Wrongful Death Responsibility
- Strict liability:
If a wrongful death has occurred as a result of a defective or recalled product you may be able to file a wrongful death case against the company who manufactured or sold the product. A company is responsible for producing products that are not dangerous. A company does this through safe design and manufacturing methods and fully testing a product prior to selling it. If the company fails in this duty and produces a product which kills a person, a wrongful death lawsuit may be filed. Product liability laws are designed to protect consumers from defective products. The death sustained by the consumer could result in the manufacturer having to pay monetary damages to the surviving family members. An example of this is pharmaceutical drugs which may have entered the market without adequate testing or drugs that have an adverse affect when combined with other medications. If a company fails to adequately test new drugs and the product is rushed to market and a death results, a company may be responsible for compensating the surviving family members of the deceased.
- Tort of Negligence:
A wrongful death may also result from an individual's negligence. Negligence is conduct that does not meet the behavior required from a reasonable person to protect others from harm. If someone is found negligent and death results, the surviving members of the deceased can seek compensation. Traffic Accident deaths often result from an act of negligence. For example, if a driver runs a red light and kills another driver the surviving members of the deceased might file a wrongful death case in addition to any criminal charges filed against the driver. Medical malpractice cases are also often the result of negligent behavior on the part of doctors, nurses, hospitals or clinics.
- Intentional Tort:
The final way a wrongful death could occur is from an intentional act of violence. An intentional violent act is called an intentional tort and results from an intentional act which causes a civil wrong. If an intentional tort results in death you may be able to file a civil personal injury lawsuit in addition to filing a criminal lawsuit. Common intentional torts are: assault and battery, slander, false imprisonment, trespassing on land and inflicting emotional distress. Assault is a common intentional tort which could result in death. A person may be found criminally not guilty and still be sued civilly in a wrongful death case. One of the most famous cases was the O.J. Simpson murders. He was acquitted of murder in criminal court but lost his civil trial and was liable to pay $33.5 million dollars in compensation to the surviving family members of Ronald Goldman's family.
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