A wrongful death can be a tragedy that may leave the survivors of the victim feeling powerless to pursue justice. This can be particularly true when it is determined that the situation fails to rise to the level of criminal conduct. Luckily, wrongful death lawsuits can provide the survivors of the victim with an effective way of fighting for justice.
What If Multiple Family Members Want To Pursue A Wrongful Death Claim?
A key point to understand about a wrongful death claim is that a person or company can only be sued once for the accident. In situations where multiple family members are wanting to pursue legal action, it is a common practice for these individuals to join their claims. Unfortunately, not every state will allow these individuals to group together to pursue this type of claim. in these states, there will be a hierarchy of the individuals that can pursue this type of lawsuit, and you may need to wait for several individuals to forgo their right to pursue this type of lawsuit before you can initiate legal proceedings.
Does The Victim Have To Die Immediately For Wrongful Death To Apply?
A common assumption about wrongful death lawsuits is that they are for instances where the victim died almost immediately after the incident. Yet, it can be somewhat common for individuals to survive the initial accident only to succumb to their injuries later when they are being treated or attempting to recover. The survivors of accident victims that were able to at least briefly survive the incident may still be able to pursue this type of legal action. While these cases can be somewhat more complicated, an experienced legal professional can help you to understand whether the wrongful death laws apply to your situation.
How Long Will It Take For Your Wrongful Death Case To Advance To The Trial Stage?
As you are looking at your options for obtaining justice for the loss of a loved one, you may want this entire process to be completed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the process of preparing for the trial can be somewhat lengthy due to the number of witnesses that may need to be questioned and the documents that will have to be procured and analyzed. Therefore, you may find that you will need to wait at least several months before the trial is ready to occur. Furthermore, your attorney may actively attempt to avoid the trial by working to negotiate a settlement that you can agree to accept.
To learn more, contact a law firm like Ringsmuth Wuori.
Share22 November 2017
