Often we’re engaged (our services are engaged) for folks who have been involved in what has been deemed a “wrongful death” action in the state of Florida. A wrongful death really truly is a death that occurs as a result of another’s negligence. It could be a company, it could be an individual, it could be as a result of a car accident, it could be a result of negligent security, medical malpractice… There are any number of ways that a death occurs. If negligence is the root, it can be “wrongful death,” which means the surviving family members might have a claim against the responsible party for causing the death of this loved one. The obvious thing is that it’s traumatic and it’s certainly life-changing to lose a loved one. And that loss is important.
The law isn’t perfectly situated to make things as if they never happened. It’s impossible, but it can provide a mechanism for compensating the loss to the family or to the individual who has the rightful claim. A wrongful death might result in an inability for a family to pay bills. Because that person who was responsible or took primary responsibility for earning an income for the family might have passed away. So lost future wages is… a significant part of a wrongful death action.
Unfortunately, the wrongful death statute governs a lot of what we do in a wrongful death action. The wrongful death statute limits who can make a claim for the death of another one: a loved one, a family member, a friend. And it really does create an unfair limiting factor on who can seek compensation. Obviously a surviving spouse or surviving minor children can make a claim for losing a father or losing a mother and losing the financial support as well as the emotional and the love that was there in the family. It’s the more extended family, or when we’re talking in terms of survivors who are adults, where that wrongful death statute may not be fair, but it may be the law.
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If negligence is the root, it can be “wrongful death,” which means the surviving family members might have a claim against the responsible party for causing the death of this loved one.
So it’s important when there is a wrongful death, when a family suspects that a loved one passed away as a result of negligence, and this is going to impact a family forever and ever and ever, to speak to an attorney, to talk about what is rightfully permitted in the action (the wrongful death action), and who might be ultimately a person who can pursue compensation for the loss.
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– Ryan Munns is an experienced personal injury attorney and Partner with Bogin, Munns, & Munns, a full service law firm with offices in Orlando, Clermont, Kissimmee, Orange City, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Melbourne, Gainesville, and Leesburg. Mr. Munns works out of the Orlando office and welcomes questions and comments regarding the above. He can be reached at ryan@boginmunns.com.
NOTICE: The article above is not intended to serve as legal advice, and you should not rely on it as such. It is offered only as general information. You should consult with a duly licensed attorney regarding your Florida legal matter, as every situation is unique. Please know that merely reading this article, subscribing to this blog, or otherwise contacting Bogin, Munns & Munns does not establish an attorney-client relationship with our firm. Should you seek legal representation from Bogin, Munns & Munns, any such representation must first be agreed to by the firm and confirmed in a written agreement.
