Wrongful death lawsuits are usually filed by spouses or immediate family members. In fact, legal marriage or blood relations are essential criteria for filing wrongful death suits, though they are enumerated in each state statute. For example, some states allow a surviving spouse to file the claim even if the couple was separated by law.

However, such claims are not permitted by law if the surviving spouse failed to provide support or was guilty of desertion. Children can also bring suit in the event of wrongful death of their parents; parents too can file a case if their children died due to someone's recklessness or negligence. Again there are certain exceptions here. Some states only allow minor children to sue for their parents' wrongful death while some states will rule out a parent's recovery demand in the event of the death of an adult child, if the child was married or financially independent. In some states, even same-sex partners can sue for wrongful death of their partners.

Wrongful death statutes are designed to protect the families the victim who suffer a tangible and grievous loss.

What is Wrongful Death?

Losing a partner or a family member is always painful. Things become even worse if your loved one dies due to someone else's negligence or recklessness. It can even create financial havoc on the family/surviving partner if the victim was a breadwinner. Besides, various legal questions may arise due to the wrongful death.

Such claims can arise from car accidents, fatal injuries occurring at work or medical malpractices and so on. But generally, most states in the U.S. have a time limit for filing a suit for wrongful death. For example, in North Carolina you can file a wrongful death suit until 2 years from the date of the victim's death.

"If you have lost a family member or a partner as a result of another person's recklessness or negligence, it is crucial to contact a lawyer before it is too late to recover the damages," says Kimberly R. Wilson, a Raleigh personal injury lawyer.

Time is a crucial factor for filing a wrongful death suit. Your law firm will help you to indentify the background of the case, collect evidence, represent you in the court and help you reach a settlement. The wrongful act includes but is not limited to:

• Criminal attacks
• Car accidents
• Medical malpractices
• Dangerous drugs and defective medical devices
• Work-related injuries
• A reckless act
• An intentional act like a coldblooded/deliberate murder
• A negligent or careless act and other accidents

Damages in Wrongful Death

The affected family members of the deceased person are entitled to recover wrongful death benefits for a variety of damages. These include:

• Death benefit claims from first-party insurance policies. This also includes accident benefits.
• Expenses (medical) incurred for the deceased
• Loss of guidance, care and companionship
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Survivors' suffering or mental anguish
• General and punitive damages
• Loss of inheritance
• Loss of handyman and housekeeping service provided by the dead victim
• Loss of dependency claims. This is applicable when only when the survivors are depended on the deceased's income.

Besides, there have been examples of successful claims for the loss of sexual services.

How a Law Firm Helps You

It is essential to hire a lawyer to secure the wrongful death benefits. Losing a loved one is a grievous loss and filing for compensation/benefits is likely the last thing on your mind. It is, however, important to address the issue at the earliest. Contact your law firm as soon as possible to discuss the reason of the death, gather evidence and determine the amount for compensation.

An efficient law firm will help you receive the maximum possible wrongful death benefits/compensation. It should investigate the incident with the help of qualified experts, gaining a full understanding of the situation and circumstances that lead to the death of the victim. Let's take a detailed look at these.

Determining the Compensation Amount

It is the responsibility of your law firm to determine amount of compensation you're entitled to following the wrongful death of your partner/family member. It is therefore recommended to opt for an experienced law firm that has proper resources to investigate the case.

It is crucial that every aspect of emotional and financial damages caused by the incident is documented properly. This alone has a large impact on your recovery amount. Law firms have financial experts who calculate the enormity of economic losses suffered by the family due to the wrongful death of the victim.

Economic losses usually include loss of financial support, future income and any other financial loss caused by the incident. They may also include the loss of different household services provided by deceased.

Your law firm is also responsible to determine the compensation for the loss of love, companionship and affection, which is rather difficult to calculate without professional help.

Investigating the Claim

The wrongful death lawyers of your law firm will review and investigate your claim to ensure that all your rights are honored.

They will even investigate and verify if any third party is involved or contributed to the accident. In fact, third-party lawsuits are very common in the U.S. For example, if a pizza delivery boy dies due to an accident caused by a careless driver, the victim's family can pursue a wrongful death case against the inattentive driver apart from claiming the workers' compensation death benefits. Law firms help you pursue the case against the negligent/responsible party.

Most law firms provide free consultation and evaluation of wrongful death lawsuits. They also help you deal with insurance companies. And remember that insurance companies have their own financial experts, lawyers and investigators working hard to curtail the compensation amount. It is therefore important to seek professional help to deal with the lawsuit as well as settle an appropriate amount with the insurance company.

In Conclusion

Law firms usually work under a contingency fee agreement for wrongful death cases. Generally, you have to pay a percentage of the money your lawyer helps you recover from the responsible party. This means, no attorney fees are applicable and you don't have to incur any out-of-pocket expenses unless your law firm recovers the compensation amount.