When it comes to wrongful death cases, there are specific ones that a wrongful death attorney will pick out in a heartbeat. All of those cases revolve around one word, negligence. There are many types of cases, but when negligence can be proven in the court of law, there is a lawsuit worth hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Good Lawyers will always take the cases they know they can win. These are the four types of common causes that will spark the interest in wrongful death attorneys.
Negligence in Vehicle Crashes
Statistic-wise, there are over 40,000 people who get killed in car crashes each year in the U.S. There are many causes that create the scene of a vehicle accident. When negligence is involved, it could be from one driver or the other. Road conditions or other hazardous conditions caused by road work crews can also be a factor. However, when it comes to those behind the wheel, we find the two most common in today’s society are DUI’s or texting while driving. Sometimes there are no signs of negligence involved. They are just freak accidents that could not be avoided.
Some of the other reasons drivers may cause accidents through negligence are speeding, careless operation, road rage, phone calls, distractions such as the radio, eating, or other things to take their mind off the road.
Sometimes, the lawyers can even go after the city’s or states when roads cause accidents. For example, some road conditions will break a vehicle, such as deep holes, uneven roads, and other factors that can cause a vehicle to crash by hitting another vehicle or going off the road. This would be considered negligence on the city or the road crew’s part.
Negligence Through Fall-Related Accidents
There could be anything that can make a person fall to their death. Most places are business locations where lawyers will first go after the insurance companies to landslide the payments for a settlement. Then, if it does not work, they will pursue the courts and go from there. Afterward, the businesses that are not protected will be forced to make the remaining balance correct, even to the point of closing their doors. As a result, every year there are more than 36,000 people get killed in fall-related accidents due to negligence. Some of the ways people can fall are due to slips on floors or the concrete outdoors. If a person slips and lands on the back of their head, they can die from internal bleeding in the brain through a fractured skull or a broken neck. Steps are prevalent places people will fall and can get killed. Perhaps there is a loose board or something in the way that causes a person to fall. Perhaps there is a wet floor without the warning signs. All of these will cause the businesses to fall liable for the accident.
Negligence Through Unintentional Poisoning
There are two different kinds of poisoning. One is intentional, which would fall under homicide or criminal cases. The other is through negligence which would be unintentional. It is an accident, but if someone were to die of food poisoning from a restaurant, lead poisoning from work or some other location, or blood poisoning through staph infection or other objects puncturing the skin, it falls under negligence. The lawyer’s team will investigate what the cause was of death. When autopsies show poisoned, red flags will pop up, and the team will investigate further.
Food poisoning can get tracked throughout the day as to what was eaten that caused the food poisoning. If it were a restaurant, the lawyers would go after the restaurant. They will use the autopsy report to prove the accusations. Sometimes there may be witnesses to testify to the person eating at the restaurant.
Lead poisoning is a serious case. Places with lead will get shut down immediately. The EPA is stringent on places where lead is located. It can kill a person in little to no time once it gets in the bloodstream. The same is for blood poisoning. Say a construction worker steps on a rusty nail, and they die of blood poisoning. The construction company would be responsible for the death of that employee. There are over 64,000 people who die every year due to poisoning.
Fatal Work-Related Injuries That Cause Death
Statistics show almost 5,000 people die from fatal work-related injuries. These injuries are endless to list as anything can happen in the workforce. Most of the injuries can get pinpointed to the type of work that is done. For example, a carpenter or construction worker may cut themselves and bleed to death or get blood poisoning. An offshore worker may get burned in a fire, or the rig may explode. There are so many things that can happen anywhere. The first question the lawyer’s team will ask is, was the accident reported? That is one of the major questions that can make or break the case in a work-related injury death. If the worker did not report it, then there may not be a case. Workers Comp is always involved with work-related injuries or death.
Another major issue looked into is, were there any safety rules broken? If the answer is yes, then a case can be open and closed with a large amount of money awarded to the client in little to no time. Safety rules are the number one priority in all companies.
What Can Be Compensated?
Once a case is determined to be in the attorney and client’s best interest, a list is made to see what price compensates for the losses. The list is as follows:
- Loss in wages or benefits, if any, may have been earned with the person still living.
- Compensation for all medical expenses due to the injury that caused the death of the individual
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Any amount of pain and suffering the person had to go through before death.
- Loss of companionship, benefits, care, and other things the deceased party would have offered
- The lawyer will also look at lost wages for the immediate family, spouse, kids, etc…
Summarizing the Lawyer’s Position
Once everything is figured out on the cost, the lawyer will move forward to pursue the case. Most cases that are proven “beyond a shadow of a doubt” never see the courtroom. The case usually gets resolved outside of court if the defendant knows they are at fault.
