Hiring a wrongful death attorney is a great idea if you lost a loved one in an accident. These attorneys can help you receive the compensation you need to cover your family’s funeral expenses and other costs. They understand that a life is not cheap and no amount of money will make it up. Wrongful death cases are complex and can have a long and complicated process. The first step is to understand what wrongful deaths are and why you might want to file a claim.
In order to be eligible for a wrongful death lawsuit, you must establish that you had a duty of care to the deceased. This duty of care is usually broken through an act that causes harm to the person who was killed. A wrongful death attorney will use this evidence to determine who was liable. This will be necessary for you to get compensation for your loved one’s wrongful death. It is also important to have a good understanding of what damages are awarded, since your wrongful death attorney will need to know the specific details of your case.
A Philadelphia wrongful death lawyer can help you prove that you had a duty of care to the person who caused the death. The duty of care could include any medical error, defective product, or vehicle accident. It can even include a workplace accident. If the death was the result of a faulty product, an experienced wrongful-death lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve. However, a wrongful death claim will be successful only if the defendant acted negligently.
A wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within two years of the death of the person. In some cases, the wrongful death lawsuit can be filed after a criminal trial, but the standard of proof is much lower. For example, in O.J. Simpson’s case, a criminal jury found him not guilty of murder, but a civil jury found him liable for the wrongful deaths of the two victims. While a judicial trial may take many years, a statutory period of two years makes filing a claiming possible.
A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed by the personal representative of the decedent. In such cases, the personal representative must be named in the decedent’s will. If the will did not name a personal representative, the court can appoint someone to act on the estate’s behalf. A wrongful death lawsuit can be more complicated than a simple personal injury case, because it involves appointing a personal representative and the estate of the deceased.
A wrongful death lawsuit must establish a duty of care to the decedent and the breach of this duty. If the decedent died without a will, the personal representative must be named in the will. If no will, the personal representative must be a family member. If there was no will, the family members can apply to the court to be named in the will. Wrongful death claims are more complex than personal injury cases, and a wrongful-death attorney must be retained to handle the case.