What is wrongful death?
In lawyer terms, it is when an individual is pushed to their demise through accidental negligence or the intention of someone else. As a result, the family members of the deceased person can file a lawsuit against that person or organization.
Like any other state, Virginia has a few laws attached to someone who is filing a ‘wrongful death lawsuit, but before you understand the damages, you can claim under the Virginia wrongful death. Wrongful death attorney can help you win such a case if you choose them wisely.
What Is Virginia ‘Wrongful Death?’
When there is a death that is caused by the negligence of someone else or caused with the intention of harming someone, it is known as a ‘wrongful death.’
Some of the common ways in which wrongful death can occur because of someone else’s negligence are as follows.
– Manslaughter due to car accidents under the influence or rash driving.
– Death due to medical negligence.
– Death due to medical malpractices.
– Intentional acts, which will also include homicide.
Virginia state law clearly states that if someone is dying due to a felony caused by someone else, and if they didn’t have the intention of killing even then, they can be charged with ‘wrongful death,’ and you can very much hire a
Who Can File For This Lawsuit
Now, let us understand who are the family members who can avail this lawsuit.
– First, any immediate family of the deceased can avail of this lawsuit.
– Second, any person or family member who was solely dependent on the deceased for income can file for this lawsuit.
– Third, parents or children of the deceased have the first eligibility to file for this lawsuit.
Damages You Can Claim For
Since it is the family members of the deceased who are filing the lawsuit, the compensation could be a little difficult to understand. So, here are the claims one can charge while filing the case.
Now, most of the compensation paid for any of the claims in Virginia’s wrongful death lawsuit is always something monetary. However, in some cases, these monetary compensations are very important.
The particular amount for each of these claims depends on the evidence you are able to give to the court and how much damage is done. For this reason, you will need a good lawyer.
1. Pain & Sadness
This is a difficult kind of compensation that cannot be really valued with money. However, if a lawyer is able to give enough evidence to the court of law about the intensity of emotional and psychological damage that the accident has caused, then the judge and jury can decide upon an amount.
This is always the first kind of compensation that the family can claim.
2. Loss Of Companionship
The next kind of compensation is, of course, the loss of companionship. As we have said before, if there is one thing which the members grieve about the most, then it is the loss of the company.
Imagine a parent losing their only child, a spouse losing their partner, or a child being orphaned, and it is all because of the foolish negligence of someone else. This is the strongest claim that the opponent wouldn’t have many things to say against.
3. Loss Of The Main Source Of Income
Now, this is a pointer that the opponent can counter since numbers and statistics come into the picture. However, a good lawyer can negotiate and manage some compensation in certain cases.
For example, if it is about elderly parents or orphaned children who cannot have any source of income as of now. They can claim compensation based on the total of the last five years of income that the breadwinner of the family.
4. Medical Bills Related To Death
This is probably one of the most common kinds of compensation that any party is filing against a ‘wrongful death’ claim. After the sudden demise of a family member because of an accident or negligence, one can believe that the entire medical bill is in vain.
This is generally the first claim family members make when they are filing the lawsuit because people at least want the entire medical bill to be paid for. Sometimes, these deaths are caused because of the negligence of medical professionals or medical mismanagement.
In cases like that, family members can also go to the consumer forum and file a civil charge against the entire organization.
5. Funeral Expense
This is again another common claim that you can make against a ‘wrongful death.’ Nowadays, the cost of funerals has gotten really high, and it is devastating for someone to organize and pay for people who have lost someone close unexpectedly.
Therefore, a lawyer will generally place the cost of funeral expenses for compensation first. However, funeral expense compensation is slightly less than all the other monetary compensations that we spoke about before.
How Is The Amount Determined?
Determining the amount of each of these compensation is a difficult job, and the lawyer needs to take help from a forensic economist. Sometimes the cost for some claims is easy to determine, but then there are determinants like income.
Income is mostly calculated with denominators like the last five years’ sum total or the kind of occupation that the deceased did. Life insurance, if the deceased had any, is also taken into full consideration.
So, it is advised that one doesn’t try to retain these calculations without an expert present.
Damages Worth The Compensation!
No one can deny that ‘wrongful death’ is probably the most painful thing that any family member has to endure, especially when the wrongful death is because of negligent medical practice.
Thus, Virginia law states that compensation is very much deserved by the grieving family.
So, if you are enduring such pain and loss, ensure to have a good lawyer by your side.
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