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When a person dies unexpectedly, their family is often left with significant emotional turmoil and financial burdens. For family members scrambling to make sense of accidental death, legal advice can be a godsend.
It's impossible to put a price tag on a person's life. However, financial retribution from the person or persons responsible can help bring closure and soften financial hardships incurred by losing a loved one.
What is the Definition of Wrongful Death in Georgia?
In the state of Georgia, wrongful death is defined as the death of a single person caused by negligent, reckless, or intentionally harmful behavior by another person.
The most common wrongful death lawsuits involve car, motorcycle, or truck accidents. When a person is killed in a car accident, the other car's driver can be held legally responsible for the death. Many car accidents are caused by drunk driving, negligent driving, or reckless driving.
Medical malpractice, workplace accidents, and violent crimes also account for a large number of wrongful death lawsuits.
In Georgia, there are two types of wrongful death lawsuits:
1) Full Value of Life Claim: This claim seeks monetary damages for the financial and intangible contributions a deceased person would reasonably have provided to his or her family had they lived. This includes lifetime wages and benefits, as well as emotional support, caregiving and companionship.
2) Estate Claim: This claim seeks monetary damages to remedy financial issues caused by a person's death. Damages recovered in estate claim lawsuits can be used to cover funeral expenses, medical bills, and other expenses related to their illness before death.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim
In some countries, a person can file a wrongful death lawsuit as soon as they learn of the death. In other countries, the person must wait at least until the autopsy is completed.
Wrongful death claims are often filed by surviving family members, such as spouses and children. Wrongful death lawsuits involve the loss of a loved one, and wrongful death claims attempt to compensate for this loss.
Wrongful death claims can be filed by:
Concerning wrongful death lawsuits, there are two main parties: the deceased person and the survivor. The deceased person is the one who passed away as a result of someone else's actions or negligence. The survivor is the next of kin, who would have been entitled to money from the deceased person's estate if they had died from natural causes.
The Lonati Law Firm is a personal injury and wrongful death law firm in Dallas, GA. Our law firm represents individuals and others who have been seriously injured or lost a loved one due to someone else's negligence. The Lonati Law Firm focuses on these areas of personal injury and medical malpractice.
As a legal investigation firm, we work with the medical examiner, insurance companies, and police to investigate deaths and serious injuries to determine what happened and who was responsible. Lawyers can also file a lawsuit and represent families in court. In addition, lawyers handle wrongful death lawsuits for families who have lost a loved one. The main reason is due to the negligence of another person, company, or entity.
When a driver is speeding and goes through a red light and hits someone crossing the street, or when an employee at a grocery store trips and gets hit by a falling object, the individual or business may be held liable for the wrongful death. In other cases, the deceased's family may decide to file a claim against the government to recover money from a government-related incident, such as when a police officer causes a traffic accident.
What Do Lawyers Do Concerning Wrongful Death Lawsuits?
You might wonder exactly what a personal injury lawyer does when handling wrongful death lawsuits? The death of a family member is hard enough to deal with, but some families may need to file a wrongful death lawsuit. An example, in Georgia, is when a wrongful death lawsuit is started after someone is killed due to the negligence of someone else. A family must hire a lawyer and file a claim against the person who caused the death to receive compensation.
In general, a lawyer can file a wrongful death lawsuit to help recover financial damages for the next of kin. Wrongful death suits can be brought against several different parties for personal injuries and wrongful death. The lawyer then has to seek justice for the family and to help get fair and just compensation.
When one person is killed due to another person's carelessness or negligence, the deceased's family may be eligible for monetary damages, including medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages, and compensation for the survivor's pain and suffering. In addition, if an individual dies due to the wrongful act of another person, family members may then file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Depending on the circumstances, family members may also have an option to pursue a personal injury claim, which has different time limits for filing than a wrongful death claim. Death is the most challenging thing for any family to go through. However, when the death is due to negligent circumstances, it can be even more heart-wrenching. Families who have lost loved ones in accidents caused by others often need compensation for their losses. This process is known as a wrongful death lawsuit.
Astroworld Tragedy, a recent example of Wrongful Death claims:
In current news, a terrible event just happened this past weekend that is a prime example of a potential wrongful death case. Unfortunately, if you missed it, we refer to the awful and tragic events at the Astroworld Concert hosted by Travis Scott in Houston, Texas, on November 5th & 6th, 2021.
To date, at least eight fans died during the concert crowd surge at the Astroworld festival in Houston, Tx., when Travis Scott came on stage to do his set. Many other attendees were also injured at the sold-out event, authorities said. To make things even worse, several of the people injured or killed were under 18.
Amidst the controversy surrounding the Astroworld Festival, many injured fans have found themselves asking what their rights are and what their rights are moving forward. The tragic deaths of eight people and dozens of injuries caused by a disturbance during Travis Scott's set on November 16, 2021, have caused the music festival and the rapper a lot of backlash, with much more sure to come.
Lawsuits are already being filed against the owners of this theme park and Travis Scott, and most likely, lawsuits for the wrongful deaths of the fans who died at this popular event will be filed soon. You can be assured that the cases filed concerning these deaths will seek compensation for the families of the deceased under the Texas Wrongful Death Statute.
Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the tragedy at Travis Scott's Astroworld festival this past weekend, and we hope a tragedy like this never happens again. One benefit to wrongful death claims after a major tragedy is that event planners typically learn from them and take stronger safety measures to prevent something similar from ever happening.
Types of Damages in a Wrongful Death Case
Economic and Non-economic Losses
Negligence and wrongful death cases are typically filed when an individual suffers a negligent injury or even death because of the actions of another individual. Negligence generally is defined as acting carelessly or recklessly that leads to injury or death to another person. These cases are often brought against doctors, caretakers, teachers, and other professionals who are obligated to treat their patients with reasonable care.
The damages that courts can award include compensation for medical bills and funeral expenses and any lost wages and other financial losses incurred by survivors. There are three types of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a wrongful death case.
Survival damages
The first type of damages is losing the decedent's love, companionship, and financial support. This loss is typically expressed as a percentage of the decedent's pre-death income.
Compensatory damages
The second type of damages compensates for other losses, such as pain and suffering or medical expenses.
Non-economic damages
The third type of damages compensates for intangible losses such as grief, sorrow, mental pain, and anguish.
Wrongful Death Claims in Different Circumstances- Negligence & Malicious Acts
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Wrongful Death Lawyer in Dallas, GA
Here are some of the most common wrong full death questions our clients ask us at Lonati Law Firm. Have more questions for our Dallas injury lawyer? We would love to answer them during a free consultation.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Georgia?
Elizabeth Y.
"Never being in an accident before, I did not know what to do or where to even start. Michael and the office team were great! They gave me so much good advice and kept me informed. They made a horrible experience bearable."
MARcus D.
"I am very happy with how everything ended with my car accident case as well as how hard the attorneys fought to take care of me and make sure I had the best result."
Valerie M.
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