Wrongful Death Lawyers and Their Cases

Jul 22
11:04

2012

Aloysius Aucoin

Aloysius Aucoin

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There are a variety of different types of cases that wrongful death lawyers handle. Learn more about what these attorneys do every day.

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Wrongful death lawyers tackle a number of different cases through the course of a career. While many specialize in a particular subset of cases,Wrongful Death Lawyers and Their Cases Articles others may choose to take any client who believes they lost someone as the result of someone else's negligence. In that way, almost all of these types of cases share a commonality-- the cause of the victim's demise was either due to someone's negligence or their willful and direct causation. In many cases, the civil trial will follow a criminal trial, though this is not always the situation. Also, many culpable parties will be found not guilty in a criminal trial but still found liable in a civil trial, due to the decreased burden of proof. Here's a look at some of the cases an attorney may handle.

Medical Cases
One of the most common cases wrongful death lawyers will be presented with is that of medical error. Usually, these cases will center around negligence, rather than direct causation. The burden will be on the plaintiff to prove that a doctor or health professional acted in such a way that caused, or failed to prevent, the victim's demise. This could be due to an inappropriate surgical procedure, carelessness, incorrectly prescribed medication, or failure to diagnose a particular condition that proved fatal.

Automobile Accidents
Millions of people are killed every year on the American roadways. Many of these situations occur because of negligence or recklessness on the part of one driver. When they cause the demise of another driver or passenger with their actions, they could be sued in court. Often, these cases are directed against an insurance company, rather than the culpable party themselves, considering that the amount sued for is usually far in excess of what any individual would be able to afford. Those who caused an accident by driving under the influence are particularly susceptible to this kind of lawsuit.

Job Site
Employees killed on the job may have family members or loved ones who wish to sue on their behalf. Wrongful death lawyers in these cases will need to collect evidence that proves the company was responsible for the victim's accident in some form. This could be due to unsafe working conditions, or failure to take proper precautions before putting the employee in a particular situation. When it comes to industrial job sites, there are strict laws governing safety. If a company is in violation of these laws and an accident happens, they are exposing themselves to legal liability.