Losing a loved one because of the fault or negligence of another person or party can be devastating. Their unexpected death can be emotionally and legally challenging to their loved ones, especially when they are filing probate for the deceased as it can be quite complicated at times. While the emotional and financial burden can seem insurmountable at this time, remember that you still have legal recourses available to you. You might be able to bring a wrongful death claim against the one who caused your loved one’s death too, and receive monetary compensation to pay for their medical and funeral expenses.

What Is a Wrongful Death?

Spaulding Injury Law explains that a wrongful death claim refers to an individual’s demand for compensation on the grounds that he has been the victim of the unlawful act or negligence of another individual. The demand is intended to compensate the survivors for emotional damages they’ve suffered due to that deceased’s death.

Wrongful death can also include death as a result of medical malpractice. This type of death is often brought about by an individual’s inability to receive the necessary medical care.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?

 The surviving family members of a dead person would qualify to bring a wrongful life death suit against someone else. Here’s a list of the people who can file a wrongful death claim:

• The spouse or children of the deceased
• The parents of the deceased, if the latter is minor or unmarried
• Siblings and other blood or adoptive relatives, who are dependent on the deceased for support
• The person who paid for the deceased’s medical, funeral, and burial expenses
• The executor or personal representative of the deceased’s estate

You can also check out this video for more information:

 Hiring an Expert Wrongful Death Attorney

A wrongful life death lawsuit is filed to get the right compensation for the loss of life. Most of these wrongful life death cases take many years to win. To ensure better outcomes for your case, contact an experienced personal injury attorney who has handled plenty of wrongful life death cases in the past. The lawyer can help you determine if you have a case and will know the steps to take to file your lawsuit. In addition, your attorney will be able to provide you with legal services to help you get the results you want.

Here’s how a lawyer can help in a wrongful death case:

• A good attorney can help you make sure that you receive the compensation you deserve for the pain and suffering you endured from the loss of your loved one.
• The right lawyer can give you information about the different procedures involved in filing and trying the lawsuit.
• The lawyer can provide advice about the statute of limitations or the time limit to file a wrongful life claim in the state you’re in.
• The amount of time it will take you to get your claim filed and the amount of money you’ll be awarded varies from state to state. However, if you don’t have a lot of money to spend, most wrongful death attorneys work on a contingency basis. They can represent your case and get you the settlement or judgment award you deserve.

How to Win a Wrongful Death Case?

In order to win a wrongful death case, you’ll need to prove another person’s misconduct, recklessness, or negligence caused the death of your loved one. This person needs to be at least partially or fully responsible. The burden of proving this rests on you, which is why the evidence that you’ll present in this case is very important. One of the first things that an attorney will need to do is gather as much documentation relating to death. These documents may include death records and funeral records.

Remember, it can take a while for a wrongful death lawsuit to go through court. This is because, in many cases, it may take a lot of investigation and evidence-gathering to get a wrongful death case going.

CCTV Camera Footage as Evidence

With the advent of modern technology, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras or surveillance videos can be used as evidence in any legal case. When a person is accused of another’s wrongful death, it is always important to have good CCTV footage from the scene.

When you gather CCTV evidence for wrongful death cases, you’re collecting the most reliable and most consistent evidence. This evidence cannot be found in public videos, and it cannot be duplicated. But there are crucial factors to consider before using CCTV cameras for wrongful death.

Check the following considerations when using CCTV camera footage as evidence for wrongful death:

• The first consideration would be that if the body has been identified, you should investigate what legal proceedings have been taken and who the witnesses are.
• If you do not have any identification or proof of the body’s identity, then you may want to find out what legal procedures have been applied in the case, such as filing a request to conduct a DNA test. If you are not sure who to rely on for information, you could use the services of a private investigator.
• If the victim was injured and the cause of the injury was physical, you may want to investigate any personal injuries which occurred at the scene of the incident. You may also want to request any CCTV footage from the scene of the incident. Also, if you have medical bills or if you need a specialist to perform tests on the body at the morgue, then you may need to obtain CCTV footage from the scene.
• If the body is not yet at the morgue, you will need to request the police evidence. They will take a swab of blood from the victim’s mouth or the hands of the victim.
• If you cannot find any CCTV footage from the scene, you may want to conduct further research into the case. For example, if you were at home with the victim when they died, you likely have recorded the events from home.
• If you doubt any piece of CCTV evidence that you have, you can ask for a review of the camera by an expert. However, you must find a reputable company that will give the best possible CCTV camera evidence for a wrongful death case.

Conclusion

A wrongful death claim or a lawsuit is generally filed by close relatives of a deceased person who has suffered death due to the negligent or wrongful act of another person. You may find that filing a wrongful death lawsuit will take some time to process, so it’s always a good idea to seek the advice of an attorney that has experience with these types of cases.