Who can Sue in a Wrongful Death Case?
The death of your loved one is a hard thing to recover from. It will take you some time to deal with the loss, and you know that there is no way you can get them back. However, you can get justice on their behalf if their death was caused by the negligence, incompetence, or maliciousness of another party. You can do so by hiring a personal injury attorney Champaign IL and filing a wrongful death suit.
According to Illinois state law, if you are the deceased victim’s next of kin you can file a lawsuit. Being the surviving spouse or children of the departed puts you in this category. Other relatives can also bring such a suit. If you are the parents or siblings of the person who died, you may have the right to sue the person or entity whose actions caused the death of your loved one. In some instances, persons who lived with the deceased victim, had children with them, and were financially dependent on them may also be granted standing to sue. If you had that kind of relationship, then you should speak to a personal injury lawyer Champaign IL to figure out your rights.
A wrongful death suit can be filed for nearly any kind of event, incident, or accident that involves another party’s culpability for the death of a loved one. Here are some of the most common things to form the basis of such a suit:
– Vehicle collision
– Premises liability accident
– Product defect accident
– Medical malpractice
– Workplace accident
– Murder or manslaughter
The last of these can be pursued after the responsible party has been tried in a criminal court. Even if they are acquitted for murder, the evidence collected for the trial can be re-used in a civil action. The latter has a lower bar of proof: it is preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond reasonable doubt.
You can claim the following damages in your suit:
– Funeral and burial expenses
– Loss of financial support
– Emotional distress and suffering
If you are thinking of filing a wrongful death suit, you should speak to a Champaign IL personal injury lawyer at Woodruff Johnson & Evans.