Accidents caused by someone else’s negligence can cause serious injuries to victims. Sometimes those injuries are severe and can cause fatalities. When your loved one passes away from someone else’s negligence, you likely will want to seek justice and compensation so that you can recover emotionally and financially.
But one of the most essential parts of your wrongful death claim and getting compensation is proving that there was negligence present and that caused the wrongful death to occur. Let’s take a look at what a wrongful death lawyer will do to help you with your claim and prove that a wrongful death occurred.
Proving Wrongful Death Elements
Proving negligence is the most vital step in proving that a wrongful death occurred. Without proving that the other party was negligent, the death wouldn’t be considered wrongful, and you might not be able to recover damages from the party who was responsible. However, when you prove that the other party was negligent and that they directly caused your loved one’s untimely death, then you can recover financially what you’re owed for their passing.
Here are the elements of negligence that you’ll need to prove a wrongful death:
- A duty of care existed between the victim and the other party.
- The other party breached that duty of care through negligence.
- That breach directly resulted in the victim’s injuries and subsequent death.
- Those injuries and death resulted in damages suffered by the victim and their family.
Your lawyer will work hard to prove that the other party was responsible for what happened to your loved one by proving that there was negligence in their actions. When they work to prove all of the elements listed above, your family is one step closer to getting justice for your loved one’s wrongful death.
In order to prove those elements, your attorney will need to compile evidence from your loved one’s accident and passing.
Evidence That Supports Those Elements
The main way that a wrongful death lawyer will be able to prove those elements that are listed above is through compiling and presenting evidence from the accident. That evidence could vary depending on what type of accident your loved one was killed in.
For example, there is some specific evidence that would be present if they were in a large truck accident compared to the evidence that would be present if their death was caused by medical malpractice. There are many other types of accidents that could lead to the untimely death of your loved one, and your attorney will look into each situation and collect the relevant evidence that is presented by each unique scenario.
Here are some of the different forms of evidence that your wrongful death lawyer will use to prove the other party was negligent:
- Medical bills and records for injuries preceding death
- Police reports
- Photographs of the scene
- Video of the scene
- Witness statements
- Truck driver’s logs
- Black box data
- Testimony from experts
- Accident reconstruction
When you meet with a wrongful death attorney to represent you in getting justice for your loved one, you’ll want to bring all of the evidence you have so that they can get a jump start on proving the other party was responsible for what happened. Any documentation you have that’s listed above, or any other information you think could be relevant, should be brought with you to show to your lawyer.
From there, they’ll be able to get started on your claim and work towards getting justice for your family member’s untimely death.
McMath Woods P.A. Will Fight for You
Unexpectedly losing a loved one can leave you grief stricken and with piling bills from the loss. If they were the head of the house, then you lost their income as well as a partner in life. If they were in the hospital with injuries leading up to their death, then you could also be struggling to pay those bills as well.
Our legal team is here to help you through this vulnerable time. At McMath Woods P.A., we understand that this is difficult to go through on all fronts. That’s why we’re dedicated to making the claim process as easy as possible for you and your family. Reach out to us today so that we can start working for you as soon as possible.
