What is Wrongful Death Litigation?

A wrongful death lawsuit is an action brought by the next of kin or family members of a deceased victim in a personal injury case. For instance, the spouse of a driver killed in a drunk-driving accident may bring action against the driver who caused the accident in court and claim punitive and compensatory damages.

Multiple people may pursue wrongful death lawsuits simultaneously, and these lawsuits need not be brought concordantly. Given the haphazard evolution of wrongful death statutes, every state in the union has a different set of statutes regarding the administration of the litigation.

Check with your personal injury about whether the statute of limitations has run out on your wrongful death claim. Even if it has been years since the death and no one has filed suit yet, you may be able to bring action even if the date for the statute of limitations has come and gone.

For instance, if you discover -- years after your husband's death -- that the oncologist who was treating your husband made a grievous error in the diagnosis you may be able to sue the oncologist, the oncologist's insurance company, and/or the hospital for negligence and wrongful death based on the time of discovery of the error as the “starting point” of the statute of limitations' time frame.

It's possible for a plaintiff to die while pursuing legal action against a defendant who caused the accident that led to the death. In this case, surviving family members of the plaintiff may take over and consolidate that lawsuit with their wrongful death claim against the defendant. Your personal injury attorney can tell you more about how this works.

Surviving children of the deceased may file for redress but may need to work with an adult known as a Guardian Ad Litem to pursue claims at trial. Not all members of a family must use the same personal injury attorney to advocate for a wrongful death suit. However, it is simpler and more economical for families to pool their resources with a single personal injury attorney team.