Proving wrongful death can be a challenging and painful undertaking. You’ll have to prove the person responsible for your family member’s passing owed them a duty of care but failed to act appropriately. You must also show the defendant’s negligence directly led to your loved one’s death.
It can be extremely difficult to come to terms with the loss of a loved one, especially if their sudden death could have been prevented. What’s also difficult is the enormous financial strain the loss of a spouse or parent puts on surviving family members. Wrongful death often prompts families to seek justice in the form of monetary compensation. While no amount of compensation can make up for the untimely loss of your beloved spouse, parent or child, a wrongful death recovery can ease the financial burden of going through life without them.
What Is Considered Wrongful Death?
If you’re thinking about filing a wrongful death claim but you’re unsure if your loved one’s passing can be attributed to wrongful death, consider speaking with a Georgia persona injury lawyer. A skilled and compassionate personal injury attorney can offer legal advice on how you should procced with your claim.
The following situations can be grounds for filing a wrongful death claim in Georgia:
• Workplace accidents: An unsafe workplace leads to a fatal accident
• Medical malpractice: A healthcare provider’s negligence results in their patient’s untimely death
• Motor vehicle accidents: A careless driver causes a deadly accident
• Premises liability: A property owner failed to take care of their property, resulting in a slip,
trip or fall that caused fatal injuries
• Defective products: A manufacturer releases an unsafe product which leads to a fatal accident
How to Prove Wrongful Death
To be awarded compensation in a wrongful death claim, you must prove all four elements of negligence. Without proving these crucial components, your wrongful death claim will be difficult or impossible to win.
Duty of Care
The defendant owed your deceased relative a duty of care. For example, a driver is obligated to drive safely and adhere to traffic laws to prevent accidents and injuries.
Breach of Duty
The defendant violated their duty. For instance, they drove intoxicated and caused an accident that resulted in your loved one’s fatal injury.
Causation
Here, you must establish the defendant’s actions led directly to your loved one’s death. If it wasn’t for the defendant’s drunk driving, the decedent would not have lost their life.
Damages
The last step requires you to clearly show the damages and losses you incurred due to your family member’s death. You’ll need to prove things like financial difficulties stemming from loss of income and various unforeseen and life-altering expenses. It’s also necessary to show what your loved one’s loss means to you from an emotional standpoint.
Wrongful Death Damages
Generally, there are two types of damages available in Georgia: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include things like loss of the decedent’s income, funeral expenses and health care costs related to any medical treatment your loved one received prior to passing. Non-economic damages are meant to compensate surviving families for their mental pain and suffering, as well as loss of companionship resulting from their
family member’s wrongful death.
Evidence Is Key
Since your case will be subject to careful examination, you will need to back up your claims with concrete evidence. Examples of evidence used in a wrongful death claim include police reports, witness testimony, medical records, pictures showcasing injuries and vehicle damage, workplace accident reports, and funeral service bills.
Gathering evidence can be a time-sensitive matter. It’s not uncommon for witness memories to fade and documents to be lost or misplaced if you wait too long to act. Reaching
out to a personal injury attorney as soon as you are able increases your chances of gathering compelling evidence and being successful in negotiations or winning your case.
Are You Looking for a Wrongful Death Lawyer? Get Legal Help from the Law Office of Johnny Phillips
Are you trying to recover damages for the wrongful death of your loved one? If you live in Atlanta, Newnan or Lilburn and need to file a wrongful death claim, our team of skilled and compassionate lawyers can help.
To schedule your free legal consultation, call 833-564-6693 .