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When Does a Fatal Car Accident Qualify for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
When a negligent driver causes a fatal car accident, the deceased's family can file a wrongful death lawsuit. Protect your family's interests after a tragic loss.
Written by
Charles R. Gueli, Esq.
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When Does a Fatal Car Accident Qualify for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
When a negligent driver causes a fatal car accident, the deceased's family can file a wrongful death lawsuit. Protect your family's interests after a tragic loss.
Written by
Charles R. Gueli, Esq.
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What is a Car Accident Wrongful Death?
Proving Wrongful Death from an Auto Accident
Protect Your Wrongful Death Compensation
More than 38,600 people are killed on American roadways every year. That's equivalent to one person killed every 14 minutes, night and day.¹
Fatal road crashes can involve automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, or pedestrians. As in most vehicle accidents, there is usually insurance involved.
When you've lost a loved one in a fatal car accident, you have a right to expect compensation from the at-fault driver's insurance company. Here's what you need to know about wrongful death lawsuits and auto insurance compensation.
What is a Car Accident Wrongful Death?
Wrongful death is defined as the sudden and unexpected death of a person as the result of a wrongful act of another, such as a drunk driver who causes a motor vehicle crash.
Sadly, motor vehicle accidents take the lives of innocent people of all ages, every day.
Common causes of fatal accidents include:
Distracted driving involving cell phone calls, texting, personal grooming, or other tasks
Driver fatigue, particularly during long drives at night
Drunk driving, drug use, or a combination of both
Speeding and other forms of aggressive driving
Motorists violating a motorcycle driver's right of way
Pedestrians struck by vehicles
Bicyclists struck by motorists
Pursuing a Wrongful Death Claim
In the aftermath of a car accident with fatalities, local law enforcement agencies typically conduct an in-depth investigation to determine the sequence of events and driver fault for the crash.
When the authorities decide that negligence caused a fatal car crash, the legal concept of wrongful death comes to the forefront. A wrongful death claim is a demand made by the surviving spouse, family member, or estate representative, on the party whose actions caused the person's death.
The family of a fatally injured car accident victim has three options for pursuing compensation:
File a claim with the at-fault driver's insurance company
File a claim with the deceased driver's insurance company (if the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured)
File a lawsuit against the at-fault driver
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
When the deceased accident victim is a member of your household and the at-fault driver had little or no insurance, you can turn to your family's auto insurance policy.
Covered household members are those who live with you, including your:
Spouse
Biological children
Adopted children
Step-children
Child's spouse
Grandchildren
Parents
Children are legally members of your household even if you share custody with a former spouse. So long as the child has a bed in your home, they are members of the household.
Parents who shared custody of a fatally injured child may be able to pursue coverage from auto insurance policies in both households.
Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory in most states for bodily injury. It includes coverage for wrongful death damages if the at-fault driver had no valid insurance at the time of the crash.
Underinsured motorist coverage is usually optional, although in some states the insurance company is obligated to offer underinsured coverage. Underinsured coverage kicks in when the at-fault driver's insurance has been exhausted.
You know that no policy has coverage that can fully compensate you for the loss of a loved one. Your damages will always exceed the at-fault driver's limits.
Don't let the adjuster from either insurance company take advantage of your grief. Always hire a personal injury attorney to handle a wrongful death claim.
Proving Wrongful Death from an Auto Accident
You'll need to prove negligence whether you file an insurance claim or a lawsuit against the at-fault party. The basis of your lawsuit is that your loved one died because someone did something wrong or failed to do what any reasonable person would do.
Who Is Liable for Wrongful Death?
Liability for a fatal car accident may fall solely on the at-fault driver as determined by the police investigation. Sometimes, there may be additional parties who are liable, meaning financially responsible for the wrongful death of a person.
Potentially liable parties include:
Other drivers in a multi-vehicle crash
The employer of an at-fault driver who was on company business
A corporation, like the manufacturer of the defective airbag system
A business person, like the owner of a bar that continued serving an obviously intoxicated customer
A government agency, like a state highway department that failed to remove spilled oil from the road
When the Adjuster Blames the Decedent
Don't be fooled by the insurance adjuster's condolences. Their sympathy ends as soon as the topic turns to settlement amounts. The insurance company will likely blame your loved one for their death and expect you to go along with it.
Today, only Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia follow the pure contributory negligence rule. In those five states, the insurance company can flatly deny an injury claim if the person was as little as one percent to blame for contributing to their injuries, even fatal injuries.
Under pure comparative fault rules, you can proceed with a wrongful death claim, even when you are certain the deceased person was primarily to blame for the circumstances of the accident.
Most states have modified comparative fault rules. In these states, the deceased person has to be equally or more to blame for the accident before the insurance company can deny a wrongful death claim. If the claim proceeds, the compensation is reduced according to the percentage of shared blame.
The insurance company doesn't get to have the last word about shared blame. An experienced personal injury lawyer will deal with the insurance adjuster and dispute allegations of shared fault.
Damages in Wrongful Death Claims
Every state has its own wrongful death laws and deadlines. The laws provide a framework for family members to seek compensation for their monetary losses and emotional damages after a death.
