Fatal Car Crashes and Wrongful Death
Losing someone you love is devastating is so many ways. Simply dealing with the heartache of your loss can be overwhelming. Now imagine you lost your loved one suddenly due to the negligence of someone else. The pain can be unbearable. What’s also unfortunate is that some families are financially devasted when a loss like this occurs. When someone’s death is the result of another person’s negligence the claim is called a “wrongful death”.
• Iowa Department of Transportation: 330
• Illinois Department of Transportation: 1090
Over 40,000 people died in fatal car accidents in 2017, the most recent numbers available from the National Safety Council (NSC). While that number declined slightly from the previous year, it does not mean progress. The NSC states this is “a leveling off of the steepest two-year increase in more than 50 years.”
“The price we are paying for mobility is 40,000 lives each year,” said NSC President and CEO Deborah A.P. Hersman. ” While not all those deaths occurred due to the negligence of others, think of the number of lives that are affected by one wrongful death alone.
When a family suffers from a wrongful death the law provides for financial compensation for those who have been left behind. Laws differ from state to state. But a wrongful death claim often provides compensation for things such as:
- • Mental anguish, emotional distress, grief, and sorrow
- • Loss of companionship
- • Funeral, burial, or cremation expenses
- • Final medical expenses
- • Loss of your loved one’s future income
- • Loss of your loved one’s service to your family such as child care or home maintenance
Deaths that are caused by the negligence of another person can occur in many ways. Often a motor vehicle is involved, and the deceased person may be a passenger, pedestrian, bicyclist, or the driver in another vehicle.
Wrongful deaths can also be the result of poor medical care, dangerous or defective products, construction accidents, and many other situations. To recover for the death of another you must be in a close emotional and/or family relationship with the deceased. The death must have been caused by the negligent or intentional action of another person or entity. (Sometimes the responsible party is “strictly liable” for causing the death even if there has been no negligence) Sometimes these issues can be difficult to figure out; particularly during the grieving stages after such a loss.
VanDerGinst Law has advocated for the families of wrongful death victims for over 30 years. If your loved one died as a result of the negligence of someone else, we would be honored to help. The consultation is free and there is never a fee unless we win, contact VanDerGinst Law, P.C. at 800-960-8529. The law is tough and being injured is tougher. We’ll make it easier for you.