Those survivors that want to make a wrongful death claim must present proof of liability, and details that show why the same survivors deserve the requested compensation.
Typical Causes for Fatal injury to a Pedestrian
Internal damage:
—Ruptured organs
—Internal bleeding
—Trauma to head
Injury that could allow for development of complications
—Delays in care to a broken bone
—Delay in desired response from patient, following surgery to injured region of body: That delay could prove especially harmful if the accident victim has suffered a broken leg. Post-surgical care normally includes intensive physical therapy. However, the patient must be willing to attend and take part in the therapy sessions.
Damages that could serve as reason for additional compensation
• Emotional pain suffered by close family members: Compensation might cover cost of grief counseling.
• Loss of income, meaning loss of means for supporting survivors’ household
• Loss of care: That could be the case if an older person had been killed, while out for a walk. That same elderly individual could have cared for the children of the survivors, when the same children were not in school.
• Cost of a funeral and a burial: Those would be costs that had arisen, as a result of the untimely passing of a loved one.
There are limits on who can submit a wrongful death claim
Only close family members have the right to submit such a claim.
—The former wife of a man that was divorced, before being hit by an automobile could not be part of a wrongful death claim
—A stepson or step daughter of a man or a woman that had been hit by an automobile would not have reason to expect any compensation that might come from pursuit of a wrongful death claim.
There are time limits on submission of a wrongful death lawsuit
Each state has its own limit, one that has been stated in the statute of limitations. The limits for the different states run from 2 years to 6 years, assuming that no agency of the government has been named as the defendant.
Whenever an agency of the government has been named as the defendant, the plaintiff has only one year in which to file a complaint.
Injury Lawyer in Woodbridge knows that if pedestrian was hospitalized after being hit, and did not file a personal injury claim, then the statute of limitations might have expired, causing a time-bar on the wrongful death claim.
Possible defenses for the driver of the responsible vehicle
• The pedestrian had stepped off the curb in the middle of the street, despite the flashing of a NO WALK signal.
• The pedestrian had run onto the street, hoping to retrieve a certain item.
• The pedestrian had engaged in jaywalking.