Typically, the deceased person's family can seek damages including:
Medical bills for emergency services provided to the deceased
Funeral costs
Burial expenses
Pain and suffering of the deceased before death
Loss of anticipated future income and benefits
Spousal loss of consortium
Loss of companionship suffered by family members, including spouses, children, step-children, parents, and siblings
Loss of guidance and mentoring suffered by the deceased person's adopted or biological children
Each state has different rules governing wrongful death claims. Find your state's wrongful death laws here.
Protect Your Wrongful Death Compensation
Protect your wrongful death suit from the start by hiring a personal injury attorney. Fatal car accident cases are complicated, time-sensitive, and expensive legal actions.
It's difficult for surviving family members to know what to do after a senseless death. However, if you don't file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations runs out, you'll forfeit your right to seek compensation.
A good personal injury lawyer will fight low-ball offers and accusations of comparative fault to maximize your total compensation. Through the litigation discovery process, your attorney can uncover evidence of liability you would never be able to get to on your own.
Your attorney will find every source of compensation you may be entitled to, such as:
Multiple liability policies connected to the at-fault driver or vehicle owner
Multiple policies with uninsured or underinsured coverage
Dram-shop violations (for serving alcohol)
Product liability for defective car parts
Most attorneys offer a free consultation for car accident fatalities. There's no cost to see how a wrongful death lawyer can help you and your family.
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When Does a Fatal Car Accident Qualify for a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Ohio Wrongful Death Claims: What You Need to Know
Article at a Glance
Wrongful death as defined by Ohio law is a death that occurs due to another person's or party's "wrongful act, neglect, or default."
The best way to file a wrongful death lawsuit is to speak with an experienced wrongful death attorney before Ohio's two-year statute of limitations expires
Ohio law dictates that only the individual that is named as the personal representative of the deceased individual's estate may file the action
When a close family member dies suddenly, under certain circumstances, legal action can be brought. This type of action is known as "wrongful death" and is regulated by state laws. Wrongful death laws can vary significantly from state to state, and the following will take a closer look at the specific requirements for this type of claim in Ohio.
If you want more detailed information about how Ohio's wrongful death laws pertain to your personal situation, you should discuss the matter with the experienced wrongful death attorneys of Plevin & Gallucci.
Ohio Wrongful Death Law
In Ohio, the wrongful death statute creates a cause of action after a death that occurs due to another person's or party's "wrongful act, neglect, or default." The law additionally specifies that wrongful death claims are available if, had the deceased survived, they would have had the right to file a claim for personal injury and recover damages from the liable party. Ohio Revised Code Ch. 2125.
"Wrongful act" often is associated with intentional acts of violence, such as assault, while "neglect" can refer to legal negligence. Negligence happens when someone breaches a legal duty of care and the breach leads to fatal injuries. Some common examples of negligence that can lead to wrongful death actions in Ohio include:
Drunk driving, aggressive driving, or distracted driving;
Malpractice of medical professionals, including in Ohio nursing home abuse cases;
Manufacturing defective or dangerous products;
Having dangerous conditions on a property.
The law basically states that if an accident victim would have been able to recover for personal injuries due to negligence, then a wrongful death action will be available if they do not survive.
Potential Wrongful Death Settlements and Damages
The damages available in a wrongful death case include compensation for financial losses incurred due to the death, such as medical, funeral, and burial costs. However, Ohio law also allows you to seek damages for additional losses, including the following:
The estimated income and financial support the deceased would have provided if they had lived;
The estimated value of the household and child care services the deceased would have contributed to the family;
The amount by which a prospective inheritance was reduced because of an untimely death;
Loss of companionship, care, guidance, assistance, protection, attention, instruction, counsel, consortium, advice, education, and training incurred by the surviving family members;
Mental anguish caused by the death to the surviving family members.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Because the damages sought in a wrongful death case depend largely on the losses of the surviving spouse, children, or other family members, you may assume that these individuals are the ones who will file the wrongful death claim. However, in Ohio, the individual who is named as the personal representative of the deceased individual's estate is the party that must file the action. The person may either be designated in the deceased individual's will or may be appointed by the probate court.
Once the amount of damages is determined, the award will then be divided among the family members who have suffered losses due to the death. Such damages will be distributed based on inheritance rights in accordance with the intestate laws of Ohio. Family members generally include a surviving spouse, children, parents, or other dependents of the deceased. Grandparents, siblings, and other relatives are usually not entitled to damages unless they prove they have suffered losses that are legally compensable. ORC Ch. 2105.
If a surviving spouse of the deceased gets remarried in the time period between the death and the resolution of the wrongful death case, they do not necessarily lose out on their portion of the damages, though Ohio wrongful death law dictates that the court may consider such remarriage when determining the losses suffered by that former spouse.
Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Claims in Ohio
The Ohio wrongful death statute also sets out a time restriction for filing this type of claim in civil court. The statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim in Ohio is two years from the date the victim died or from the date it was discovered that the death was wrongful. If a claim is filed beyond the two-year time period, the court will almost certainly grant a dismissal of the claim and family members will no longer have the right to seek financial recovery.
For this reason, it is imperative to consult with a skilled Cleveland wrongful death attorney as soon as you suspect you may have a case. At Plevin & Gallucci, we're here to help. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
Ohio Wrongful Death Claims: What You Need to Know
