof falls on the person who files and the nature of that proof needs to be if the defendant was negligent or malicious and that this is what lead to the wrongful death.

The first step in proving fault in a wrongful death claim is to establish that there was an expectation of care on the part of the defendant. This is usually the easy part of the case, as the party in question is usually one that has a standard of care expected of them already. For example, in the wake of a medical malpractice case, the doctor is always expected to care for the other individual.

The second, and harder, step of proving fault is to prove that there was a breach of duty on the part of the defendant. In the above example, it would be to indicate that the doctor was negligent enough to lead to the death of a patient. The failure to meet the aforementioned standard of care is the goal of proving fault in a wrongful death claim.

Finally, it must be proven that the negligence of the other individual is what caused the death of the person on whose behalf the claim is being filed. If this can be established, then the road to victory is clear in a wrongful death lawsuit. The problem is that this as well as negligence are often difficult to prove beyond reasonable doubt.

This is where the role of the attorney comes in. A skilled and experienced attorney will be able to help you not only prove fault in a wrongful death claim, but see through the rest of the case with you so that you can receive the compensation that you deserve. To learn about how we at the Franco Firm can serve you in this capacity and to schedule a free consultation with us, please call (813) 872-0929.