What is the Difference Between Wrongful Death Claim and Survival Action?

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When a family loses a loved one because of someone else’s negligence, they may face a lot of difficulties if the loved one was a significant wage earner. These difficulties include not just emotional distress but also financial problems caused because of the loss of a significant income source, medical bills of the deceased when he was alive, and even his funeral expenses. In the case of such distress, there are some legal options available for the deceased family. A Wrongful Death Attorney can help you with it.

Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death claim is a lawsuit filed on behalf of the deceased person’s family, and it allows the family members to claim damages. These damages may include grief and other emotional sufferings of the family, the current and future lost income, medical bills of the deceased when he was alive, and also the funeral charges.

Survival Action

A survival action is also a legal action, but it is only involved with the suffering of the deceased one. It does not concern the financial loss of the family or their grief. With this action, the decedent’s estate can recover the damages that are entirely related to the pain and suffering of the decedent. They can even recover his treatment expenses and lost earnings. This lawsuit is actually a lot like the personal injury lawsuit.

Eligible Person to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit or Survival Action

State law decides precisely who is eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit or a survival action. In the case of survival action, the person who is qualified to bring the case is the decedent’s estate’s executor.

On the other hand, when it comes to the wrongful death claim, its possible plaintiff could be the deceased one’s spouse, children, or other legally recognized people who were financially dependent on the deceased. If the deceased was unmarried, then his or her parents also could file the claim.

Federal law sometimes allows even the siblings or the grandparents of the deceased to pursue both types of legal actions.

Responsible for the Wrongful Death

When you want to claim your damages in court, you have to prove that there is someone responsible for the deceased person’s death. According to the court’s rule, they have to prove that the death was caused by the accused one’s reckless action, negligence, or carelessness.

Manufacturers of Auto parts

The negligence of commercial truckers or trucking companies could be held responsible for the case. Because a faulty auto part that is manufactured by them could be the cause of the crash or it could have been that this part made the crash worse than it would have been otherwise.

Government Agencies

If an unsafe roadway was the cause of the accident, then you could hold the government agencies that fail to keep the roads safe responsible for wrongful death because negligence caused the death.

Doctor or Physicians

If the cause of that wrongful death is faulty medical treatment, then you can hold the doctor or physicians responsible for it. A doctor’s negligence at work can result in the death of the patients.

No matter what, figuring out who is responsible for the death is very important and complex work. And that is why you should take the consultation of an experienced attorney as soon as possible after the death of your loved one.

 

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