Does A Settlement Need To Be Shared With All Relatives In A Wrongful Death Settlement?
If you suspect that you have lost a loved one due to the negligence or misconduct of another person, you may have grounds for consulting a lawyer and filing a wrongful death lawsuit. If you do have grounds for a legal claim, a family member must serve as a personal representative to pursue the lawsuit. When a lawyer wins damages in a wrongful death lawsuit, financial compensation is awarded to the estate of the decedent and divided according to the terms of the will.
Circumstances Surrounding a Wrongful Death Claim
You can file a wrongful death claim for any form of negligence or misconduct by the defendant. Your lawyer can help you file your lawsuit, but a wrongful death claim should fall under one of these categories:
- Medical malpractice
- Negligence by a company, employer, or supervisor on the job
- Criminal activity
- An auto, plane crash, or public transportation accident
- Death while participating in a supervised activity
- Product liability resulting in death
Once you and you and lawyer have determined the reason for filing a wrongful death lawsuit, your legal team should learn what the statutes are in your state for
wrongful death lawsuits. Generally, you can only file a wrongful death lawsuit if it is based on the death of a person, caused by negligence or intentional wrongdoing, which brought harm to the surviving family members, and is filed by a personal representative of the decedent. If your attorney can prove such a wrongful death claim, the estate will be awarded damages based on variables, which result in appropriate compensation from the claim.