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Family Members Taking Legal Action for Wrongful Death
Wrongful death can feel like someone’s life was cheated from them. There are more cases of wrongful death in the U.S. than we realize. The victims leave behind family and loved ones who are forced to take over their responsibilities going forward. However, many people do not know if they can even take legal action depending on their relationship with the murder victim. Fortunately, we have some legal information on this subject that can help you take immediate action if your loved ones have been taken away from you in a wrongful death case.
Understanding Wrongful Death
First, we must fully understand what a wrongful death is before we begin explaining anything else. A wrongful death occurs whenever someone dies due to someone else’s or a group’s negligence for their safety. More often than not, wrongful death cases happen in the workforce. Construction workers, electricians, and other manual labor personnel have their lives taken away from them each year whenever a co-worker or a company doesn’t put in the effort to ensure someone else’s safety. While companies and other individuals may deny intent to kill the individual, their actions speak otherwise due to their negligence. This is where you have a solid case against that individual and they can be taken to court where they may be fined or more.
Who Can Sue on Behalf of the Victim?
While friends and family will want to take action to sue the individual who caused the wrongful death, they must first understand who is actually legally able to sue. Fortunately, we have a list of individuals who are close to the victim who can sue for damages:
- The victim’s spouse
- Any surviving children
- Anyone who would inherit property after the victim has passed away
- Grandchildren
- Stepchildren who have been brought into the family by marriage
These individuals will be able to take action and file a suit against the person or group who is responsible for the wrongful death of your loved one.
Where Compensation Can Go to
Suing for wrongful death is more than just looking for compensation for the death of a loved one. Expenses will be redirected to a variety of areas that can cover expenses for the family such as:
- Covering funeral expenses for the victim
- Taking care of existing debts or bills that have been left behind by the victim
- Ensuring that their estate or property is taken care of after they have been left behind
Knowing this beforehand will help the family budget any compensation that they may receive from this case. However, there is more to know about compensation in a wrongful death case before proceeding without doing research.
Suing for Wrongful Death is Still a Gamble
The problem with suing for wrongful death is that you may not walk away with any compensation whatsoever if the individual who is responsible for the wrongful death has no assets. Though you may win the case, the individual responsible may not be able to give anything to the victim’s family to compensate for the wrongful death. What can happen is that their assets may be frozen, any and all income they have in their name, and coming to them will be frozen and transferred to the family, and their bank accounts will be frozen. The asking price for compensation may be too much for an individual, but if an organization or company is at the cause of the wrongful death, your chances of receiving compensation may increase due to the fact that they simply have more assets.
Statute of Limitations
While most cases may vary in different states, the average consensus of the statute of limitations is two years after the wrongful death claim is filed. This means that you need to take legal action sooner than later if your loved one was taken away from your due to wrongful death. Fortunately, there are plenty of legal resources available to help you fight back and seek justice for their death.
Seeking Legal Help
Finding the best legal team or representatives to help you whenever your family member has been murdered due to wrongful death is the best way you can seek justice against those who negligibly committed the act. We want you to use this information to your advantage to find the best resources possible in order to fight back and receive the compensation that you need in order to take care of afterlife expenses left behind by your loved one.
