Losing a loved one is almost always a devastating event. However, when lives are taken due to someone’s carelessness, it adds another dimension to the tragedy. While you’re mourning their loss and trying to figure out how to process this horrible event, you may not feel as if you have the energy or the knowledge of how to seek justice.
Working with a local West Lafayette personal injury lawyer can help you achieve not only justice and accountability, but it can also ease your financial burden. We’ve helped families file wrongful death lawsuits with the compassion and respect you deserve during this sensitive and painful time, ensuring that your legal needs are handled with care.
What Constitutes a Wrongful Death?
In Indiana, a wrongful death is one where another individual or entity acted neglectfully, an accident occurred, and, as a direct result, a fatality happened. An example of a wrongful death would be if a drunk driver collides with another vehicle and kills the driver. However, there are plenty of situations where a wrongful death lawsuit applies.
- Vehicle collisions
- Animal attacks
- Slip and fall accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Workplace accidents
- Faulty or dangerous products
A wrongful death lawsuit allows the surviving family to seek damages from the negligent party. They’ll have the burden of proving negligence. Attempting to do so without an experienced wrongful death attorney could prove far too complicated. Lawsuits of this nature require expert guidance to be successful.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?
Generally, if the deceased had an executor named in their will, that person would become the personal representative for the deceased’s estate and file the lawsuit on behalf of the family. If the deceased didn’t have a will, the lawsuit could be filed by their spouse, partner, adult children, or parents.
Indiana Code §34-11-2-4 states that a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within two years from the date of your loved one’s death. Attempting to file after this time will result in the case being dismissed. This highlights the importance of speaking to a wrongful death attorney as soon as possible.
Let Yosha Law Help Your Family Recover Damages for the Loss of Your Loved One
While the family attempts to recover from this tragedy, worrying about money and bills shouldn’t be a priority. Unfortunately, for many, the loss of a loved one also means the loss of income. Although no amount of money can compensate a family for their loss or their loved one’s absence, the family has a right to seek recovery from their losses.
Damages in a wrongful death lawsuit fall into two categories: economic and non-economic.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the financial losses a family suffers from the death of their loved one. These types of damages are generally easily quantifiable and can include:
- Medical expenses: Any costs associated with the medical care related to the deceased’s death can be claimed as damages. These expenses can include hospital bills, ambulance fees, medications, the costs of surgeries, and any other expenses related to medical treatment related to the accident that caused your loved one’s death.
- Funeral costs: Burial, cremation, and funeral costs can be claimed as damages. Any reasonable costs associated with celebrating your loved one’s life fall under the umbrella of economic damages.
- Loss of future income: Economic damages for a wrongful death lawsuit can include any future lifetime earnings the deceased would have earned, including raises, promotions, and bonuses.
- Loss of services: If the deceased provided household services such as lawn care, home maintenance, cleaning, or childcare, the lawsuit can include the cost of hiring these services.
Non-economic Damages
Non-economic damages are intended to compensate the surviving family members for intangible losses suffered by the death of their loved one. These losses cover relational and emotional needs. Typical non-economic losses suffered can include:
- Loss of consortium: This addresses spouses and partners of the deceased and compensates them for the loss of comfort, affection, and other marital relationships.
- Loss of love and companionship: Family members can seek compensation for the loss of love, affection, and care that their loved one provided.
- Loss of parental guidance: Children of the deceased can seek compensation for the loss of the guidance, education, and companionship the child would have received over their lifetime.
Punitive Damages
Although rare in wrongful death lawsuits, sometimes punitive damages can be sought. To be eligible, the negligent party would have had to have acted with a willful disregard to provide others with the standard duty of care. An example of where seeking punitive damages in a wrongful death lawsuit would be acceptable would be if your loved one were killed in a car collision with a driver who had multiple DUI convictions.
Punitive damages are meant to punish the negligent party and deter them from engaging in the same behavior. However, 75% of any compensation awarded in Indiana goes to the Violent Crime Victims Compensation Fund. The remaining amount goes to the surviving family members.
How Yosha Law Can Help
Since 1963, the compassionate legal team at Yosha Law has been fighting for the rights of Indiana’s residents. During this difficult time, we can assist you with ensuring that your wrongful death lawsuit has strong evidence to provide you with the best possible outcome. Here’s what you can expect when working with our legal professionals:
- Case evaluation: Our legal team will investigate your loved one’s fatality, determine its root cause, and establish causation and liability.
- Gathering evidence: To prove liability and damages, you’ll need to gather strong evidence. We can assist you with gathering evidence to support your case.
- Eyewitness and expert testimony: We will interview witnesses and others who have valuable first-hand knowledge of your loved one’s fatality. Should your case need a car collision reconstruction analyst or a financial forensics expert, we’ve got you covered.
- Compassionate support: While you process your horrible tragedy, we will be working to ensure that your loved one receives justice. We’ll provide you with real-time updates, and should you have any questions or concerns, we are here to help.
Schedule a Free Consultation Today in West Lafayette
When mourning the loss of a loved one, you may not have the energy to fight on their behalf to ensure that accountability and justice are served. Swift legal action can help bring closure to this unspeakable tragedy. While you are taking care of your loved one’s emotional needs, let us help you recover your damages. Our compassionate West Lafayette wrongful death lawyers can help ensure that your financial worries will soon be gone.
Contact Yosha Law today to receive a free case evaluation.
